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Team Learning and Effectiveness in Virtual Project Teams: The Role of Beliefs about Interpersonal Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Aída Ortega ,
Miriam Sánchez-Manzanares ,
Francisco Gil  and
Ramón Rico
Aída Ortega*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Miriam Sánchez-Manzanares
Affiliation:
Universidad Carlos III (Spain)
Francisco Gil
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Ramón Rico
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Aída Ortega. Departamento de Psicología Social. Facultad de Psicología. Universidad Complutense. Campus de Somosaguas. 28223 Madrid. (Spain). Phone: +34-913942886. Fax:+34-913943189. E-mail: aortegav@psi.ucm.es
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Abstract

There has been increasing interest in team learning processes in recent years. Researchers have investigated the impact of team learning on team effectiveness and analyzed the enabling conditions for the process, but team learning in virtual teams has been largely ignored. This study examined the relationship between team learning and effectiveness in virtual teams, as well as the role of team beliefs about interpersonal context. Data from 48 teams performing a virtual consulting project over 4 weeks indicate a mediating effect of team learning on the relationship between beliefs about the interpersonal context (psychological safety, task interdependence) and team effectiveness (satisfaction, viability). These findings suggest the importance of team learning for developing effective virtual teams.

En los últimos años, se ha producido un creciente interés por los procesos de aprendizaje grupal en equipos de trabajo. Se ha investigado la influencia del aprendizaje de equipo en la efectividad grupal, así como las condiciones que facilitan dicho aprendizaje. Sin embargo, pocos trabajos han analizado los procesos de aprendizaje en equipos virtuales. Este estudio examina la relación entre aprendizaje de equipo y efectividad en equipos virtuales, así como el papel de las creencias compartidas sobre el contexto interpersonal en esta relación. 48 equipos desarrollaron un proyecto de consultoría de manera virtual durante cuatro semanas. Los resultados mostraron un efecto de mediación del aprendizaje de equipo en la relación entre las creencias sobre el contexto interpersonal (seguridad psicológica, interdependencia de tarea) y la efectividad grupal (satisfacción, viabilidad). Estos hallazgos sugieren la importancia del aprendizaje de equipo para desarrollar equipos virtuales efectivos.

Keywords

team learningbeliefs about the interpersonal contextteam effectivenessvirtual teamsaprendizaje de equipocreencias sobre el contexto interpersonalefectividad de equipoequipos virtuales
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , May 2010 , pp. 267 - 276
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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