Search results

The purpose of this paper is to describe the perception of real teamwork and sustainable quality culture as well as success factors for achieving a sustainable quality culture within an organisation, focusing on top management teams (TMTs). An additional purpose is to explore the relationship between real teamwork and sustainable quality culture.

A mixed-methods design focusing on TMTs was used. Four TMTs were open-sampled and located in different parts of Sweden. The data were collected through questionnaires and focus group discussions between April 2022 and December 2022. Follow-up meetings were thereafter held with the participants. A meta-analysis was conducted of the data from the four TMTs.

Two overarching conclusions of this study were: to follow the developed methodology can be one way to increase TMTs' abilities for real teamwork alongside a sustainable quality culture, and the results also showed the importance of a systems view, emotional commitment and continuous improvement for improving real teamwork and creating a sustainable quality culture.

Practical implications were suggestions on how to increase the TMTs' abilities for real teamwork alongside a sustainable quality culture. A deepened understanding of real teamwork and a sustainable quality culture was also achieved by the participants.

The novelty of this paper is the use of a new methodology for assessing teamwork and sustainable quality culture. To the authors' knowledge, no similar research has previously been performed to investigate teamwork alongside a sustainable quality culture, focusing on TMTs.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between individuals' preference for teamwork and communities of practice (CoPs) mediated by individuals' concern for team members built from the perspective of social learning system for knowledge sharing and learning. A cross-sectional study with data collected from the respondents through a convenience, non-random, non-probability sampling technique was employed in this research. The data of 240 were collected from the respondents belonging to manufacturing and service organizations in India and analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and PROCESS macro from Hayes with bootstrapping technique. The findings from the analysis showed a positive relationship between individuals' preference for teamwork and CoPs, while concern for team members mediated the relationship between preference for teamwork and CoPs. When employees prefer to work in teams, they positively consider participating in CoPs. Thus, organizations should strategically formulate conditions for employees to enable them to prefer working in teams and groups so that they collaborate as CoPs for knowledge creation, sharing and learning. Such learning through CoPs can pave the way for skill development and high-quality performance, thereby evolving as a framework for human capital development. This chapter provides an understanding of the relationship between individual employees' preference for teamwork and CoPs, mediated by individuals' concern for team members in an Indian context. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, along with limitations and future research direction.

In many contemporary service organizations, service teams or service units are the main engines used to deliver key services to customers, client or patients. However, it remains unclear how teamwork mechanisms (i.e. the ways team members work together) influence customer service outcomes, and whether these relationships vary across different service contexts. To advance knowledge on the nature of teamwork in service teams and to set an agenda for further work in this area, there is a need to integrate and synthesize findings across the diverse literature on service teamwork. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objectives.

Using a meta-analytic approach, the authors analyzed a substantial pool of relevant effect sizes (a total of 372 effect sizes from 82 studies, with 14,291 service teams/units) to examine the effects of affective, behavioral, cognitive, motivational as well as perceptual teamwork mechanisms on customer service outcomes. The authors also investigated two key service context variables (service climate and service type) as boundary conditions on these effects.

The authors found that cognitive teamwork mechanisms were more strongly positively associated with customer evaluative outcomes than other mechanisms, whereas motivational and perceptual teamwork mechanisms had stronger associations with financial outcomes. Further, four of the five teamwork mechanisms demonstrated stronger correlations under a high service climate. The strength of the correlations between the teamwork mechanisms and customer service outcomes also exhibited different patterns when considered for different service types.

As with all meta-analysis, the quality of the primary studies influences the quality of the insights obtained from summarized effects. As most studies are cross-sectional design, the relationships examined in this paper cannot be interpreted causally. The authors cannot rule out the possibility of reverse causality, for example, reciprocal effects of customer service outcomes on teamwork dynamics due to the reciprocal feedback loop between customers and service providers.

The results hold important practical implications for enhancing customer evaluation and financial performance. First, the overall findings point to the need for employers to emphasize on certain types of teamwork training in order to encourage employee collaboration within service teams. For instance, service organizations could plan team building activities for service teams to promote trust, strengthen interpersonal bonds and improve problem-solving.

The results of this study provide an integration of previous research on service teamwork and fill two important gaps in the knowledge: (1) which aspect of teamwork is more important in determining customer service outcomes? And (2) does the effect of teamwork on customer service outcomes differ across different service contexts?

The study aims to examine the mediating effect of psychological well-being (PWB) on the relationship between teamwork skills and student engagement (SE) in higher education institutional setups.

