Smaranda Boroş

The Effects of Groups' Variety and Disparity on Groups' Cognitive Complexity

This study examined the influence of group diversity conceptualized as disparity and as variety on group cognitive complexity. Data on individual cognitive complexity and group cognitive complexity were collected in 44 groups using a conceptual mapping technique. Also data on the quality of teamwork processes and satisfaction were collected using an individual questionnaire. The results indicate that (a) gender variety has a positive impact on group cognitive complexity, (b) cognitive disparity has a negative impact on group cognitive complexity, and (c) groups with a high average individual cognitive complexity have the highest cognitive complexity as a group only if the quality of their interactions is high.

It's Only Temporary: Time Frame and the Dynamics of Creative Project Teams

The success of many knowledge-intensive industries depends on creative projects that lie at the heart of their logic of production. The temporality of such projects, however, is an issue that is insufficiently understood. To address this, we study the perceived time frame of teams that work on creative projects and its effects on project dynamics. An experiment with 267 managers assigned to creative project teams with varying time frames demonstrates that compared to creative project teams with a relatively longer time frame, project teams with a shorter time frame focus more on the immediate present, are less immersed in their task, and utilize a more heuristic mode of information processing. Furthermore, we find that time frame moderates the negative effect of team conflict on team cohesion. These results are consistent with our theory that the temporary nature of creative projects shapes different time frames among project participants, and that it is this time frame that is an important predictor of task and team processes.

The magic of collective emotional intelligence in learning groups: No guys needed for the spell!

Using a cross-lagged design, the present study tests an integrative model of emergent collective emotions in learning groups. Our results indicate that the percentage of women in the group fosters the emergence of collective emotional intelligence, which in turn stimulates social integration within groups (increases group cohesion and reduces relationship conflict) and the associated affective similarity, with beneficial effects for group effectiveness.

An exploratory study into organizational repatriates’ emotional support network

This qualitative study explores characteristics of repatriates’ emotional support providers. Although most scholars agree on the importance of support for ex/repatriates’ well-being, the sources of repatriates’ emotional support – that is, their emotional support network – remain largely unexplored. Analyses of 27 semi-structured in-depth interviews with organizational repatriates suggest that expat/adjustment empathy is a key attribute of organizational repatriates’ main emotional support providers. Analyses suggest that not only people who went abroad themselves are perceived as ‘expat-emphatic’ but also people who came to visit or people that are considering going abroad themselves. Next to this, results show that although partners are a main source of emotional support upon re-entry, they are at the same time important causes of distress as well. Finally, the results suggest that the cultural diversity of repatriates’ emotional support network is linked with characteristics of the assignment and that it impacts their re-entry experiences. This study adds to the understanding of repatriates’ emotional support networks generally and contributes to the IHRM literature by developing practical implications based on these new insights –such as, the possible benefits of spouse management or encouraging expatriates to invite home country friends when living abroad.

Networks in professional groups: a matter of connection or self-exile?

Purpose Integrating predictions of social exchange theory and implicit social cognition, this paper aims to investigate mechanisms of co-evolution between professional and personal support networks in a professional, non-hierarchical setting. Design/methodology/approach The study covers simultaneously people’s behaviours and their subjective interpretations of them in a cross-lagged network design in a group of 65 MBA students. Findings Results show that people build on their professional support network to develop personal support relations. People who have a high status in the professional support network appear to be afraid to lose them by asking too many others for personal support and people with a low status in the professional support network seem also be reluctant to ask many others for personal support. Practical implications Although personal support is a key social mechanism facilitating individual well-being and organizational success, support in the workplace often remains limited to professional topics. This research shows why people hesitate to expand their networks in professional settings and to what extent their fears have a basis in reality. Originality/value It goes beyond predictions of social exchange theory which inform most network evolution studies and tap into implicit social cognition predictions to expand the explanatory power of the hypotheses. The study’s network analysis takes into account both behaviours and social perceptions. The sample is a non-hierarchical professional group which allows a more ecological observation of how hierarchies are born in social groups.