A growing stream of theory and research suggests that overlap in team member mental models (i.e. socially constructed theories about systems and their expected behavior) has a positive influence on team processes and outcomes. In this article we argue that for self- managing work teams (SMWTs), the content of those shared mental models is also important. We begin by reviewing theory on SMWT effectiveness to determine the content of effective teamwork mental models in SMWTs. These are proposed to include: (1) psychological ownership of team processes and outcomes; (2) a need for continuous learning; and (3) a need for heedful interrelating. We then conduct content analyses of four published longitudinal studies of SMWTs to uncover the opportunities and challenges to developing and sustaining these mental models in dynamic organizations. Results suggest these mental models flourish when organizational supports back up their existence. However, since mental models are fluid and adapt to explicit and implicit messages, they weaken if shifting priorities cause organizational support to wane. Finally, the implications of our findings are discussed.
Argyris, C.Reasoning, learning, and action: Individual and organizational. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1982.
2.
Arrow, H. , McGrath, J.E. & Berdahl, J.L.Small groups as complex systems: Formation, coordination, development and adaptation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000.
3.
Bettenhausen, K. & Murnighan, J.K.The emergence of norms in competitive decisionmaking groups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1985, 30, 350-372.
4.
Blickensderfer, E. , Cannon-Bowers, J.A. & Salas, E.Assessing team shared knowledge: A field test and implication for team training. Paper presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society, Chicago, IL, 1998.
Campion, M.A. , Medsker, G.J. & Higgs, A.C.Relations between work group characteristics and effectiveness: Implications for designing effective work groups. Personnel Psychology, 1993, 46, 823-850.
7.
Cannon-Bowers, J.A. , Salas, E. & Converse, S.Shared mental models in expert team decision making. In N.J. Castellan, Jr (Ed.), Individual and group decision making. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1993, pp. 221-246.
8.
Cannon-Bowers, J.A. , Tannenbaum, S.I., Salas, E. & Volpe, C.E.Defining competencies and establishing team training requirements. In R. Guzzo and E. Salas (Eds), Team effectiveness and decision making in organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1995, pp. 333-380.
9.
Carley, K.M.Extracting team mental models through textual analysis . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1997, 18, 533-558.
10.
Cohen, S.G.Designing effective self-managing work teams. In M.M. Beyerlein & D.A. Johnson (Eds), Advances in interdisciplinary studies of work teams, Vol. 1. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1994, pp. 67-102.
11.
Cohen, S.G. & Bailey, D.E.What makes teams work: Group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suite. Journal of Management, 1997, 23, 239-290.
12.
Cohen, S.G. , Ledford, G.E., Jr & Spreitzer, G.M.A predictive model of self-managing work team effectiveness. Human Relations, 1996, 49, 643-676.
13.
Cordery, J.L. , Mueller, W.S. & Smith, L.M.Attitudinal and behavioral effects of autonomous group working: A longitudinal field study. Academy of Management Journal, 1991, 34, 464-476.
14.
Cordery, J.L. , Wright, B.M. & Wall, T.D.Towards a more comprehensive and integrated approach to work design: Production uncertainty and self-managing team performance. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, St Louis, MO, 1997.
15.
Donnellon, A. , Gray, B. & Bougon, M.G.Communication, meaning, and organized action. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1986, 31, 43-55.
16.
Druskat, V.U.Team competencies in superior self-managing teams: Processes that make a difference . Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Cincinnati, OH, 1996.
17.
Druskat, V.U. & Kayes, D.C.Learning versus performance in short-term project teams. Small Group Research, 2000, 31, 328-353.
18.
Druskat, V.U. & Kubzansky, P.E.Measuring the psychological sense of ownership in the workplace. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Vancouver, Canada, 1995.
Goodman, P.S.Assessing organizational change: The Rushton quality of work experiment. New York: Wiley, 1979.
24.
Goodman, P.S.The Rushton quality of work life experiment: Lessons to be learned. In R. Zager and M.P. Rosow (Eds), The innovative organization: Productivity programs in action. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press, 1982, pp. 222-259.
25.
Goodman, P.S.Impact of task and technology on group performance. In P.S. Goodman (Ed.), Designing effective work groups. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1986, pp. 120-167.
26.
Goodman, P.S. , Devadas, R. & Hughson, T.L.G.Groups and productivity: Analyzing the effectiveness of self-managing teams. In J.P. Campbell & R.J. Campbell (Eds), Productivity in organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, 1988, pp. 295-327.
27.
Hackman, J.R.The psychology of self-management in organizations. In M.S. Pallack & R.O. Perloff (Eds), Psychology and work: Productivity, change, and employment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1986, pp. 89-136.
28.
Hackman, J.R.Why teams don’t work. In S. Tinsdale, J. Edwards & E.J. Posavac (Eds), Applications of theory and research on groups to social issues. New York: Plenum, 1997.
