As teams increasingly face dynamic and high-pressure work, understanding how they bounce back from adversity is critical. This study investigates how team resilience capacity develops and its implications for performance under adversity. We present findings from a 16-week longitudinal study of 171 graduate students in 38 consulting teams. Teams were surveyed every four weeks to assess team resilience capacity, cohesion, trust, and psychological safety; team performance was assessed between surveys via instructor evaluation. We used linear mixed-effects models to examine variance between and within teams over time. Results suggest high team resilience capacity buffers the association of higher adversity and lower performance. Teams with higher trust and psychological safety had higher resilience capacity. Within teams, higher resilience capacity occurred at times when cohesion, trust, and psychological safety were higher. Altogether, results suggest that team resilience capacity emerges in contexts that enable teams to recognize, access, and integrate their resources to address adversity. We conclude that team resilience capacity is critical for teams who regularly encounter high adversity to avoid performance decrements. We contribute a novel model on the emergence and impact of team resilience capacity, as well as a list of directions for future research to continue advancing the science of team resilience.
AlligerG. M.CerasoliC. P.TannenbaumS. I.VesseyW. B. (2015). Team resilience: How teams flourish under pressure. Organizational Dynamics, 44(3), 176–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.05.003
2.
BarnesC. M.HollenbeckJ. R.WagnerD. T.DeRueD. S.NahrgangJ. D.SchwindK. M. (2008). Harmful help: The costs of backing-up behavior in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3), 529–539. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.529
3.
BealD. J.CohenR. R.BurkeM. J.McLendonC. L. (2003). Cohesion and performance in groups: A meta-analytic clarification of construct relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(6), 989–1004. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.6.989
4.
BisbeyT. M.SalasE. (2019). Team dynamics and processes in the workplace. Oxford Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.13
5.
BlieseP. D. (2000). Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and Analysis. In KleinK. J.KozlowskiS. W. (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations (pp. 349–381). Jossey-Bass.
6.
BlusteinD. (2013). The psychology of working: A new perspective for career development, counseling, and public policy. Routledge.
7.
BowersC.KreutzerC.Cannon-BowersJ.LambJ. (2017). Team resilience as a second-order emergent state: A theoretical model and research directions. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1360. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01360
8.
BradleyB. H.PostlethwaiteB.KlotzA.HamdaniM.BrownK. (2012). Reaping the benefits of task conflict in teams: The critical role of team psychological safety climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(1), 151–158. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024200
9.
BrittT. W.ShenW.SinclairR. R.GrossmanM. R.KliegerD. M. (2016). How much do we really know about employee resilience?Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 9(2), 378–404. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2015.107
10.
BrykmanK. M.KingD. D. (2021). A resource model of team resilience capacity and learning. Group & Organization Management, 46(4), 737–772. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011211018008
11.
ByrneB. M.ShavelsonR. J.MuthénB. O. (1989). Testing for equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures: The issue of partial measurement invariance. Psychological Bulletin, 105(3), 456–466. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.105.3.456
Casey-CampbellM.MartensM. L. (2009). Sticking it all together: A critical assessment of the group cohesion-performance literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(2), 223–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2008.00239.x
14.
ChangA.BordiaP.DuckJ. (2003). Punctuated equilibrium and linear progression: Toward a new understanding of group development. Academy of Management Journal, 46(1), 106–117. https://doi.org/10.2307/30040680
15.
ChapmanM. T.LinesR. L. J.CraneM.DuckerK. J.NtoumanisN.PeelingP.ParkerS. K.QuestedE.TembyP.Thøgersen-NtoumaniC.GucciardiD. F. (2020). Team resilience: A scoping review of conceptual and empirical work. Work & Stress, 34(1), 57–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2018.1529064
CohnM. A.FredricksonB. L.BrownS. L.MikelsJ. A.ConwayA. M. (2009). Happiness unpacked: Positive emotions increase life satisfaction by building resilience. Emotion, 9(3), 361–368. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015952
18.
CostaA. C.AndersonN. (2011). Measuring trust in teams: Development and validation of a multifaceted measure of formative and reflective indicators of team trust. European Journal of Work & Organizational Psychology, 20(1), 119–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320903272083
19.
CurranP. J.BauerD. J. (2011). The disaggregation of within-person and between-person effects in longitudinal models of change. Annual Review of Psychology, 62(1), 583–619. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100356
20.
DevineD. J.ClaytonL. D.PhilipsJ. L.DunfordB. B.MelnerS. B. (1999). Teams in organizations: Prevalence, characteristics, and effectiveness. Small Group Research, 30(6), 678–711. https://doi.org/10.1177/104649649903000602
21.
