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Volvo's car assembly plant in Ghent, Belgium, is currently experiencing turbulent times. The plant is implementing the biggest expansion in its history, with plans to almost double its production capacity in 2004. Moreover, Ford is increasingly consolidating its position as the new owner of Volvo. Both developments are challenging the distinctive model of teamwork that Volvo‐Ghent has established over the last decade. This paper assesses the challenges presented by these two developments and the possible outcomes in terms of teamwork at Volvo‐Ghent. This assessment relies on a combination of theories of team structure and team processes.

To assess how team working processes at the Volvo‐Ghent car plant in Belgium could evolve following the purchase of Volvo by Ford and the intention to vastly increase production from the year 2004.

Doctoral research on work organization in Belgian car assembly plants, an assignment of the Flemish government to provide scientific back‐up for a “round table” on the car assembly industry, and an interview with a key respondent, responsible for personnel relations in the case study plant.

They discuss the challenge to the Belgian car plant's distinctive model of teamwork, which it has established over the last decade, by its biggest‐ever expansion (plans to double its production capacity in 2004) and by the new ownership of Ford. The explanations and descriptions of the effectiveness of various teamwork models are given in considerable textual and diagrammatic detail, and are applied to an assessment of the sustainability of team working at the Ghent plant.

The extent to which the plant is able to limit regression of the teams on the process dimension is crucial for upholding its structurally progressed “third way” in teamwork within the Ford group.

The explanations and descriptions of the effectiveness of various teamwork models are given in considerable textual and diagrammatic detail, and are applied to an assessment of the sustainability of team working at the Ghent plant.

Teams, teamwork and team learning have been the subject of many research studies over the last decades. This article aims at investigating and confirming the Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours (TLB&B) model within a very specific population, i.e. police and firemen teams. Within this context, the paper asks whether the team's beliefs about the interpersonal context and the occurrence of three team learning behaviours (construction, co‐construction and constructive conflict) play a role in building and maintaining mutually shared cognition in a collaborative learning environment leading to a higher effectiveness. Self‐efficacy was added to the original model. Furthermore, the effect of team meeting frequency on the TLB&B model was investigated.

All constructs were measured using the validated Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours Questionnaire completed with the self‐efficacy scale. Data were collected from 126 teams (n_individuals=769) and analysed using stepwise multi‐level regression analyses and analyses of variance.

The results show that the examined model generally applies to the data. Furthermore, self‐efficacy was found to be a valuable addition to the model.

This article validates an existing team learning model in a new context, namely that of response teams. Furthermore, it adds self‐efficacy as a predictor for team learning behaviours and team effectiveness. A multilevel‐approach was used as a valuable alternative of aggregating individual perceptions to team constructs.