This study examines the role of within-team competition (i.e. team hypercompetition and team development competition) in a team process. We developed and tested a model that associates team collectivism as the antecedent of within-team competition, and knowledge sharing and team flexibility as the outcomes. The model was empirically tested with data from 141 knowledge-intensive teams. The empirical findings showed that team collectivism had a positive relationship with team development competition and a negative relationship with team hypercompetition. Regarding the outcomes, team development competition and team hypercompetition had an indirect relationship with knowledge sharing and team flexibility through team empowerment. We offer a number of original contributions to the team effectiveness literature, especially by showing that team hypercompetition and team development competition have different impacts on team knowledge sharing and team flexibility.
AbuhamdehSCsikszentmihalyiM (2009) Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations in the competitive context: An examination of person–situation interactions. Journal of Personality77(5): 1615–1635.
2.
AlgesheimerRDholakiaUMGurăuC (2011) Virtual team performance in a highly competitive environment. Group & Organization Management36(2): 161–190.
3.
AlvessonM (2000) Social identity and the problem of loyalty in knowledge-intensive companies. Journal of Management Studies37(8): 1101–1124.
4.
AryeeSChenZ (2006) Leader-member exchange in a Chinese context: Antecedents, the mediating role of psychological empowerment and outcomes. Journal of Business Research59(7): 793–801.
5.
AvolioBJWeichunZKohWBhatiaP (2004) Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: mediating role of psychological empowerment and moderating role of structural distance. Journal of Organizational Behavior25(8): 951–968.
6.
BaronRMKennyDA (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology51(6): 1173–1182.
7.
BaruchY (1998) Empowerment models in organizations. Career Development International3(2): 82–87.
8.
BaruchYHoltomB (2008) Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research. Human Relations61(8): 1139–1160.
9.
BeersmaBHollenbeckJRHumphreySEMoonHConlonDEIlgenDR (2003) Cooperation, competition, and team performance: Toward a contingency approach. Academy of Management Journal46(5): 572–590.
BhatnagarDTjosvoldD (2012) Leader values for constructive controversy and team effectiveness in India. International Journal of Human Resource Management23(1): 109–125.
12.
BironMBambergerP (2010) The impact of structural empowerment on individual well-being and performance: Taking agent preferences, self-efficacy and operational constraints into account. Human Relations63(2): 163–191.
13.
BolandRJTenkasiRV (1995) Perspective making and perspective taking in communities of knowing. Organization Science6(4): 350–372.
14.
Bosch-SijtsemaPMFruchterRVartiainenMRuohomäkiV (2011) A framework to analyze knowledge work in distributed teams. Group & Organization Management36(3): 275–307.
15.
BrandonDPHollingsheadA (2004) Transactive memory systems in organizations: Matching tasks, expertise, and people. Organization Science15(6): 633–644.
16.
BrewerPVenaikS (2011) Individualism-collectivism in Hofstede and GLOBE. Journal of International Business Studies42(3): 436–445.
17.
BrislinRW (1970) Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology1(3): 185–216.
18.
BrownSPCronWLSlocumJWJr (1998) Effects of trait competitiveness and perceived intraorganizational competition on salesperson goal setting and performance. Journal of Marketing62(4): 88–98.
19.
ChanD (1998) Functional relations among constructs in the same content domain at different levels of analysis: A typology of composition models. Journal of Applied Psychology83(2): 234–246.
20.
ChenGKirkmanBLKanferRAllenDRosenB (2007) A multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology92(2): 331–346.
21.
ChenGTjosvoldDLiuC (2006) Cooperative goals, leader people and productivity values: Their contribution to top management teams in China. Journal of Management Studies43(5): 1177–1200.
22.
ChoiG-Y (2010) The influence of organizational characteristics and psychological empowerment on secondary traumatic stress of social workers working with family violence or sexual assault survivors. National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social Work. 22nd, Ohio State University. College of Social Work.
23.
CollierSRyckmanRMThorntonBGoldJA (2010) Com-petitive personality attitudes and forgiveness of others. Journal of Psychology144(6): 535–543.
24.
CongerJAKanungoRN (1988) The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy Of Management Review13(3): 471–482.
25.
