Having Each Other’s Back: The Mediating Role of Supportive Behaviours in the Relationship Between Team Autonomy and Team Effectiveness
Author:
Alexandrino Joana1, Lourenço Paulo Renato2, Rebelo Teresa2, Dimas Isabel Dórdio3
Affiliation:
1. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Coimbra , Coimbra , Portugal 2. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Coimbra, Centre for Business and Economics Research (CeBER) , Coimbra , Portugal 3. Faculty of Economics , University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Centre for Business and Economics Research (CeBER) , Coimbra , Portugal
Abstract
Abstract
Background and Purpose
Incorporating autonomy in teams has been an increasingly popular practice, but the mechanisms that make autonomous teams effective still need to be completely understood. Adopting a multidimensional approach to team effectiveness, the aim of this study was to analyse the mediating role of team members’ supportive behaviours in the relationship between team autonomy and team effectiveness (team performance, team viability, quality of group experience and team process improvement).
Methods:
This research adopts a group-level analysis with a sample of 90 teams of 40 organisations from different sectors. Regression analysis was used to analyse the data, namely the product of the coefficients method.
Results
A positive relationship between team autonomy and supportive behaviours, which, in turn, is positively related to the four criteria of team effectiveness, was found, suggesting that supportive behaviours are a team process that explains the relationship between team autonomy and team effectiveness.
Conclusion
This research enriches our knowledge of the antecedents of team effectiveness and explains the mechanisms through which team autonomy relates to team effectiveness, encouraging organisations to incorporate autonomy into teams’ design to enhance supportive behaviours and team effectiveness.
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Reference38 articles.
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