A Multiple-Goal, Multilevel Model of Feedback Effects on the Regulation of Individual and Team Performance.

TLDR

When working in teams, individuals allocate resources between personal and team goals, and feedback on progress toward these goals can influence such allocation. The study develops a multilevel, multiple‑goal model of how individuals and teams regulate resource allocation between personal and collective goals, and tests predictions about the influence of performance feedback. The model was tested with 237 participants randomly assigned to 79 three‑person teams that completed a simulated radar task demanding teamwork. Empirical results confirm the model and show that feedback shapes resource allocation when individuals pursue both individual and team goals.

Abstract

When working as a member of a team, individuals must make decisions concerning the allocation of resources (e.g., effort) toward individual goals and team goals. As a result, individual and team goals, and feedback related to progress toward these goals, should be potent levers for affecting resource allocation decisions. This research develops a multilevel, multiple-goal model of individual and team regulatory processes that affect the allocation of resources across individual and team goals resulting in individual and team performance. On the basis of this model, predictions concerning the impact of individual and team performance feedback are examined empirically to evaluate the model and to understand the influence of feedback on regulatory processes and resource allocation. Two hundred thirty-seven participants were randomly formed into 79 teams of 3 that performed a simulated radar task that required teamwork. Results support the model and the predicted role of feedback in affecting the allocation of resources when individuals strive to accomplish both individual and team goals.