Perspective - Rethinking Teams: From Bounded Membership to Dynamic Participation

Teams have long been defined by boundedness-a clear distinction between members and nonmembers. Yet as we argue in this perspective paper, the distinction between members and nonmembers is often blurred in today's teams, as a result of trends toward increasing team fluidity, overlap, and dispersion. These trends offer potential organizational benefits, but the resulting boundary blurring can undermine team effectiveness. Moreover, boundary blurring calls into question many of the basic assumptions underpinning our theoretical and empirical research on teams. Accordingly, it is time to rethink our fundamental conceptualization of teams and to revisit our approaches to studying them. We propose a shift from viewing teams as clearly bounded groups of members toward instead viewing teams as dynamic hubs of participants. Reconceptualizing teams in this way opens up new avenues for theory development and offers important implications for future empirical research on teams.

[1]  Mats Engwall,et al.  Project overload: An exploratory study of work and management in multi-project settings , 2006 .

[2]  J. Hackman,et al.  The design of work teams , 1987 .

[3]  Paul R. Carlile,et al.  Transferring, Translating, and Transforming: An Integrative Framework for Managing Knowledge Across Boundaries , 2004, Organ. Sci..

[4]  Jonathon N. Cummings,et al.  So many teams, so little time: Time allocation matters in geographically dispersed teams , 2012 .

[5]  G. V. D. Vegt,et al.  Learning and performance in multidisciplinary teams: The importance of collective team identification , 2005 .

[6]  K. Klein,et al.  How Do They Get There? An Examination of the Antecedents of Centrality in Team Networks , 2004 .

[7]  Shu Z. Schiller,et al.  Virtual Team Research , 2007 .

[8]  Amy C. Edmondson,et al.  Team Scaffolds: How Mesolevel Structures Enable Role-Based Coordination in Temporary Groups , 2015, Organ. Sci..

[9]  H. Greve,et al.  Superman or the Fantastic Four? Knowledge Combination and Experience in Innovative Teams , 2006 .

[10]  S. Mohammed,et al.  Metaphor No More: A 15-Year Review of the Team Mental Model Construct , 2010 .

[11]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  Understanding Conflict in Geographically Distributed Teams: The Moderating Effects of Shared Identity, Shared Context, and Spontaneous Communication , 2005 .

[12]  Anita L. Tucker,et al.  Implementing New Practices: An Empirical Study of Organizational Learning in Hospital Intensive Care Units , 2007, Manag. Sci..

[13]  Henry L. Tosi,et al.  Multilevel Theory Building: Benefits, Barriers, and New Developments , 1999 .

[14]  Kyle Lewis,et al.  Transactive Memory Systems: Current Issues and Future Research Directions , 2011, Organ. Sci..

[15]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  Fuzzy Teams: Boundary Disagreement in Distributed and Collocated Teams , 2002 .

[16]  Diane Liang Rulke,et al.  Distribution of Knowledge, Group Network Structure, and Group Performance , 2000 .

[17]  Mark Mortensen,et al.  Conditions Enabling Effective Multiple Team Membership , 2007, Virtuality and Virtualization.

[18]  K. Jehn.  A qualitative analysis of conflict types and dimensions in , 1997 .

[19]  Beth A. Bechky.  Sharing Meaning Across Occupational Communities: The Transformation of Understanding on a Production Floor , 2003, Organ. Sci..

[20]  J. Gans,et al.  Exploring Tradeoffs in the Organization of Scientific Work: Collaboration and Scientific Reward , 2013 .

[21]  Ann Majchrzak,et al.  Radical Innovation Without Collocation: A Case Study at Boeing-Rocketdyne , 2001, MIS Q..

[22]  R. Klimoski,et al.  Why do ‘great minds’ think alike?: antecedents of team member schema agreement , 2001 .

[23]  Jonathon N. Cummings.  Work Groups, Structural Diversity, and Knowledge Sharing in a Global Organization , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[24]  Leslie A. DeChurch,et al.  Teamwork in multiteam systems. , 2005, The Journal of applied psychology.

[25]  A. Edmondson,et al.  Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy , 2012 .

[26]  J. Turner,et al.  SOCIAL IDENTITY AND SELF-CATEGORIZATION THEORIES’ CONTRIBUTION TO UNDERSTANDING IDENTIFICATION, SALIENCE AND DIVERSITY IN TEAMS AND ORGANIZATIONS , 2003 .

[27]  Tsedal B. Neeley,et al.  Language Matters: Status Loss and Achieved Status Distinctions in Global Organizations , 2013, Organ. Sci..

[28]  M. Hoegl,et al.  Team member proximity and teamwork in innovative projects , 2004 .

