Collective intelligence in teams - Practical approaches to develop transactive memory

Abstract

The socio-cognitive approach to teamwork has gained a lot of attention recently. Especially the concept of transactive memory (i.e., knowledge about each other's knowledge) has been fruitfully applied to the team level. First, we extend the concept of transactive memory by considering a wider range of interpersonal aspects (e.g., personal traits, external relations, background knowledge). Second, we delineate practical approaches to develop transactive memory quickly. We distinguish between two training sequences: knowledge disclosure and knowledge updating. Whereas cross-training is an appropriate training approach at the beginning of teamwork, we refer to the after action review as an effective tool to update knowledge about each other in ongoing teamwork activities. Finally, open questions are discussed. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.