TOWARD UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEAM AND TASK SHARED MENTAL MODELS AS DETERMINANTS OF TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

The purpose of this research is to find a mechanism to ultimately enhance team and individual performance in team-based projects. While increasing numbers of research and practice upon teams and their development have studied the role of shared mental models in understanding team performance in the socialpsychology literature, its utility through which team performance can be assessed in the management literature received mixed results. This study focused on understanding the dynamic relationship between shared mental models and performance over time. Specifically, this study investigated how the changes in Team and Task Shared Mental Models (Team-SMM and Task-SMM) affect team and individual performance of engineering students. The pairwise ratings and Likert-scale questionnaires were used to measure the Team-SMM and TaskSMM. Results indicated that Team-SMM and Task-SMM had their unique influences on team and individual performance, and their relationships varied depending on the task and team demands at the specific time period of the team project. Implications for managing team and individual performances are discussed.

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