Power asymmetry, egalitarianism and team learning – part II: empirical examination of the moderating role of environmental hardship

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to clarify under which conditions, and via what mechanisms, power asymmetry is likely to affect team learning. This work is part of a two-paper series. Part I presents the theoretical arguments linking power asymmetry to team learning via egalitarianism and the moderating role of environmental hardship. In Part II, the authors provide an empirical evaluation of the conceptual model presented in Part I. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered on 4,637 military personnel nested in 143 ongoing teams. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the proposed moderated mediation model. The results show that under higher levels of environmental hardship, teams with higher power asymmetry (greater hierarchy) show greater team egalitarianism and higher team learning. Findings The results show that under higher levels of environmental hardship, teams with higher power asymmetry (greater hierarchy) show greater team egalitarianism and higher team learning. Research limitations/implications The empirical examination of the proposed relationships is based on a large sample of military teams in the real world. Future research would benefit from testing the model on different samples across industries and adopting different operationalizations for environmental hardship relevant to each industry. Originality/value This work provides insights to help practitioners to preserve the coordination benefits of hierarchy, while still promoting more egalitarianism and team learning in hierarchical teams.