Sharing, Caring, and Responsibility in Higher Education Teams

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a growing attention toward using teamwork and the commitment and productivity of teams to improve the quality of education and research in higher education institutes. To achieve these goals, the leadership style of team leaders and group organizational citizenship behavior (GOCB) of team members who exceed their formal roles are of high importance. This article explores the effects of shared leadership on group commitment and productivity of 70 university teams. It also investigates whether GOCB mediates the effect of shared leadership on team commitment and productivity. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and SmartPLS software are applied to investigate the relationship between variables. The results show that shared leadership has both direct and indirect (through GOCB) effects on team commitment and productivity. Shared leadership affects GOCB, team commitment, and team productivity. Furthermore, GOCB affects team commitment and team productivity.