Does Team Size Matter? A Study of the Impact of Team Size on the Transactive Memory System and Performance of IT Sector Teams

Abstract

Recent studies have shown the effect of transactive memory system on team performance. However, much is not known about the role of team context on Transactive Memory System (TMS) and its relationship with team performance. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of team size on TMS and team performance and their interrelationships. A sample of 60 teams of various sizes was selected randomly from Information and Technology (IT) companies located in four different cities of India. Data on TMS were collected from team members whereas team leaders gave ratings on team performance. Results of this study have shown significant effect of team size on TMS and team performance. TMS scores were found highest in small and medium size teams. Total team performance was also found high in small size teams. In comparison to small and large teams, TMS in medium size teams showed higher positive correlation with different dimensions of team performance. Homogeneity of correlation test revealed a significant difference in these correlation values due to team size. Overall results showed that small and medium size teams performed better than large size teams and TMS had greater impact on team performance in small and medium size teams. The implications of this study for real life settings have also been discussed. INTRODUCTION Work teams are the engines of today's organizations. Advancements in technology, high competition, organizational growth, and dynamic market trends have all imposed great demands on the organization to deliver better. This has laid a great emphasis on better utilization of human resources. The focus has shifted from individual efficiency to team efficiency and organizations are now depending more and more on teams to deliver the demands of current markets (Lawler et al, 1995; Waterson et al., 1997; Nandini, 2000; and Kozlowski and Bell, 2003). This shift from individual to team based work has increased the interest of managers and researchers in methods of maximizing performance by efficiently using already available intellectual or knowledge resources within teams. The focus on optimal utilization of available knowledge and intellectual resources has generated a wide array of research in the field of shared cognition. This interest in teamwork has also led to a great deal of research on team effectiveness. Studies regarding team effectiveness of work teams have mostly used team performance as an indicator of team effectiveness. These studies have used various measures of team performance varying from task specific team performance to overall performance. Most of the literature on team effectiveness in the past few years has emphasized on concepts of share cognition, e.g., team mental models, team schemas, Transactive Memory System (TMS) and collective mind, etc., and their impact on the functioning of teams. Empirical studies on team performance and shared cognition of real-life work teams are scarce and the studies available have used dissimilar indicators of performance. Indicators of team performance in relation to shared cognition have been limited to the scope of the particular study (Austin, 2003). Earlier indicators of team performance studied in relation with transactive memory are speed to market, error and accuracy, firm performance, problem solving, etc. We could not find any study dealing with the relationship of shared cognition with overall team performance indicators in real life work teams. In this study an attempt has been made to study the effect of shared cognition, i.e., Transactive Memory System (TMS) on overall team performance as well as on the indicators of team performance. The indicators of team performance in the present study are based on Hackman's (1987) model of team effectiveness. This study defines team as two or more members working interdependently towards accomplishment of a common goal or task (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993). The present study has focused on teams from companies falling in the Information and Technology (IT) sector. …