DirksK. T.de JongB. (2022). Trust within the workplace: A review of two waves of research and a glimpse of the third. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 9(1), 247–276. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-083025
22.
EdmondsonA. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999
23.
EdmondsonA.BransbyD. (2023). Psychological safety comes of age: Observed themes in an established literature. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology & Organizational Behavior, 10, 55–78. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-055217
24.
FisherD. M.LeNobleC. A.VanhoveA. J. (2023). An integrated perspective on individual and team resilience: Moving from multilevel structure to cross‐level effects. Applied Psychology, 72(3), 1043–1074. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12419
25.
FrazierM. L.FainshmidtS.KlingerR. L.PezeshkanA.VrachevaV. (2017). Psychological safety: A meta‐analytic review and extension. Personnel Psychology, 70(1), 113–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12183
26.
FrenzelS. B.JunkerN. M.HäusserJ. A.ErkensV. A.van DickR. (2023). Team identification relates to lower burnout—emotional and instrumental support as two different social cure mechanisms. British Journal of Social Psychology, 62(2), 673–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12588
27.
GabrielA. S.DiefendorffJ. M.BennettA. A.SloanM. D. (2017). It’s about time: The promise of continuous rating assessments for the organizational sciences. Organizational Research Methods, 20(1), 32–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428116673721
28.
GersickC. J. G. (1989). Marking time: Predictable transitions in task groups. Academy of Management Journal, 32(2), 274–309. https://doi.org/10.5465/256363
29.
GersickC. J. G.HackmanJ. R. (1990). Habitual routines in task-performing groups. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 47(1), 65–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(90)90047-D
30.
GormanJ. C.CookeN. J.AmazeenP. G.FouseS. (2012). Measuring patterns in team interaction sequences using a discrete recurrence approach. Human Factors, 54(4), 503–517. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720811426140
31.
GrimmD. A.GormanJ. C.CookeN. J.DemirM.McNeeseN. J. (2023). Dynamical measurement of team resilience. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 17(4), 351–382. https://doi.org/10.1177/15553434231199729
32.
GucciardiD. F.CraneM.NtoumanisN.ParkerS. K.Thøgersen-NtoumaniC.DuckerK.PeelingP.ChapmanM. T.QuestedE.TembyP. (2018). The emergence of team resilience: A multilevel conceptual model of facilitating factors. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 91(4), 729–768. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12237
33.
GullyS. M.DevineD. J.WhitneyD. J. (2012). A meta-analysis of cohesion and performance: Effects of level of analysis and task interdependence. Small Group Research, 43(6), 702–725. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496412468069
34.
HartmannS.WeissM.HoeglM.CarmeliA. (2021). How does an emotional culture of joy cultivate team resilience? A sociocognitive perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(3), 313–331. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2496
35.
HartwigA.ClarkeS.JohnsonS.WillisS. (2020). Workplace team resilience: A systematic review and conceptual development. Organizational Psychology Review, 10(3-4), 169–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/2041386620919476
36.
HobfollS. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
37.
HobfollS. E.HalbeslebenJ.NeveuJ.-P.WestmanM. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5(1), 103–128. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104640
38.
HobfollS. E.StevensN. R.ZaltaA. K. (2015). Expanding the science of resilience: Conserving resources in the aid of adaptation. Psychological Inquiry, 26(2), 174–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2015.1002377
39.
HøigaardR.SäfvenbomR.TønnessenF. E. (2006). The relationship between group cohesion, group norms, and perceived social loafing in soccer teams. Small Group Research, 37(3), 217–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496406287311
40.
JamesL. R.DemareeR. G.WolfG. (1984). Estimating within-group interrater reliability with and without response bias. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 85–98. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.69.1.85
41.
JollyP. M.KongD. T.KimK. Y. (2021). Social support at work: An integrative review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(2), 229–251. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2485
42.
KaradaşA.DuranS. (2022). The effect of social support on work stress in health workers during the pandemic: The mediation role of resilience. Journal of Community Psychology, 50(3), 1640–1649. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22742
43.
KimS.LeeH.ConnertonT. P. (2020). How psychological safety affects team performance: Mediating role of efficacy and learning behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1581. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01581
44.
KingD. D.LopianoG.FattoracciE. S. M. (2024). A stigma-conscious framework for resilience and posttraumatic change. American Psychologist, 79(8), 1155–1170. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001330
45.
KingD. D.NewmanA.LuthansF. (2016). Not if, but when we need resilience in the workplace. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(5), 782–786. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2063
46.