CrawfordELePineJ (2012) A configural theory of team processes: Accounting for the structure of taskwork and teamwork. Academy of Management Review38(1): 32–48.
26.
CummingsJN (2004) Work groups, structural diversity, and knowledge sharing in a global organization. Management Science50(3): 352–364.
27.
De DreuCKWWeingartLR (2003) Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology88(4): 741–749.
28.
DeciERyanR (eds) (2002) Handbook of Self-determination Research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
29.
De JongBAElfringT (2010) How does trust affect the performance of ongoing teams? The mediating role of reflexivity, monitoring, and effort. Academy of Management Journal53(3): 535–549.
30.
DierdorffECBellSTBelohlavJA (2011) The power of ‘we’: Effects of psychological collectivism on team performance over time. Journal of Applied Psychology96(2): 247–262.
31.
DixonKRPanteliN (2010) From virtual teams to virtuality in teams. Human Relations63(8): 1177–1197.
32.
DowningCEGallaugherJMSegarsAH (2003) Information technology choices in dissimilar cultures: Enhancing empowerment. Journal of Global Information Management11(1): 20–39.
33.
FettersWStowePOwingsJ (1984) High school and beyond, a national longitudinal study for the 1980s: Quality of responses of high school students to questionnaire items (NCES 84–216). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
34.
FiolCMO’ConnorEJ (2005) Identification in face-to-face, hybrid, and pure virtual teams: Untangling the contradictions. Organization Science16(1): 19–32.
35.
FletcherTDMajorDADavisDD (2008) The interactive relationship of competitive climate and trait competitiveness with workplace attitudes, stress, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior29(7): 899–922.
36.
FornellCLarckerDF (1981) Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research18(1): 39–50.
37.
FossNJHustedKMichailovaS (2010) Governing knowledge sharing in organizations: Levels of analysis, governance mechanisms, and research directions. Journal of Management Studies47(3): 455–482.
38.
FülöpM (2009) Happy and unhappy competitors: What makes the difference?Psychological Topics18(2): 345–367.
39.
FurstSBlackburnRRosenB (1999) Virtual team effectiveness: A proposed research agenda. Information Systems Journal9(4): 249–269.
40.
GagnéM (2009) A model of knowledge-sharing motivation. Human Resource Management48(4): 571–589.
41.
GardnerWLReithelBJFoleyRTCogliserCCWalumbwaFO (2009) Attraction to organizational culture profiles: Effects of realistic recruitment and vertical and horizontal individualism–collectivism. Management Communication Quarterly22(4): 437–472.
42.
GhobadiSD’AmbraJ (2013) Modeling high-quality knowledge sharing in cross-functional software development teams. Information Processing & Management49(1): 138–157.
43.
GlickWH (1985) Conceptualizing and measuring organizational and psychological climate: Pitfalls in multilevel research. Academy of Management Review10(3): 601–616.
44.
GundlachMZivnuskaSStonerJ (2006) Understanding the relationship between individualism–collectivism and team performance through an integration of social identity theory and the social relations model. Human Relations59(12): 1603–1632.
45.
HaasMRHansenMT (2007) Different knowledge, different benefits: Toward a productivity perspective on knowledge sharing in organizations. Strategic Management Journal28(11): 1133–1153.
HansenMTMorsMLLovasB (2005) Knowledge sharing in organizations: Multiple networks, multiple phases. Academy of Management Journal48(5): 776–793.
48.
HeideJBJohnG (1992) Do norms matter in marketing relationships?Journal of Marketing56(2): 32–44.
49.
HorwitzSKHorwitzIB (2007) The effects of team diversity on team outcomes: A meta-analytic review of team demography. Journal of Management33(6): 987–1015.
50.
JamesL (1982) Aggregation bias in estimates of perceptual agreement. Journal of Applied Psychology67(2): 219–229.
51.
JamesLRDemareeRGWolfG (1984) Estimating within-group interrater reliability with and without response bias. Journal of Applied Psychology69(1): 85–98.
52.
JanssenOVan De VliertEVeenstraC (1999) How task and person conflict shape the role of positive interdependence in management teams. Journal of Management25(2): 117–141.
53.
