Time and change in teams: Where we are and where we are moving

Abstract

In this introduction to the special issue on Time and Change in Teams, we argue that the field of team research shows signs of a problem-method misfit with respect to the study of processes. Drawing on the distinction between differential and temporal (or variable vs. process) research, we scrutinise recent theories and research practices in the field, aiming to better understand the lack of congruence between research objectives and methods. We also discuss ways in which the gap between theory and method can be narrowed, and how the five studies making up this special issue contribute to this. We conclude with suggesting some future directions for the study of time and change in teams.

Keywords:

• Teams
• Time
• Process
• Dynamics
• Methodology

Notes

 ¹We use the term “subject” in a methodological sense, that is, to designate the “subject of study”. When referring to team research, we will speak of teams or team members rather than subjects. When addressing general methodological issues that also apply outside the domain of team research, we will use the term “subject”.

 ²In line with the current idiom, we prefer to use the term “team” as a generic label for groups characterised by a common purpose and a sense of cohesion. When speaking of teams we thus refer both to groups as defined in the older literature, see for example McGrath & Gruenfeld (1993), and teams as defined more recently by Kozlowski & Ilgen (2006).

 ³The same limitation applies to the Input-Mediator-Output-Input model, proposed by Ilgen, Hollenbeck, Johnson, & Jundt (2005).

 ⁴Mathematically a relationship can only be established under the so-called “ergodicity assumptions”, which imply homogeneity (each subject follows the same model as the population) and stationarity (the process has constant characteristics over time; see Molenaar & Campbell [2009]). These assumptions are very stringent and unlikely to be met in social behaviour.

 ⁵Of course, this can be extended to inter-team relations or multi-team systems.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robert A. Roe

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) to the Small group Meeting on Time and Change in Teams, held in Chemnitz, Germany, on 24–25 February 2011, from which this special issue emerged.