Appreciative Inquiry as a Team-Development Intervention: A Controlled Experiment

Abstract

In a controlled laboratory experiment, the effects of a team-development intervention based on the theory of appreciative inquiry were compared with task-oriented team development (TOTD) and lectures on group processes, outcomes, and performance. Undergraduate students (96) in two semesters of an introductory organization behavior course participated in four-person teams and had 13 weeks to complete a task worth 25% of each member's final grade. One third of the teams received an appreciative inquiry intervention, another third received a TOTD intervention, and the final third received a lecture on group dynamics (placebo). Pre-and postsurveys assessed group process and outcomes; project grades were used to assess task performance. ANOVAs and ANCOVAs on each of the process and outcome measures showed groups receiving appreciative inquiry, and TOTD scored significantly higher than those receiving the placebo on almost all measures, including task performance. Teams receiving TOTD scored significantly higher than appreciative inquiry on task performance. Implications for organization development and directions for future research are discussed.