Newcomers as Sources of Team Learning
Summary
In recent years, substantial theoretical and empirical attention have been devoted to understanding team performance in general and team learning in particular. This project examines the conditions under which newcomers can produce innovation in the teams they enter. Although newcomers often have the potential to improve team performance (e.g., because they possess knowledge or skills that other members do not have), newcomers’ efforts to alter the team’s task-relevant behavior are frequently rebuffed.
Our experimental research seeks to clarify when and how newcomers change the work practices of the teams they enter. Studies to date have shown that newcomer influence is affected by both (a) characteristics of the team (e.g., its performance prior to the newcomer’s entry and commitment to its current task strategy) and (b) characteristics of the newcomer (e.g., his or her assertiveness, task competence, shared identity with other members, and status).
People
