Why Turnover Matters in Self-Managing Work Teams: Learning,Social Integration,and Task Flexibility

Abstract

This study considers how turnover in self-managing work teams influences the team interaction processes that promote effective task accomplishment. Drawing from research on self-managing work teams and group process, the authors propose that team turnover affects performance in self-managing teams by affecting social integration, team learning behavior, and task flexibility. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 47 self-managing work teams using longitudinal panel data and an objective measure of team performance. Results suggest that team turnover indeed decreases social integration, team learning behavior, and task flexibility in self-managing teams but that only task flexibility and team learning behavior mediate the negative relationship between team turnover and team effectiveness.