The study used a triangulation mixed-methods approach. Data were collected from final-year students pursuing post-graduation and graduation in private colleges in India. In the main study, quantitative data was gathered from 276 students through a survey. The relationship among the variables-teamwork skills, SE and PWB was empirically validated through path analysis; mediation was also conducted. In the auxiliary study, qualitative data was gathered through focus group sessions and was analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results depicted that teamwork skills positively predict students' engagement with their academic program. Additionally, PWB partially mediates the relationship between teamwork skills and SE.

The study was conducted to expand understanding of aspects related to promoting students' engagement in HEIs in Delhi and Haryana through being attentive toward teamwork skills development and through taking care of students' PWB.

Drawing on goal-setting theory and team effectiveness theory, the study aims to examine the impact of agile taskwork and agile teamwork on team performance. In addition, it investigates the mediating effect of project commitment on the impact of agile taskwork and agile teamwork on team performance. Furthermore, the study also tests the moderating role of career level on the impact of agile taskwork and agile teamwork on team performance.

Survey data were collected from 563 employees working in 290 information technology (IT) companies in India using a self-reporting structured questionnaire. Partial least squares path modeling was used to test the hypothesized model, and the Process macro was used to test the moderating effect.

The results show that agile taskwork and agile teamwork positively affect team performance and project commitment, and project commitment positively impacts team performance. Furthermore, project commitment fully mediates the relationship between agile taskwork and team performance and partially mediates the relationship between agile teamwork and team performance. Furthermore, the career level negatively moderates the impact of agile taskwork and agile teamwork on team performance.

The study shows the importance of agile work practices and project commitment to enhance team performance. Thus, the study provides managers with two strategies to improve their team performance.

There is a scarcity of research examining the distinct effects of agile taskwork and agile teamwork on team performance and the mediating role of project commitment in these relationships. Furthermore, as per the empirical evidence, no previous research has empirically examined the moderating role of career level in the agile taskwork-team performance and agile teamwork-team performance relationships.

This paper systematically reviewed research work on drivers of teamwork, which will reinforce construction work teams to enhance workers’ safety performance. This study adds to the existing but limited understanding of teamwork drivers on construction workers’ safety performance. This paper presents scholars and industry-based professionals with critical initiatives that have to be implemented in organisations to get positive results in safety while working in teams with an emphasis on systems drivers of teamwork on safety performance at the organisational level, which will help in providing information on the functioning of the teams and contribute towards improved safety performance of team workers.

This study aims to systematically examine the existing body of knowledge on drivers of teamwork by analysing 53 publications from the years 1997–2021. The Scopus search engine was used to conduct a systematic review and germane publications were collated.

According to the findings of the review, since 1997, there has been a burgeoning concern in the research of drivers of teamwork and its impact on workers’ safety performance. After performing a systematic review, 37 drivers of teamwork were identified. The top five drivers are effective communications, team workers’ relations, leadership, shared knowledge and information, and team training. Moreover, it was noted that the United States and Australia have been the international regions of focus for most of the research in the area of drivers of teamwork from the years 1997–2021. The 37 drivers of teamwork are distributed into six major socio-technical components: people drivers; culture drivers; metrics drivers; organisational and management practices and procedures drivers; infrastructure drivers and technology drivers.

The results reported present research scholars and professional practitioners with an overview of the drivers of teamwork that could be implemented in the construction industry to streamline potential implementations and improve safety performance of construction workers.

A list of teamwork drivers has been developed to ratify potential empirical research in the area of construction safety. The results would contribute to the existing but restricted understanding of drivers of teamwork in the construction industry.

The purpose was to present a developed, tested and evaluated methodology for assessing teamwork and sustainable quality culture, focusing on top management teams (TMTs).

The developed methodology was based on a convergent mixed-method design, including two data collection methods: questionnaire and focus group discussion. Two pilot tests were performed with two TMTs. This design involved analysing, merging and interpreting data, first separately by data collection method and theme and then in a meta-interpretation. Lastly, there was a follow-up meeting for evaluating results.

Findings from the study were that the methodology can be used to assess teamwork and sustainable quality culture, and the results also showed the strength of using two data collection methods to provide a broader picture of teamwork and sustainable quality culture. A follow-up meeting validated the results and provided additional value to the two TMTs in the form of suggestions on how to improve their teamwork and sustainable quality culture.

Applying this methodology can guide TMTs in how to improve their teamwork and sustainable quality culture within their organisations.

This is a new methodology, containing a developed questionnaire and an interview guide, aiming to assess and evaluate teamwork within TMTs and sustainable quality culture. The practice of the methodology adds value to both TMTs and their organisations, as well as provides a theoretical and methodological contribution to research on teamwork and sustainable quality culture.