[29]  E. Sundstrom,et al.  Work teams: Applications and effectiveness. , 1990 .

[30]  R. Wageman.  How Leaders Foster Self-Managing Team Effectiveness: Design Choices Versus Hands-on Coaching , 2001 .

[31]  J. Richard Hackman,et al.  Group Behavior and Performance , 2010 .

[32]  Cristina B. Gibson,et al.  Crossing team boundaries: A theoretical model of team boundary permeability and a discussion of why it matters , 2018 .

[33]  S. G. Cohen,et al.  What Makes Teams Work: Group Effectiveness Research from the Shop Floor to the Executive Suite , 1997 .

[34]  Heather A. Priest,et al.  Errors in the Heat of Battle: Taking a Closer Look at Shared Cognition Breakdowns Through Teamwork , 2007, Hum. Factors.

[35]  R. Collins,et al.  Interaction Ritual Chains , 2004 .

[36]  Jennifer L. Gibbs,et al.  Unpacking the Concept of Virtuality: The Effects of , 2022 .

[37]  A. Woolley,et al.  Multiple Team Membership: a Theoretical Model of its Effects on Productivity and Learning for Individuals and Teams , 2011 .

[38]  A. Edmondson.  Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams , 1999 .

[39]  Howard E. Aldrich,et al.  Boundary Spanning Roles and Organization Structure , 1977 .

[40]  Martine R. Haas,et al.  To Share or Not to Share? Professional Norms, Reference Groups, and Information Withholding Among Life Scientists , 2010, Organ. Sci..

[41]  J. K. Murnighan,et al.  Demographic Diversity and Faultlines: The Compositional DYnamics of Organizational Groups , 1998 .

[42]  M. Hobday.  The Project-Based Organisation: An ideal form for managing complex products and systems? , 2000 .

[43]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  Out of Sight, Out of Sync: Understanding Conflict in Distributed Teams , 2003, Organ. Sci..

[44]  Henrik Bresman,et al.  External Learning Activities and Team Performance: A Multimethod Field Study , 2010, Organ. Sci..

[45]  Leslie A. DeChurch,et al.  Once upon a time , 2016 .

[46]  Robert S. Huckman,et al.  Team Familiarity, Role Experience, and Performance , 2009 .

[47]  Lucy Gilson,et al.  Virtual Teams: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go From Here? , 2004 .

[48]  C. D. De Dreu,et al.  Minority dissent and team innovation: the importance of participation in decision making. , 2001, The Journal of applied psychology.

[49]  J. Swan,et al.  Embedding New Management Knowledge in Project-Based Organizations , 2004 .

[50]  Nancy P. Rothbard,et al.  Task Bubbles, Artifacts, Shared Emotion, and Mutual Focus of Attention: A Comparative Study of the Microprocesses of Group Engagement , 2013, Organ. Sci..

[51]  Ann Majchrzak,et al.  Coordinating Expertise Among Emergent Groups Responding to Disasters , 2007, Organ. Sci..

[52]  Linda Argote,et al.  Group Learning Curves: The Effects of Turnover and Task Complexity on Group Performance1 , 1995 .

[53]  J. Hackman.  Learning more by crossing levels: evidence from airplanes, hospitals, and orchestras , 2003 .

[54]  Leslie A. DeChurch,et al.  Teams Are Changing: Time to “Think Networks” , 2012, Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

[55]  M. Maznevski,et al.  Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: A meta-analysis of research on multicultural work groups , 2010 .

[56]  Daniel R. Ilgen,et al.  Team learning: collectively connecting the dots. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[57]  Gaylen N. Chandler,et al.  Antecedents, Moderators, and Performance Consequences of Membership Change in New Venture Teams , 2005 .

[58]  Ruth Wageman,et al.  The changing ecology of teams: New directions for teams research. , 2012 .

[59]  M. Mortensen.  Constructing the Team: The Antecedents and Effects of Membership Model Divergence , 2014 .

[60]  W. Ocasio.  TOWARDS AN ATTENTION-BASED VIEW OF THE FIRM , 1997 .

[61]  A. Edmondson,et al.  6 Three Perspectives on Team Learning: Outcome Improvement, Task Mastery, and Group Process , 2007 .

[62]  D. Gann,et al.  Innovation in project-based, service-enhanced firms: the construction of complex products and systems , 2000 .

[63]  Anne P. Massey,et al.  Because Time Matters: Temporal Coordination in Global Virtual Project Teams , 2003, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[64]  Jeffrey T. Polzer,et al.  How Subgroup Interests and Reputations Moderate the Effect of Organizational Identification on Cooperation , 2004 .

