William S. Kramer

The cognitive underpinnings of adaptive team performance in ill-defined task situations A closer look at team cognition

As the nature of work changes due to technology, organizational restructuring, and globalization, complex tasks have emerged that necessitate the use of teams. Oftentimes, teams complete tasks that have more than one plausible solution or engage in performance episodes under uncertain circumstances. Therefore, teams are called upon to be highly adaptable to these ill-defined tasks by responding to continuous changes in the task environment. We propose that dimensions of team cognition (i.e., shared mental models and transactive memory systems) help drive adaptation. In recognition of the additional cognitive demands placed upon teams who must be highly adaptable, we believe much can be gained from taking a closer look at the facets of team-level cognitive variables. The current effort aims to provide a more comprehensive explanation of emergent cognitive states, and how they interact to drive adaptive team performance, especially within the context of ill-defined problems.

The Science of Multiteam Systems A Review and Future Research Agenda

Given the complexities of today’s workplace, organizations and agencies are progressively turning toward interdependent systems comprised of teams, or multiteam systems (MTSs), to accomplish multifaceted tasks in challenging environments. Subsequently, MTSs have grown in popularity in group and team research, spanning a breath of disciplines (psychology, organizational behavior, human factors, communication, and medicine). In this review, our goal is to highlight the existing research across a range of disciplines regarding MTSs that serves to answer the question, “What do we know about MTSs?” while also developing a future research agenda aimed at answering the question, “Where does our research need to go to better understand MTSs?” We specifically highlight the current trends, dynamics, and methodological issues in MTSs to further build the foundation for improving MTS effectiveness.

Expatriate adjustment: considerations for selection and training

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to first, synthesize employee characteristics that have been shown to help expatriate adjustment into best practices that can aid in expatriate selection. Second, the authors aim to identify training design variables that can be implemented to not only increase learning and expatriate adjustment, but also to maximize the benefits of employee characteristics. Finally, the authors point out environmental factors that are often overlooked, but yet important influencing forces of expatriate adjustment. Design/methodology/approach - – PsychINFO was searched using variations of the following terms: expatriate selection and expatriate training. For the selection criteria, the authors selected articles in which cross-cultural adjustment, expatriate performance, or learning was the dependent variable. Reference sections of these articles were then cross-referenced for additional support. Authors then double-coded every article independently to record variables, study methodology, and research results. Findings - – The authors have identified cultural intelligence, learning orientation, technical KSAOs, and language skills to be the most significant antecedents of expatriate adjustment. Furthermore, the authors have found environmental factors (i.e. organizational, family, and interpersonal support) to play a crucial role in the adjustment process. The authors have also identified training factors (i.e. content, process, and elements) to be crucial, and the authors propose how these design variables further facilitate learning and adjustment. Originality/value - – This manuscript contributes to the extant expatriate adjustment literature by providing a new, integrative framework. While the individual variables explored within the paper have been examined in past research, this manuscript is the first to offer a framework which integrates them to shape future research.

#TeamLeadership: Leadership for Today’s Multicultural, Virtual, and Distributed Teams

Teams today face a vast number of challenges as they become increasingly diverse, distributed, and virtual, each of which can have its advantages and disadvantages in terms of influencing team functioning. Given these complexities, it is important to understand what factors may be able to help improve their performance and reduce the likelihood of critical errors. One proposed avenue for effectively facilitating teamwork in complex environments is that of team leadership. However, team leadership does not necessarily have to rely solely upon a single individual. Indeed, there may be multiple leaders on a team, with different members sharing leadership responsibilities or rotating leadership to ensure effectiveness, referred to as collective leadership. The purpose of the current chapter is to explore existing research as it may contribute to our understanding of how to best utilize collective team leadership as a mechanism for effectively working in the multicultural, distributed, and virtual environments of today.