Team Performance Management

Zumkley, Marvin; Sage, Felix; de Dios Panal, Stefan; Prinz, Joachim

2025 Team Performance Management

doi: 10.1108/tpm-01-2023-0005

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of different diversity criteria (age and gender) on team performance using a business simulation game, where performance is operationalized by market valuation (Tobin’s Q) and profitability (cumulative net income).Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data of a business simulation game at a German public university (128 student groups and 645 individuals). Using multiple linear regression models, they investigated the impact of the different diversity criteria on team performance.FindingsThe authors found no significant effects of gender diversity on market valuation and profitability. However, the results of this study indicate a positive relationship between age diversity and both performance variables.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the debate on the relationship between diversity and team performance by using data from a business simulation game. This study adds value by considering different diversity factors, objective performance indicators and the endogeneity of team formation (the seminar leaders randomly assign students to teams) which has not been applied in similar studies yet. Because of the setting of a simulated business game, the results could also be applied to the real economy where we observe working teams every day.

Chouiref, Abdelhak; Berraies, Sarra; Ben Rejeb, Wajdi

2025 Team Performance Management

doi: 10.1108/tpm-11-2023-0083

Based on the job-demands resources (JD-R) model and the self-determination theory (SDT), this paper aims to explore team empowerment (TEMP) as a mediating mechanism through which team climate (TC) marked by innovativeness, cohesion and trust and knowledge management (KM) in teams.Design/methodology/approachUsing a convenience sampling method, data were gathered from 246 employees of Tunisian knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs) and involved within 69 R&D teams. The partial least square-structural equation modeling approach through SMART PLS 3.2 software was used to evaluate the constructs’ psychometric properties and hypotheses. The mediating effect in the model was evaluated through the non-parametric bootstrapping method.FindingsResults highlight that TC marked by innovativeness, cohesion and trust represents a key team contextual antecedent promoting TEMP and KM in teams. In turn, TEMP, as a critical intrinsic task motivation factor, is revealed as a driver of KM practices. This research demonstrates that TEMP partially mediates the relationship between TC and KM in teams.Originality/valueThis study pioneers the examination of TEMP’s mediating role between a TC marked by innovativeness, trust and cohesion and KM. By applying insights from the JD-R model and SDT to team-level dynamics, it uniquely positions TEMP as an intrinsic motivational factor explaining the mechanism through which the contextual resources provided by a supportive TC promote KM practices. It provides practical insights for KIFs’ managers through highlighting how intrinsically motivated teams of knowledge workers, empowered by a cohesive, innovative and trust-based TC, can effectively navigate the challenges inherent in knowledge-intensive teamwork, leading to enhanced KM practices.

Mastrorilli, Andrea; Santarpia, Ferdinando Paolo; Borgogni, Laura

2025 Team Performance Management

doi: 10.1108/tpm-03-2024-0029

Team-based work is increasing within organizations nowadays. Despite calls for differentiation between individual and team levels of analysis, research on leadership effects at multiple levels is still limited. By integrating the Conservation of Resources and Social Cognitive theories, this paper aims to analyze the relationships between coaching leadership, team collective efficacy and individual exhaustion via multilevel modeling.Design/methodology/approachThis paper opted for an exploratory study testing a 2-2-1 multilevel mediational model, positing team collective efficacy as a key factor in mediating the relationship between coaching leadership at the team level and exhaustion at the individual level. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 311 employees, nested in 72 teams (Msize = 5.70, SDsize = 2.82 team members) of a large Italian company that provides financial services.FindingsResults supported the positive association between coaching leadership and team collective efficacy, which, in turn, was negatively associated with team members’ average score in exhaustion and fully mediated the effect of coaching leadership on exhaustion, even controlling for team design features (i.e. task interdependence and team virtuality). The association between coaching leadership and exhaustion was only indirect, explained by team collective efficacy.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the self-report nature of the measures and the cross-sectional nature of the data, this research results might raise problems of variance in common methods and not allow causal conclusions to be drawn. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.Practical implicationsThis paper includes several practical implications for enhancing group efficacy beliefs, which have an impact on individual well-being within the team.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the lack of empirical findings on the multilevel nature of the relationship between coaching-based leadership, collective team effectiveness and individual exhaustion.