[65]  J. H. Davis,et al.  An integrative model of organizational trust, Academy of Management Review, : . , 1995 .

[66]  J. Hackman,et al.  Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances , 2002 .

[67]  Dominic Abrams,et al.  Collective Identity: Group Membership and Self-Conception , 2008 .

[68]  C. Cramton.  The Mutual Knowledge Problem and Its Consequences for Dispersed Collaboration , 2001 .

[69]  Andrew M. Carton,et al.  A Theory of Subgroups in Work Teams , 2012 .

[70]  S. Winter,et al.  An evolutionary theory of economic change , 1983 .

[71]  Mei Lu,et al.  How virtual are we? Measuring virtuality and understanding its impact in a global organization , 2005, Inf. Syst. J..

[72]  Yan Xiao,et al.  Dynamic Delegation: Shared, Hierarchical, and Deindividualized Leadership in Extreme Action Teams , 2006 .

[73]  Beth A. Bechky.  Gaffers, Gofers, and Grips: Role-Based Coordination in Temporary Organizations , 2006, Organ. Sci..

[74]  D. Dougherty.  Interpretive Barriers to Successful Product Innovation in Large Firms , 1992 .

[75]  Bradley L. Kirkman,et al.  The impact of cultural values on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in self-managing work teams: The mediating role of employee resistance. , 2001 .

[76]  Richard A. Guzzo,et al.  Teams in organizations: recent research on performance and effectiveness. , 1996, Annual review of psychology.

[77]  Martine R. Haas,et al.  Acquiring and Applying Knowledge in Transnational Teams: The Roles of Cosmopolitans and Locals , 2006, Organ. Sci..

[78]  Albert V. Carron,et al.  Member Diversity and Cohesion and Performance in Walking Groups , 2006 .

[79]  Jing Zhou,et al.  A CROSS-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE ON EMPLOYEE CREATIVITY: GOAL ORIENTATION, TEAM LEARNING BEHAVIOR, AND INDIVIDUAL CREATIVITY , 2009 .

[80]  Terri R. Kurtzberg,et al.  Long and Short Routes to Success in Electronically Mediated Negotiations: Group Affiliations and Good Vibrations. , 1999, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[81]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  Situated Coworker Familiarity: How Site Visits Transform Relationships Among Distributed Workers , 2014, Organ. Sci..

[82]  Aimée A. Kane,et al.  Knowledge transfer between groups via personnel rotation: Effects of social identity and knowledge quality , 2005 .

[83]  C. Alderfer,et al.  Change Processes in Organizations , 1971 .

[84]  Martine R. Haas,et al.  Barriers to knowledge seeking within MNC teams: Which differences matter most? , 2015 .

[85]  John M. Levine,et al.  Minority influence in work teams: The impact of newcomers ☆ , 2004 .

[86]  Deborah G. . Ancona.  Outward Bound: Strategic for Team Survival in an Organization , 1990 .

[87]  Deborah G. . Ancona,et al.  Bridging the Boundary: External Activity and Performance in Organizational Teams. , 1992 .

[88]  Christophe Van den Bulte,et al.  The Effects of R&D Team Co-Location on Communication Patterns Among R&D, Marketing, and Manufacturing , 1998 .

[89]  Ruth Wageman,et al.  WHEN AND HOW TEAM LEADERS MATTER , 2004 .

[90]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  The Search-Transfer Problem: The Role of Weak Ties in Sharing Knowledge across Organization Subunits , 1999 .

[91]  Stephen E. Humphrey,et al.  Team Member Change, Flux in Coordination, and Performance: Effects of Strategic Core Roles, Information Transfer, and Cognitive Ability , 2012 .

[92]  Steven J. Sherman,et al.  Perceived entitativity and the social identity value of group memberships. , 1999 .

[93]  Jay B. Carson,et al.  A Multilevel Investigation of Antecedents and Consequences of Team Member Boundary-Spanning Behavior , 2007 .

[94]  Beth A. Bechky,et al.  When Collections of Creatives Become Creative Collectives: A Field Study of Problem Solving at Work , 2006, Organ. Sci..

[95]  F. Bertolotti,et al.  Exploring the relationship between multiple team membership and team performance: The role of social networks and collaborative technology , 2015 .

[96]  Aimée A. Kane.  Unlocking Knowledge Transfer Potential: Knowledge Demonstrability and Superordinate Social Identity , 2010, Organ. Sci..

[97]  Martine R. Haas,et al.  Team Innovation Cycles , 2017 .

[98]  Steven J Sherman,et al.  The central role of entitativity in stereotypes of social categories and task groups. , 2007, Journal of personality and social psychology.