|
|
Exchange and Cooperation: A Meta-analysis of the Effect of Transactive Memory System on Team Effectiveness |
Su Tao,Deng Silu,Xie Hong,Chen Xiude,Ma Wencong |
(School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China) |
|
|
Abstract The transactive memory system (TMS) has been prominent and popular in the current management practice. It is beneficial for teams to release individual memory burden, improve the utilization efficiency of team members' knowledge and skills, enhance team knowledge sharing ability, and obtain team efficacy (TE). Quite a lot of scholars in various fields have paid more attention to its effectiveness. It is of both practical and theoretical significance to systematically clarify the influence mechanisms and boundary conditions of TMS.#br#Despite of the fruitful results achieved on the impact of TMS on TE, there are still four shortcomings generally. First, the conclusion of the influence mechanisms of TMS on team effectiveness has not been drawn. Second, the existing research results mainly focus on team performance, and the variables involved are too scattered. Third, there is a lack of meta-analysis to test the discriminant validity of TMS in three dimensions. Finally, its boundary conditions are still unclear. Therefore, this paper uses the meta-analysis method to clarify the issues listed above, which is helpful to bridge the differences with existing conclusions and promote the research on the effectiveness of TMS.#br#According to the social cognition theory (SCT), individual behavior acts as a moderator between him/her and the corresponding environment. While his/her behavior changes the environment, the environment also guides the individual behavior. Actually, the effect of TMS is the result of the individual social cognition continuously. Under the influence of TMS, members strengthen their own cognition and improve the self system, which make it possible for their team to efficiently achieve the goals.#br#Following the SCT, this study conducts a periodical meta-analytic examination on the effectiveness of TMS using 97 empirical studies, with 300 effect sizes and 50 903 independent samples. Schmidt and Hunter’s psychometric meta-analysis method is used to calculate the estimates reported in the above literature. This method estimates what the results would have been had if all the studies were conducted without methodological limitations or flaws. In this study, the meta-analysis operation mainly incorporates publication bias analysis, main effect analysis and moderator analysis.#br#In the first part, the study systematically evaluates transactive memory system′s effectiveness, and compares its different promotion effects on team behavior, team performance and team emotion. Periodical conclusions with less second-order sampling error are gained by main effect analysis from meta-analytic examination. TMS is found to promote TE. Specifically, its impact on team behavior comes first while it exerts the similar promoting effects on team performance and team affect.In the second part, the discriminant validity of the three-dimension structure of expertise-credibility-coordination of TMS are checked and their different effects on TE are also explored. The three-dimension structure is verified to possess enough discriminative validity. The effects of credibility and coordination dimensions on TE are similar and stronger than that of expertise dimension.In the third part, it also examines the moderating effects of 4 potential factors, including the regional culture (macro level), organization type (middle level), team size (micro level) and measurement tool (measurement level), on the relationship between team transactive memory system and TE. They are proved to play a role. It indicates that TMS exerties stronger positive effects when teams are in the Confucian culture context (compared with in the Anglo-Saxon culture context) or in high-tech enterprises (compared with low-tech enterprises),or belong to small groups (compared with in large groups).#br#This paper contributes to the existing literature in the following three aspects. First, it systematically summarizes the effects of TMS on team effectiveness, and forms an overall framework for summarizing the effects, theoretical basis, measurement methods and moderating variables on team effectiveness. Second, more reliable results show that the division of expertise-credibility-coordination dimensions has good discriminative validity. What′s more, credibility and coordination have stronger correlations with TE. Third, the moderating effects of the region culture (macro level), organization type (middle level), team size (micro level) and measurement tool (measurement level) on the team effectiveness of TMS are clarified, which make it possible to describe the internal mechanisms of TMS.#br#The practical implications are finally discussed. First, managers can stimulate TE building TMS. Second, when building TMS, it is more effective to create the team atmosphere of credibility and coordination compared with emphasizing the expertise of members. Third, for those small groups embedded in Chinese high-tech enterprises, the construction of TMS should be paid more attention for the TMS can exert more positive influence on teams.#br#
