Groups and Teams
Teamwork can be very important for an organization but performance within and between teams can vary a lot. Reasons for this may be caused by the behaviors of single team members or the amount of cooperation within a team. But how much does the behavior of the team members influence the individual behavior;conversely how much does the behavior of a single team member influence the performance of the entire team? Is cooperation within a teamworth it for the team members? Are there organizations focusing more on teamwork and how can they encourage their employees to behave cooperatively? In this context the organizational culture is very important because, in organizations focusing on teamwork, team incentives lead to an increased team performance. In contrast, interventions by the management can interfere with cooperative behavior and therefore do not always have a positive effect on team performance. Our research results help make teamwork and the manager’s role within a team function effectively.
References:
- Auriol, E., Friebel, G., & Pechlivanos, L. (2002). Career Concerns in Teams. Journal of Labor Economics, 20, 289-307.
- Friebel, G., & Schnedler, W . (in press). Team Governance: Empowerment or Hierarchical Control. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
- Kosfeld, M., & von Siemens, F. (2011). Competition, Cooperation, and Corporate Culture, Rand Journal of Economics, 42, 23-43.
- Kosfeld, M., & von Siemens, F. (2009). Worker Self-Selection and the Profits from Cooperation. Journal of the European Economic Association, 7, 573 – 582.
- Rustagi, D., Engel, S., & Kosfeld, M. (2010). Conditional Cooperation and Costly Monitoring Explain Success in Forest Commons Management. Science, 330, 961 – 965.
