KNOWLEDGE WORKER TEAM EFFECTIVENESS: THE ROLE OF AUTONOMY, INTERDEPENDENCE, TEAM DEVELOPMENT, AND CONTEXTUAL SUPPORT VARIABLES

TLDR

The study examined how autonomy, interdependence, team development, and process and contextual support variables influence the effectiveness of knowledge‑worker teams. The authors surveyed 231 knowledge workers in 27 teams, collecting data on design, process, and contextual factors and assessing effectiveness through stakeholder evaluations and self‑reported attitudinal outcomes. Results show that interactions among design, process, and contextual support factors shape team effectiveness: autonomy’s positive effect on motivation is weakened by interdependence and varies by autonomy type, motivation’s link to process behaviors is stronger in developmentally mature teams, and process behaviors boost effectiveness more when goals are high‑quality and information transmission efficient, but less so under feedback and time pressure.

Abstract

This study investigated how autonomy, interdependence, and team development, along with process and contextual support variables, were related to the effectiveness of teams of “knowledge workers.” The sample included 231 knowledge workers from 27 work teams. Team members completed surveys measuring the design, process, and contextual factors. Effectiveness measures included multiple key stakeholder evaluations of team performance and self‐report measures of attitudinal outcomes. The results suggest that interactions among design, process, and contextual support factors have important implications for team effectiveness. In particular, the positive relationship between team autonomy and team job motivation was reduced as teams worked under more interdependent conditions. This interaction effect also varied across the types of autonomy (e.g., planning‐related, product‐related, and people‐related) the team was given. Results also demonstrated that the relationship between job motivation and team process behaviors (helping, sharing, and innovating) was more positive in teams who were developmental mature. Process behaviors were positively related to effectiveness, but those relationships became more positive in the presence of certain contextual factors (high‐quality goals and efficient information transmission), and less positive in the presence of others (feedback and time pressure). Future research needs and practical implications of these results are discussed.