JohnsonDWMaruyamaGJohnsonRNelsonDSkonL (1981) Effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures on achievement: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin89(1): 47–62.
54.
JohnsonMDHollenbeckJRHumphreySEIlgenDRJundtDMeyerCJ (2006) Cutthroat cooperation: Asymmetrical adaptation to changes in team reward structures. Academy of Management Journal49(1): 103–119.
55.
JohnsonPHeimannVO’NeillK (2001) The wonderland of virtual teams. Journal of Workplace Learning13(1): 24–29.
56.
KellyJRBarsadeSG (2001) Mood and emotions in small groups and work teams. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes86(1): 99–130.
57.
KirkmanBLMathieuJE (2005) The dimensions and antecedents of team virtuality. Journal of Management31(5): 700–718.
58.
KirkmanBLRosenB (1999) Beyond self-management: Antecedents and consequences of team empowerment. Academy of Management Journal42(1): 58–74.
59.
KirkmanBLShapiroDL (2001) The impact of team members’ cultural values on productivity, cooperation, and empowerment in self-managing work teams. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology32(5): 597–617.
60.
KirkmanBLBensonRGibsonCBTeslukPESimonOM (2002) Five challenges to virtual team success: Lessons from Sabre, inc. Academy of Management Executive16(3): 67–79.
61.
KirkmanBLRosenRTeslukPEGibsonCB (2004) The impact of team empowerment on virtual team performance: The moderating role of face-to-face interaction. Academy of Management Journal47(2): 175–192.
62.
LeungKBondMH (1984) The impact of cultural collectivism on reward allocation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology47(4): 793–804.
63.
LiYChangKCChenHGJiangJJ (2010) Software development team flexibility antecedents. Journal of Systems and Software83(10): 1726–1734.
64.
LiYJiangJJKleinG (2007) The antecedents of is software development team flexibility. In: 2nd International Research Workshop for IT Project Management.
65.
LidenRCWayneSJSparroweRT (2000) An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology85(3): 407–416.
66.
LinHF (2007) Effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on employee knowledge sharing intentions. Journal of Information Science33(2): 135–149.
67.
LinCP (2010) Learning task effectiveness and social interdependence through the mediating mechanisms of sharing and helping: A survey of online knowledge workers. Group & Organization Management35(3): 299–328.
68.
LittleTDCunninghamWAShaharGWidamanKF (2002) To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling9(2): 151–173.
69.
LiuLYettonP (2010) Sponsorship and it vendor management of projects. Journal of Information Technology25(1): 56–64.
70.
McCombSAGreenSGDale ComptonW (2007) Team flexibility’s relationship to staffing and performance in complex projects: An empirical analysis. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management24(4): 293–313.
71.
MacKinnonDPFairchildAJFritzMS (2007) Mediation analysis. Annual Review of Psychology58: 593–614.
72.
ManujIMentzerJT (2008) Global supply chain risk management strategies. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management38(3): 192–223.
73.
MathieuJMaynardMTRappTGilsonL (2008) Team effectiveness 1997–2007: A review of recent advancements and a glimpse into the future. Journal of Management34(3): 410–476.
74.
MathieuJEGilsonLLRuddyTM (2006) Empowerment and team effectiveness: An empirical test of an integrated model. Journal of Applied Psychology91(1): 97–108.
75.
MaznevskiMLChudobaKM (2000) Bridging space over time: Global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness. Organization Science11(5): 473–492.
76.
MehtaAFeildHArmenakisAMehtaN (2009) Team goal orientation and team performance: The mediating role of team planning. Journal of Management35(4): 1026–1046.
77.
MeyersonSLKlineTJB (2008) Psychological and environmental empowerment: Antecedents and consequences. Leadership & Organization Development Journal29(5): 444–460.
78.
MitchellRJParkerVGilesM (2011) When do interprofessional teams succeed? Investigating the moderating roles of team and professional identity in interprofessional effectiveness. Human Relations64(10): 1321–1343.
79.
MollemanESlompJ (1999) Functional flexibility and team performance. International Journal of Production Research37(8): 1837–1858.
80.
NesterkinDAGansterDC (forthcoming) The effects of nonresponse rates on group-level correlations. Journal of Management. doi: 10.1177/0149206311433853
81.
