Myung Un Kim

The Organizational Application of Groupthink and Its Limitations in Organizations

This study examined groupthink and team activities in 30 organizational teams faced with impending crises. The results show that the groupthink symptoms consisted of 2 factors. Surprisingly, 1 factor of groupthink was significantly and positively related to team performance, whereas the other showed an insignificant negative correlation to performance. Moreover, the symptoms of detective decision making were not significant predictors of team performance. Overall, team activities had a stronger impact on performance than groupthink. The results imply that groupthink may have an indirect effect on performance mediated by team activities. This study demonstrates the potential positive implications of groupthink in organizational teams and raises a question about the empirical coherence of groupthink as a phenomenon.