|
Received: 20 June 2022
|
|
|
|
|
[1] WEGNER D M, SCHNEIDER D J, CARTER S R, et al. Paradoxical effects of thought suppression[J]. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1987,53(1):5-13. [2] HE H, HU Y. The dynamic impacts of shared leadership and the transactive memory system on team performance: a longitudinal study[J]. Journal of Business Research, 2021,130(1):14-26.[3] LEWIS K. Measuring transactive memory systems in the field: scale development and validation[J]. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2003,88(4):587-604.[4] 陈伟,杨早立,朗益夫. 团队断裂带对团队效能影响的实证研究——关系型领导行为的调节与团队交互记忆系统的中介[J]. 管理评论, 2015,27(4):99-110,121.[5] 李柏洲,董恒敏. 团队自省性对团队知识共享能力影响机理研究——交互记忆系统的中介效应与社会资本的调节效应[J]. 科技进步与对策,2017,34(15):120-126.[6] 曲刚,王晓宇,赵汉. 社会网络情境下团队交互记忆系统与团队绩效关系研究[J]. 管理评论,2020,32(12):168-179. [7] ARIFF M I M, SHARMA R, MILTON S K, et al. Modeling the effect of task interdependence on the relationship between transactive memory systems (TMS) quality and team performance[C]. International Conference on Research and Innovation in Information Systems (ICRIIS 13), 2013.[8] AHSAN A, WANG H, KHAN A N, et al. Exploring the knowledge-focused role of interdependent members on team creative performance[J]. Asian Business & Management, 2019,18(2):98-121.[9] KOHN H L.Transactive memory systems in virtual teams: opportunities post COVID-19[J]. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2021,14(1-2):274-276.[10] RANDALL K.The effects of psychological safety, team efficacy, and transactive memory system development on team learning behavior in virtual work teams[D]. University of Minnesota,2016.[11] MORELAND R L, ARGOTE L. Transactive memory in dynamic organizations[J]. Leading and Managing People in the Dynamic Organization, 2003,6(5):135-162.[12] MATHIEU J, MAYNARD M T, RAPP T, et al. Team effectiveness 1997-2007: a review of recent advancements and a glimpse into the future [J]. Journal of Management, 2008,34(3):410-476.[13] COHEN S G, BAILEY D E. What makes teams work: group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suite[J]. Journal of Management, 1997,23(3):239-290.[14] 苗仁涛,西楠,曹毅. 高绩效工作系统对团队绩效的影响——团队内、外部社会资本的双中介模型[J]. 经济管理, 2021,43(1):124-140.[15] 张志学, PAUL S H,韩玉兰,等. 高技术工作团队的团队交互记忆系统及其效果[J].心理学报, 2006,38(2):271-280.[16] WANG Y, HUANG Q, DAVISON R M, et al. Effect of transactive memory systems on team performance mediated by knowledge transfer[J]. International Journal of Information Management, 2018,41(4):65-79.[17] ROUNDY P T. The wisdom of ecosystems: a transactive memory theory of knowledge management in entrepreneurial ecosystems[J]. Knowledge and Process Management, 2020,27(3):234-247.[18] BACHRACH D G, MULLINS R. A dual-process contingency model of leadership, transactive memory systems and team performance[J]. Journal of Business Research, 2019,96(3):297-308.[19] YANG J. Career counseling of Chinese American women: are they in Limbo[J]. The Career Development Quarterly, 1991,39(4):350-359.[20] BAKAN D. The duality of human existence: an essay on psychology and religion[M]. Oxford: England, 1966.[21] 刘璞,井润田. 中外合资企业的跨文化冲突研究[J]. 管理学报, 2006,3(1):113-116.[22] BERNERTH J B, AGUINIS H. A critical review and best-practice recommendations for control variable usage[J]. Personnel Psychology, 2016,69(1):229-283.[23] REAGANS R,MIRON-SPEKTOR E,ARGOTE L.Knowledge utilization, coordination, and team performance[J]. Organization Science, 2016,27(5):1108-1124.[24] AUSTIN J R. Transactive memory in organizational groups: the effects of content, consensus, specialization, and accuracy on group performance[J]. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2003,88(5):866-878.[25] VEN A V D, DELBECQ A, KOENIG R. Determinants of coordination modes within organizations[J]. American Sociological Review, 1976,41(2):322-338.[26] REAGANS R, MCEVILY B. Network structure and knowledge transfer: the effects of cohesion and range[J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2003,48(2):240-267.[27] SCHMIDT F L, HUNTER J E. Methods of meta-analysis: correcting error and bias in research findings[M]. London: Sage, 2004. [28] 牛冲槐,王燕妮,郭丽芳. 中西文化差异对科技型人才聚集效应的影响分析[J]. 管理学报, 2009,6(6):776-780. |
|
|
|