NielsenKDanielsK (2012) Enhancing team leaders’ well-being states and challenge experiences during organizational change: A randomized, controlled study. Human Relations65(9): 1207–1231.
82.
NonakaI (1994) A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science5(1): 14–37.
83.
O’LearyMBCummingsJN (2007) The spatial, temporal, and configurational characteristics of geographic dispersion in teams. Management Information Systems Quarterly31(3): 433–452.
84.
O’LearyMBMortensenM (2010) Go (con)figure: Subgroups, imbalance, and isolates in geographically dispersed teams. Organization Science21(1): 115–131.
85.
ÖrtenbladA (2004) The learning organization: Towards an integrated model. The Learning Organization11(2): 129–144.
86.
PayneGTBensonGSFinegoldDL (2009) Corporate board attributes, team effectiveness and financial performance. Journal of Management Studies46(4): 704–731.
87.
ProencaEJ (2007) Team dynamics and team empowerment in health care organizations. Health Care Management Review32(4): 370–378.
88.
QuigleyNRTeslukPELockeEABartolKM (2007) A multilevel investigation of the motivational mechanisms underlying knowledge sharing and performance. Organization Science18(1): 71–88.
89.
ReeveJDeciEL (1996) Elements of the competitive situation that affect intrinsic motivation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin22(1): 24–33.
90.
RobertCWastiSA (2002) Organizational individualism and collectivism: Theoretical development and an empirical test of a measure. Journal of Management28(4): 544–566.
91.
RuscherJBFiskeST (1990) Interpersonal competition can cause individuating processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology58(5): 832–843.
92.
RuscherJBFiskeSTMiklHVan ManenS (1991) Individuating processes in competition: Interpersonal versus intergroup. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin17(6): 595–605.
93.
RussellAMFiskeST (2008) It’s all relative: Competition and status in interpersonal perception. European Journal of Social Psychology38(7): 1193–1201.
94.
RyckmanRMHamelJ (1992) Female adolescents’ motives related to involvement in organized team sports. International Journal of Sport Psychology23(2): 147–160.
95.
RyckmanRMHammerMKaczorLMGoldJA (1996) Construction of a personal development competitive attitude scale. Journal of Personality Assessment66(2): 374–385.
96.
RyckmanRMLibbyCRBorneB vdGoldJALindnerMA (1997) Values of hypercompetitive and personal development competitive individuals. Journal of Personality Assessment69(2): 271–283.
97.
RyckmanRMThorntonBButlerJC (1994) Personality correlates of the hypercompetitive attitude scale: Validity tests of Horney’s theory of neurosis. Journal of Personality Assessment62(1): 84–94.
98.
RyuSParkJEMinS (2007) Factors of determining long-term orientation in interfirm relationships. Journal of Business Research60(12): 1225–1233.
99.
SalasESimsDEBurkeCS (2005) Is there ‘big five’ in teamwork?Small Group Research36(5): 555–599.
100.
SalasEStaglKCBurkeCSGoodwinGF (2007) Fostering team effectiveness in organizations: Toward an integrative theoretical framework of team performance. In: DienstbierRAShuartJWSpauldingWPolandJ (eds) Modeling Complex Systems: Motivation, Cognition and Social Processes: Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Vol.51. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 185–243.
101.
SampsonEE (1988) The debate on individualism: Indigenous psychologies of the individual and their role in personal societal functioning. American Psychologist43(1): 15–22.
102.
SiglerTHPearsonCM (2000) Creating an empowering culture: Examining the relationship between organizational culture and perceptions of empowerment. Journal of Quality Management5(1): 27–52.
103.
SpreitzerGM (1995a) Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal38(5): 1442–1465.
104.
SpreitzerGM (1995b) An empirical test of a comprehensive model of interpersonal empowerment in the workplace. American Journal of Community Psychology23(5): 601–629.
105.
SrivastavaABartolKMLockeEA (2006) Empowering leadership in management teams: Effects on knowledge sharing, efficacy, and performance. Academy of Management Journal49(6): 1239–1251.
106.
StanneMBJohnsonDWJohnsonRT (1999) Does competition enhance or inhibit motor performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin125(1): 133–154.
107.
