The Impact of Group Cognitive Complexity on Group Satisfaction: A Person-Environment Fit Perspective

Abstract

Groups have the potential to increase the satisfaction of their members (Campion, Medsker, & Higgs, 1993; Gladstein, 1984; Hackman, 1987; Katzell & Guzzo, 1983; Mason & Griffin, 2002, 2003). Thus, consideration of group characteristics in organizations is an important issue (Druckman & Bjork, 1991). In this study, the interactive influence of group cognitive complexity, task complexity, and group structure with satisfaction was analyzed. The findings suggest that when a task is complex, a decentralized structure leads to greater satisfaction than a centralized structure. Furthermore, groups lower in cognitive complexity were influenced more than complex groups by a mismatch between task complexity and group structure.