Embracing Complexity: Reviewing the Past Decade of Team Effectiveness Research

John E. Mathieu; Peter T. Gallagher; Monique A. Domingo; Elizabeth A. Klock

doi:10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015106

journal article Jan 21, 2019

Embracing Complexity: Reviewing the Past Decade of Team Effectiveness Research

John E. Mathieu Peter T. Gallagher

Monique A. Domingo Elizabeth A. Klock

Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior Vol. 6 No. 1 pp. 17-46 · Annual Reviews

View at Publisher Save 10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015106

Abstract

We conceptualize organizational teams as dynamic systems evolving in response to their environments. We then review the past 10 years of team effectiveness research and summarize its implications by categorizing studies under three main overlapping and coevolving dimensions: compositional features, structural features, and mediating mechanisms. We highlight prominent work that focused on variables in each of these dimensions and discuss their key relationships with team outcomes. Furthermore, we review how contextual factors impact team effectiveness. On the basis of this review, we advocate that future research seek to examine team relationships through a dynamic, multilevel perspective, while incorporating new and novel measurement techniques. We submit that the future of teams research may benefit from a conceptualization of them as dynamic networks and modeling them as small complex systems.

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Details

Published: Jan 21, 2019
Vol/Issue: 6(1)
Pages: 17-46

Authors

J

John E. Mathieu

Management Department, School of Business, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1041, USA;, , ,

P

Peter T. Gallagher

Management Department, School of Business, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1041, USA;, , ,

M

Monique A. Domingo

Management Department, School of Business, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1041, USA;, , ,

E

Elizabeth A. Klock

Management Department, School of Business, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1041, USA;, , ,

Cite This Article

John E. Mathieu, Peter T. Gallagher, Monique A. Domingo, et al. (2019). Embracing Complexity: Reviewing the Past Decade of Team Effectiveness Research. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6(1), 17-46. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015106

Embracing Complexity: Reviewing the Past Decade of Team Effectiveness Research

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