StaplesDSWebsterJ (2008) Exploring the effects of trust, task interdependence and virtualness on knowledge sharing in teams. Information Systems Journal18(6): 617–640.
108.
SwaffordPMGhoshSMurthyN (2006) The antecedents of supply chain agility of a firm: Scale development and model testing. Journal of Operations Management24(2): 170–188.
109.
SyTCôtéSSaavedraR (2005) The contagious leader: Impact of the leader’s mood on the mood of group members, group affective tone, and group processes. Journal of Applied Psychology90(2): 295–305.
110.
TauerJMHarackiewiczJM (2004) The effects of cooperation and competition on intrinsic motivation and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology86(6): 849–861.
ThakkarJKandaADeshmukhSG (2011) Mapping of supply chain learning. A framework for SMEs. The Learning Organization18(4): 313–332.
113.
ThomasKWVelthouseBA (1990) Cognitive elements of empowerment: An interpretive model of intrinsic motivation. Academy of Management Review15(4): 666–681.
114.
TjosvoldDSuF (2007) Managing anger and annoyance in organizations in China: The role of constructive controversy. Group & Organization Management32(3): 260–289.
115.
TjosvoldDYuZ (2007) Group risk taking: The constructive role of controversy in China. Group & Organization Management32(6): 653–674.
116.
TjosvoldDJohnsonDWJohnsonRTSunH (2003a) Can interpersonal competition be constructive within organizations?Journal of Psychology137(1): 63–64.
117.
TjosvoldDLawKSSunHF (2003b) Collectivistic and individualistic values: Their effects on group dynamics and productivity in China. Group Decision and Negotiation12(3): 243–263.
118.
TjosvoldDWedleyWCFieldRHG (1986) Constructive controversy, the Vroom-Yetton model, and managerial decision-making. Journal of Occupational Behaviour7(2): 125–138.
119.
TjosvoldDYuZ-yHuiC (2004) Team learning from mistakes: The contribution of cooperative goals and problem-solving. Journal of Management Studies41(7): 1223–1245.
120.
TownsendAMDeMarieSMHendricksonAR (1998) Virtual teams: Technology and the workplace of the future. Academy of Management Executive12(3): 17–29.
121.
TriandisHCGelfandMJ (1998) Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology74(1): 118–128.
122.
TriandisHCBontempoRVillarealMJAsaiMLuccaN (1988) Individualism and collectivism: Cross-cultural perspectives on self-ingroup relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology54(2): 328–338.
123.
TsaiW (2002) Social structure of ‘coopetition’ within a multiunit organization: Coordination, competition, and intraorganizational knowledge sharing. Organization Science13(2): 179–190.
124.
TuuliMMRowlinsonS (2010) What empowers individuals and teams in project settings? A critical incident analysis. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management17(1): 9–20.
125.
Van Den BroekDBarnesATownsendK (2008) ‘Teaming up’: Teams and team sharing in call centres. Journal of Industrial Relations50(2): 257–269.
126.
Van KnippenbergDDawsonJFWestMAHomanAC (2011) Diversity faultlines, shared objectives, and top management team performance. Human Relations64(3): 307–336.
127.
VansteenkisteMDeciEL (2003) Competitively contingent rewards and intrinsic motivation: Can losers remain motivated?Motivation and Emotion27(4): 273–299.
128.
WellinsRSByhamWCDixonGR (1994) Inside Teams: How 20 World-Class Organizations are Winning through Teamwork. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
129.
WilsonJQ (1993) The Moral Sense. New York: Free Press.
130.
WongATjosvoldDYuZY (2005) Organizational partnerships in China: Self-interest, goal interdependence, and opportunism. Journal of Applied Psychology90(4): 782–791.
131.
YahyaSGohWK (2002) Managing human resources toward achieving knowledge management. Journal of Knowledge Management6(5): 457–468.
132.
ZarragaCBonacheJ (2003) Assessing the team environment for knowledge sharing: An empirical analysis. International Journal of Human Resource Management14(7): 1227–1245.
133.
ZhangX-aCaoQTjosvoldD (2011) Linking transformational leadership and team performance: A conflict management approach. Journal of Management Studies48(7): 1586–1611.
