Teams in organizations: A review on team effectiveness

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the research on organizational teams. The aim is delimiting the conceptual space of effectiveness and determining team-level measurement issues. Design/methodology/approach A range of published works, which analyse the different variables of effectiveness for each type of team, is reviewed (the most used effectiveness criteria are shown in a table). According to the existence of different types of teams – work team, parallel team, project team and management team – the authors assess what variables and measures are more appropriate according to team type, analyse the problems in gathering data and measuring in this level of analysis and, finally, offer a proposal of measurement issues for future research. Findings The authors conclude that effectiveness is a multidimensional concept with three dimensions: performance, attitudinal outcomes, and behavioural outcomes. Regarding team-level measurement issues, the authors also conclude that there is a need to use multiple data sources and multimethod analyses incorporating consensus and aggregation methods, as well as observation and key informants. Practical implications The results of this work can support future research on teams. Although considerable headway has been made in the team effectiveness studies, there are things that still need to be done. The paper shows that a more complete measure of effectiveness must be developed, according to the three dimensions: performance, attitudinal outcomes, and behavioural outcomes. Originality/value The paper is a comprehensive review and provides a basis for researchers in the area of effective teams. © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited