When team members meet in a new team: An exploration of team development

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated view of the formation of teams by examining individuals' emotions in relation to trust in the context of identity and exchange. We recognize the importance of trust within a team, especially in the process of team formation. By looking at the issue of trust within a framework of social exchange and identity, this paper provides an extensive view of the psychological aspects of team formation and development, from assignment to a team at the beginning, to evolving into a cooperative team on the one hand, or into a non-cooperative team on the other. Most newly formed teams somehow function despite the fact that the members are strangers to each other, however some of them regress into non-functioning teams as members become familiar with each other i.e. the team working status is worse than when the team started. We argue that emotions are crucial in defining the direction of team development to either the functional or dysfunctional side by influencing formation of affect based trust (or distrust). Identity as a mental framework and exchange as behavioral interaction are important to understanding the affective experience of individuals within a team.