29.
Holyoak, K.J.Mental models in problem solving. In J.R. Anderson & S.M. Kosslyn (Eds), Tutorials in learning and memory. New York: W.H. Freeman, 1984, pp. 193-218.
30.
Johnson-Laird, P.N.Mental models: Towards a cognitive science of language, inference, and consciousness. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983.
31.
Kemp, N.J. , Wall, T.B., Clegg, C.W. & Cordery, J.L.Autonomous work groups in a greenfield site: A comparative study. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 1983, 56, 271-288.
32.
Klimoski, R. & Mohammed, S.Team mental model: Construct or metaphor?Journal of Management, 1994, 20, 403-437.
33.
Kraiger, K. & Wenzel, L.H.Conceptual development and empirical evaluation of measures of shared mental models as indicators of team effectiveness. In M.T. Brannick, E. Salas & C. Prince (Eds), Team performance assessment and measurement: Theory, methods, and applications. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1997, pp. 62-84.
34.
Lawler, E.E.Strategies for high performance organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998.
35.
Lee, F.When the going gets tough do the tough ask for help? Help seeking and power motivation in organizations . Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1997, 72, 336-363.
36.
Levine, J.M. & Moreland, R.L.Culture and socialization in work groups. In L.B. Resnick, J.M. Levine & S.D. Teasley (Eds), Perspectives on socially shared cognition. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1991, pp. 257-279.
37.
Mathieu, J.E. , Heffner, T.S., Goodwin, G.F., Salas, E. & Cannon-Bowers, J.A.The influence of shared mental models on team process and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2000, 85, 273-283.
38.
Mohammed, S. , Klimoski, R. & Rentsch, J.R.The measurement of team mental models: We have no shared schema. Organizational Research Methods, 2000, 3, 123-165.
39.
Nygren, R. & Levine, E.L.Leadership of work teams: Factors influencing team outcomes. In M. M. Beyerlein, D.A. Johnson & S.T. Beyerlein (Eds), Advances in interdisciplinary studies of work teams, Vol. 3. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1996, pp. 67-104.
40.
Pearce, J.A. & Ravlin, E.C.The design and activation of self-regulating work groups. Human Relations, 1987, 40, 751-782.
41.
Pierce, J.L. , Kostova, T. & Dirks, K.T.Towards a theory of psychological ownership in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 2001, 26, 298-310.
42.
Pierce, J. , Rubenfeld, S. & Morgan, S.Employee ownership: A conceptual model of process and effects. Academy of Management Review, 1991, 16, 121-144.
43.
Polley, D. & Van Dyne, L.The limits and liabilities of self-managing work teams. In M.M. Beyerlein and D.A. Johnson (Eds), Advances in interdisciplinary studies of work teams, Vol. 1. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1994, pp. 1-38.
44.
Rentsch, J.R. , Heffner, T.S. & Duffy, L.T.What you know is what you get from experience: Team experience related to teamwork schemas. Group and Organization Management, 1994, 19, 485-509.
45.
Rouse, W.B. , Cannon-Bowers, J.A. & Salas, E.The role of mental models in team performance. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 1992, 22, 1296-1308.
46.
Rouse, W.B , & Morris, N.M.On looking into the black box: Prospects and limits in the search for mental models. Psychological Bulletin, 1986, 100, 349-363.
47.
Schein, E.H.Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1985.
48.
Slavin, R.E.Cooperative learning and group contingencies . Journal of Behavioral Education, 1991, 1, 105-115.
49.
Thompson, J.D.Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
50.
Trist, E. , Susman, G. & Brown, G.An experiment in autonomous working in an American underground coal mine. Human Relations, 1977, 30, 201-236.
51.
Vandewalle, D. , Van Dyne, L. & Kostova, T.Psychological ownership: An empirical examination of its consequences. Group & Organization Management, 1995, 20, 210-226.
52.
Wall, T.D. , Kemp, N.J., Jackson, P.R. & Clegg, C.W.Outcomes of autonomous work groups: A long-term field experiment. Academy of Management Journal, 1986, 29, 280-304.
53.
Walton, R.E.Work innovations at Topeka: After six years . Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1977, 13, 422-433.
54.
Walton, R.E.The Topeka work system: Optimistic visions, pessimistic hypotheses, and reality. In R. Zager and M.P. Rosow (Eds), The innovative organization: Productivity programs in action. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press, 1982, pp. 260-287.
55.
Weick, K.E.The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann Gulch Disaster . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1993, 38, 628-652.
56.
Weick, K.E.Sensemaking in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995.
57.
Weick, K.E. & Roberts, K.H.Collective mind in organizations: Heedful interrelating on flight decks. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1993, 38, 357-381.
