The changing ecology of teams: New directions for teams research

TLDR

Collaboration is evolving rapidly, challenging the traditional team model defined by fixed membership, purpose, leadership, and effectiveness standards. The article argues that teams research should investigate and theorize emerging collaborative forms to gain new insights. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Summary The nature of collaboration has been changing at an accelerating pace, particularly in the last decade. Much of the published work in teams research, however, is still focused on the archetypal team that has well‐defined membership, purposes, leadership, and standards of effectiveness—all characteristics that are being altered by changes in the larger context of collaboration. Each of these features is worth attention as a dynamic construct in its own right. This article explores what the teams research community has to gain by researching, theorizing, and understanding the many new forms of contemporary collaboration. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.