KooT. K.LiM. Y. (2016). A guideline of selecting and reporting intraclass correlation coefficients for reliability research. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 15(2), 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2016.02.012
47.
KöseS.BaykalB.Bayatİ. K. (2021). Mediator role of resilience in the relationship between social support and work life balance. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73(3), 316–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1895678
48.
KozlowskiS. W. J.KleinK. J. (2000). A multilevel approach to theory and research in organizations: Contextual, temporal, and emergent processes. In KleinK. J.KozlowskiS. W. J. (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research and methods in organizations: Foundations, extensions, and new directions (pp. 3–90). Jossey-Bass.
49.
López-GajardoM. A.García-CalvoT.González-PonceI.Díaz-GarcíaJ.LeoF. M. (2023). Cohesion and collective efficacy as antecedents and team performance as an outcome of team resilience in team sports. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 18(6), 2239–2250. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541221129198
50.
MarksM. A.MathieuJ. E.ZaccaroS. J. (2001). A temporally based framework and taxonomy of team processes. Academy of Management Review, 26(3), 356–376. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.4845785
51.
MastenA. S.OsofskyJ. D. (2010). Disasters and their impact on child development: Introduction to the special section. Child Development, 81(4), 1029–1039. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40801458
52.
MeneghelI.MartínezI. M.SalanovaM. (2016). Job-related antecedents of team resilience and improved team performance. Personnel Review, 45(3), 505–522. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2014-0094
53.
MeneghelI.SalanovaM.MartínezI. M. (2016). Feeling good makes us stronger: How team resilience mediates the effect of positive emotions on team performance. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 239–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9592-6
54.
MillarC. C. J. M.GrothO.MahonJ. F. (2018). Management innovation in a VUCA world: Challenges and recommendations. California Management Review, 61(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125618805111
55.
MishraA. K.SpreitzerG. M. (1998). Explaining how survivors respond to downsizing: The roles of trust, empowerment, justice, and work redesign. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 567–588. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.926627
56.
PavezI.GómezH.LauliéL.GonzálezV. A. (2021). Project team resilience: The effect of group potency and interpersonal trust. International Journal of Project Management, 39(6), 697–708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2021.06.004
57.
RousseauD. M.SitkinS. B.BurtR. S.CamererC. (1998). Not so different after all: A cross-discipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 393–404. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.926617
58.
SchillingS.ArmaouM.MorrisonZ.CardingP.BricknellM.ConnellyV. (2024). “Trust people you’ve never worked with” – a social network visualization of teamwork, cohesion, social support, and mental health in NHS Covid personnel. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1293171. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1293171
59.
ShufflerM. L.DiazgranadosD.MaynardM. T.SalasE. (2018). Developing, sustaining, and maximizing team effectiveness: An integrative, dynamic perspective of team development interventions. The Academy of Management Annals, 12(2), 688–724. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0045
60.
SmithB. W.DalenJ.WigginsK.TooleyE.ChristopherP.BernardJ. (2008). The brief resilience scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15(3), 194–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972
61.
StephensJ. P.HeaphyE. D.CarmeliA.SpreitzerG. M.DuttonJ. E. (2013). Relationship quality and virtuousness: Emotional carrying capacity as a source of individual and team resilience. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 49(1), 13–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886312471193
62.
StoverinkA. C.KirkmanB. L.MistryS.RosenB. (2020). Bouncing back together: Toward a theoretical model of work team resilience. Academy of Management Review, 45(2), 395–422. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2017.0005
63.
TannenbaumS. I.CerasoliC. P. (2013). Do team and individual debriefs enhance performance? A meta-analysis. Human Factors, 55(1), 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720812448394
64.
TugadeM. M.FredricksonB. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 320–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.320
65.
van de SchootR.LugtigP.HoxJ. (2012). A checklist for testing measurement invariance. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 9(4), 486–492. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2012.686740
66.
VanhoveA. J.HerianM. N.HarmsP. D.LuthansF. (2015). Resilience and growth in long-duration isolated, confined and extreme (ICE) missions (NASA/TM-2015-218566). National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
67.
VriezeS. I. (2012). Model selection and psychological theory: A discussion of the differences between the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). Psychological Methods, 17(2), 228–243. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027127
68.
WangL.MaxwellS. E. (2015). On disaggregating between-person and within-person effects with longitudinal data using multilevel models. Psychological Methods, 20(1), 63–83. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000030
69.
WildmanJ. L.ShufflerM. L.LazzaraE. H.FioreS. M.BurkeC. S.SalasE.GarvenS. (2012). Trust development in swift starting action teams: A multilevel framework. Group & Organization Management, 37(2), 137–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601111434202
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
