Deep-level team composition predicting team processes and effectiveness: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Teams have become increasingly pivotal in work settings. This study examined the impact of team deep-level compositional variables on team performance. Building on prior research, the study explored the mediating roles of team affective, motivational, cognitive states, and behavioral processes in team composition-team performance relationships that have been overlooked in previous studies. The study also highlighted the importance of considering team personality in under-investigated operationalizations and the context of evolving modern work environments. The results suggested that team cognitive ability still had the most robust relationship with team task/outcome performance in its mean, maximum, and minimum operationalizations. In contrast, team Big Five personality traits had significant but relatively small positive relationships with team task/outcome performance. On the other hand, team mean agreeableness, emotional stability, and extraversion were shown to be important for attitudinal outcomes like team satisfaction. The findings suggested that team cognitive ability influenced team cognitive states and communication. Additionally, team conscientiousness was related to team trust, cohesion, efficacy and potency, and coordination; team agreeableness was related to team trust, cohesion, conflict(-), cognitive states, communication, and coordination; team emotional stability was related to team conflict; team extraversion was related to team cohesion, efficacy and potency, cognitive states , and team communication; and team openness was related to team efficacy and potency, team cognitive states. The findings also suggested that certain team personality traits gained significance in specific organizational contexts, such as when appointing formal leaders, deciding on returning to the office, or expanding into more collectivistic cultures. The current study suggests a shift for team composition research in practice, allowing organizations to tailor team development plans based on specific team emergent states and processes rather than composing teams for better performance, which is often not practical.