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Meetings can serve the important role of facilitating communication and coordination for systems of teams known as “multiteam systems” (MTSs) that work interdependently to achieve grand societal challenges. Given that MTSs often appear in complex, ambiguous, urgent, and multifaceted task contexts, the MTSs require effective, and efficient but thorough, communication within and between teams in order to achieve shared goals. However, the extant literature regarding the science of meetings has left much to be explored in regard to the inter- and intrateam influences and impacts. This chapter considers the significance of meetings and their practical value in facilitating MTS processes and performance by leveraging what is known thus far regarding MTS structural attributes, their value, their challenges, and opportunities, integrating this foundation with the broader science of meetings. Building on this rationale, the authors move toward empirically and theoretically derived considerations for how meetings may best be designed, facilitated and utilized for MTS effectiveness, as guided by our current understanding of critical MTS attributes.

Multiteam systems (MTSs) have been employed across numerous organizations and occupations (e.g., healthcare, emergency disaster response, business, and military) to achieve complex goals over time. As MTSs are inherently different than team level and organizational level theories, this chapter highlights the defining features of these dynamic systems through a temporal lens. Thus, the main purpose of our chapter is to address the challenges and issues concerning MTSs over time in order to provide a future agenda to guide researchers and practitioners.

To explore temporality throughout this chapter, we leverage two key MTSs frameworks along with contributions from the literature to produce a review, which demonstrates the extent of MTS theoretical and practical findings. After reviewing the definitional components of MTSs, we highlight various compositional, linkage, and developmental attributes that operate within a system. We then expand upon these attributes to consider the structural features of the system that enhance boundaries between component teams (i.e., differentiation) and may disrupt the system over time (i.e., dynamism).

After reviewing and integrating current MTS literature, we provide a new conceptual framework for MTSs and their temporal complexities. We offer several methodologies that managers and researchers can employ to assess these complex systems and suggest practical recommendations and areas for future research as we continue to study MTSs.

Our original conceptual framework considers MTSs through a dynamic lens developing over time and suggests the need for future research to build upon this perspective.

Multiteam systems (MTSs) comprise much of the financial corporate landscape. However, little is known about these MTSs regarding formation, goal setting, daily operation, and maintenance. In order to learn more about the ways in which these MTSs might operate and the tasks they may be charged with, the authors interviewed professionals from the financial industry.

The current chapter presents a case study analysis based on information gathered from these interviews and proposes directions for future research efforts.

The information gathered suggests that there is much opportunity for MTS research in the corporate sector, particularly in the financial services industry. Information from the case study also suggests that individual differences can hinder group process and organizational change.

This chapter contributes to the literature on MTSs by discussing multiteam situations as they relate to executive management, higher-level leadership, and organizational change in a particular financial services company.

Although the practice of multiteam systems (MTSs) has been around for decades, the science of these systems has only just begun. Within the past decade and a half, although much remains to be investigated, substantial progress has been made in breaking the surface of this research. The current volume provides a review of MTS case studies and the current chapter provides a synopsis of this research. The goal of this chapter is to identify how MTSs are operating under real-world conditions in order to bridge MTS science and practice.

In this chapter, the authors provide a case analysis of the presented MTSs in the current volume in order to identify issues innate to MTSs. An approach based on the SWOT analysis technique was utilized to identify strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of the identified MTSs. In addition, six lessons learned were extracted from a content analysis of the successes and failures of these MTSs.

Although MTSs may be unique to the environment in which they operate, there are several features which seem to be inherent to all. Strengths include possessing the ability to manage complex tasks and unexpected events, being flexible in nature, and integrating communication across levels. In opposition, weaknesses include the use of nontraditional communication patterns, challenges stemming from unit diversity and resources, and the lack of common training. Lessons learned from identified MTSs include (1) utilize effective communication; (2) establish shared mental models; (3) identify roles and responsibilities; (4) convey accountability and ownership; (5) consider the ramp-up period; and (6) train individuals in an MTS at multiple levels. Opportunities and threats to MTSs are also discussed in this chapter.

This chapter offers several contributions to the state of the field in regard to MTSs. The current chapter provides a detailed content analysis of several real-world MTSs. Characteristics inherent to MTSs are identified and discussed, and lessons learned are extracted. Traditionally, science and practice has focused on the presentation of lab-based MTSs; the current volume breaks new ground by identifying how MTSs operate “in the wild.” This chapter provides a summation of this volume and offers lessons learned for MTS researchers and those working within MTSs.

As work demands have become increasingly complex, organizations and agencies are progressively turning toward larger systems comprised of teams, or multiteam systems (MTSs), to accomplish multifaceted tasks in challenging environments. Today, many organizations require these complex systems in order to achieve the dynamic goals that are required of our ever-changing world. Subsequently, MTSs have become a growing area of interest in organizational research, primarily due to their increasing prominence in organizational settings.

In this introductory chapter, our goal is to highlight a selection of existing research regarding MTSs that serves to answer the question, “What do we know about MTSs?” while also setting up the question that serves as a recurrent theme throughout this volume, “Where does our research need to go in order to better serve MTSs in practice?”

While there has been a great advancement in the area of MTSs in recent years, there is still much to be explored in terms of the challenges and opportunities that MTSs afford in practice.

It is the goal of this chapter that we will set the stage for readers interested in identifying the current trends, dynamics, and issues in MTSs in the real world for the purposes of both expanding our research and theory on MTSs as well as further building the foundation for improving their development, implementation, and effectiveness “in the wild.”