Theoretical and Measurement Issues for Studies of Collective Orientation in Team Contexts

Abstract

A review of past studies of team member collective orientations suggests that further research is needed to improve some theoretical and empirical issues. The main arguments of this article are that first, team members’ collective orientations may be multidimensional. From this perspective, vertical and horizontal dimensions of idiocentrism and allocentrism, individualism and collectivism at the individual level, are discussed. Second, team members’ collective orientation may conditionally change in different types of teams and should be conceptualized and measured in the specific context of teamwork. Finally, it is proposed that different measures of team members’collective orientations at the team level should be used depending on the nature of team tasks.