Teamwork is necessary for engineering to address today’s complex challenges. Therefore, team members must improve their teamwork competencies for more significant team development and effectiveness. This study aimed to analyze how a non-directive coaching intervention model for an entire team influences the individual team members’ teamwork competencies.

Action research was used in this study with a quasi-experimental design featuring control and experimental groups comprising final-year engineering students from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The sample included 168 students, with 132 in the control group and 36 in the experimental group. The experimental group underwent a non-directive team coaching intervention involving three sessions. Competencies were evaluated using the teamwork competency test (TWCT), administered at the course’s beginning and end to measure progress.

The results show that the individuals who participated in the team coaching significantly increased their competencies, particularly “conflict resolution” and “feedback.”

This study’s value contributes to identifying the positive impacts of non-directive team coaching interventions on individual teamwork competencies, fostering collaborative skills and supporting collective goals.

This study aims to examine the impact of two dimensions of agile work practices (i.e. agile taskwork and agile teamwork) on team efficacy and creativity. Further, it examines the mediating effect of team efficacy in the relationship between two dimensions of agile work practices and team creativity.

The data were collected from 563 professionals working in 290 information technology (IT) companies in India using a self-reporting structured questionnaire. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypothesized model.

The results demonstrate that agile taskwork and agile teamwork positively impact team creativity and team efficacy, and team efficacy positively impacts team creativity. Furthermore, team efficacy partially mediates the impact of agile taskwork and agile teamwork on team creativity.

This study shows the importance of agile work practices and team efficacy to enhance team creativity. The research offers managers strategies to boost team creativity.

There is a dearth of research examining the distinct effects of agile taskwork and agile teamwork on team efficacy and team creativity. Also, this study is one of its kind that examines the mediating mechanisms that explain the effect of agile taskwork and agile teamwork on team creativity.

This study aims to examine emotional intelligence (EI) and organizational communication as predictors of teamwork effectiveness among bank employees in Nigeria. The Nigerian banking industry suffered financial crisis, leading to depression, following inability to meet standards of the regulatory body. With current emphasis on teamwork for business growth, literatures suggest EI and organizational communication as predictors for teamwork effectiveness.

A cross-sectional survey of 230 bank employees, selected through multistage sampling, using a valid and reliable structured questionnaire that incorporated all research variables was used for data collection. A questionnaire containing the research scales was administered and data were collected.

Positive relationship was established between perceived teamwork effectiveness and components of EI, including self-emotion appraisal, other’s emotion appraisal (OEA), actual use of emotion and regulation of emotion (ROE) and perceived organizational communication effectiveness. Hierarchical regression analysis reveals that age, gender, job status and educational qualification jointly predicted teamwork effectiveness, although only educational qualification contributed significantly. The inclusion of EI dimensions showed that only OEA, actual use of emotion and ROE were significant predictors, along with organizational communication.

Data collected were based on self-report of the participants. It is advised that more objective measures could be devised. The findings are limited to the banking industry and cannot be generalized to other work organizations. The research was conducted in Nigeria, a developing country; thus, the findings may not be generalized to the developed nations.

Educational factor could be applied in engaging team members. On the alternative, commercial banks should invest in periodic training programs to enhance employee communication skills and EI. Human resources personnel could use these research outcomes to enhance the selection and placement of employees in commercial banks. By these research findings the adequacies of some psychological theories in explaining team effectiveness have been empirically implicated, and the literature on team effectiveness has been increased. Consequently, commercial banks should invest in periodic training programs to enhance employee communication skills and EI, and use these findings to enhance selection and placement in Nigerian banks. It is evident from the results of the present study that the more educated team members are the more likely their teams would be effective in the teamwork. However, periodic training (both off the job and on the job) on EI and its pertinent dimensions, and adoption of appropriate communication styles, could be used to compliment educational deficiencies. Thus, the less educated persons could function adequately in teams if they receive the empowerment. The human resources managers are to note that new bank employees would be better team players when there are adequate orientated on programs on how towards effective to communicate at teamwork functions.

It is evident from these research findings that EI and appropriate organizational communication are behavioral tools that could enhance team interaction and consequently improve team effectiveness.

It is revealed how teams could be made effective through the combined factors of EI and organizational communication, especially among bank employees in Nigeria. Unlike some other studies, this research discovered the specific EI factors that could enhance team effectiveness, not just general EI. It empirically validated some theories that are proposed in relation to EI and organizational communication. This study showcased how teams could be made more effective in the banking sector of the Nigerian economy.