The effectiveness of teams in organizations: a meta-analysis

The proposed meta-analysis of 61 independent samples aims to identify whether, and if so under what conditions, team working in organizations is related to organizational effectiveness. Team working had a significant though small positive relationship with both performance outcomes and staff attitudes. Our contingency analyses further showed that team working had a stronger relationship with performance outcomes if accompanied by complementary HR measures and in non-health-care settings. Finally, we found that team working is more strongly related to attitudinal outcomes in Sociotechnical Systems and health-care settings.     

Control system diversity: Implications for selling centers

It is often the case that members of selling centers are governed by different control systems (i.e., some selling center members are governed more by behavior controls while others are governed more by outcome controls). Surprisingly, there is little research which examines the impact of control system diversity (CSD) on selling center processes (e.g., decision comprehensiveness) and outcomes (e.g., performance). The present research integrates the literature on psychological stakes to show that CSD is positively related to decision comprehensiveness when psychological stakes are high but not when they are low. Decision comprehensiveness, in turn, is positively related to performance. This research uses data from multiple sources across 61 selling centers to provide novel insights into a new form of diversity and the under researched context of selling centers.     

Virtual Teams and International Business Teaching and Learning: The Case of the Global Enterprise Experience (GEE)

The increasing importance of global virtual teams in business is reflected in the classroom by the increased adoption of activities that facilitate real-time cross-cultural interaction. This article documents the experience of students from two Colombian universities who participated in a collaborative international project using virtual teams as part of the international business (IB) curriculum. The data reveals that in spite of challenges associated with time zone differences, technology limitations, and trust issues, the vast majority of students perceived that the use of virtual teams as a teaching tool facilitates cultural understanding and IB-relevant learning. The findings of this research suggest that online experiential exercises can be an effective approach in teaching and in the development of virtual collaboration skills.     

Contextualising Media Choice Using Genre Analysis

Value creation is increasingly organized in virtualized settings requiring effective computer-mediated communication. While media choice has been a topic of interest in Information Systems for some time, corresponding media choice theories exhibit a range of shortcomings with regard to applicability in context. Since the theories try to generalize across social contexts, their key constructs are rather abstract and underspecified with regard to application. Against this backdrop we present an approach for contextualizing media choice using genre analysis. Genre analysis aims at identifying communication patterns (genres) in social communities (e. g. teams) as a structured overview of existing team communication. By juxtaposing requirements of the identified genres and media characteristics, we are able to propose a new set of media for improving team communication. We illustrate the application of our approach with a case example.

Offshoring and firm innovation: The moderating role of top management team attributes

This study attempts to increase the understanding of how offshoring influences the introduction of new products and services. Focusing on the offshoring of those business functions that provide direct knowledge inputs for innovation (i.e., production, R&D, and engineering), we propose that offshoring has an inverted U‐shaped influence on firm innovativeness. Additionally, we provide an upper echelon contingency perspective by considering the moderating role of two top management team (TMT) attributes (i.e., informational diversity and shared vision). Using a cross‐industry sample with lagged data, we find that offshoring has an inverted U‐shaped influence on firm innovativeness and that this relationship is steeper in firms with high TMT informational diversity and in firms with low TMT shared vision. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Delivering a superior customer experience in solutions delivery processes: Seven factors for success

In marketing complex solutions to customers, business-to-business firms face significant challenges in managing the customer experience effectively in solutions delivery processes—due primarily to the use of ad hoc teams. To learn more about these challenges, we interviewed executives from a Fortune 100 high-technology company. We identify seven factors ad hoc teams can employ to address this problem, focusing on delivery team composition, delivery processes, and organization-level changes that can be made to optimize the success of the team. In solutions selling, the delivery phase is particularly critical to success. The factors identified enable firms to better manage the customer experience and enhance performance.     

中庸思维能够提升创业团队决策效果吗？——行为整合的中介作用

中庸思维是中国传统文化中的核心内容之一,作为一种认知和思维方式深刻地影响着中国人行为和做事准则。在创业团队之中,领导和成员在决策中的中庸思维会深刻地影响团队决策效果。依据文化资本理论和决策理论,从中庸思维与创业团队决策效果的关系入手,引入行为整合作为中介变量,责任感知和包容氛围作为调节变量,构建起了关于中庸思维、行为整合、责任感知、包容氛围和决策效果之间的理论模型。以来自58个创业团队450名团队成员为样本,研究发现：（1）中庸思维与决策效果呈显著正向相关;（2）中庸思维与行为整合呈显著正向相关;（3）行为整合在中庸思维与创业团队决策效果的关系中起部分中介作用;（4）中庸思维与责任感知和包容氛围之间的交互对于行为整合具有显著的正向影响。     

绿色物流路径:物流绿色化改造的战略选择

绿色物流强调对环保的全方位全过程关注,既包括企业的绿色物流活动,也包括社会对绿色物流活动的监督、规范与控制,追求企业经济效益、消费者权益、环境效益及社会效益的统一,有利于社会经济可持续发展,是可持续发展战略的要求与21世纪物流发展的新趋势.特别是随着经济全球化和世界一体化的发展,以及我国参与国际分工程度的不断加深,发展绿色物流日益成为我国物流业参与国际竞争的前提和基础.为更好地建立适应我国社会主义市场经济大生产、大市场、大消费理念的绿色物流体系,必须从现状入手,充分发挥政府部门的主导作用,加强基础设施建设,组建绿色知识团队,发展逆向物流,推动绿色供应链战略,进行绿色税费改革.     

Applying cognitive adjustment theory to cross‐cultural training for global virtual teams

Global virtual teams are faced with the challenge of developing trust in a technology‐mediated context to overcome anxiety and uncertainty in their interactions. Research shows that adjustment is a function of an individual's ability to manage his or her anxiety and uncertainty in an unknown context (Gudykunst, 1995). We propose that the type of cross‐cultural training (CCT) received can influence cognitive adjustment in global virtual teams. Building on phenomenology and sense‐making theory, we argue that training needs to develop global virtual team members' capabilities in dealing with the unknown rather than providing ready‐made concepts of cultures. Managerial implications of our theoretical discussion of cognitive adjustment and how CCT influences it are discussed, as are directions for future research. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

多学科视角下的恢复性自然环境研究 综述

恢复性环境指对人身心健康具有恢复或促进作用 的环境,非威胁性的自然环境通常被认为是典型的恢复性环 境。因此,以“恢复性自然环境”为议题,对近40年的研究 成果,从学科背景、研究层次、研究方法、研究结论等方面 进行综合分析,归纳整理出6种重要的研究视角,即遗传进化 视角、心理机制视角、公共卫生视角、辅助治疗视角、规划 设计视角和文化溯源视角,并对每一种视角的研究思路和重 要成果进行了概述。研究的目的在于为多学科的互相借鉴与 融合提供基础,继而实现恢复性自然环境研究在理论与实践 上的连续统一。