Explaining Team Creativity through Team Cognition Theory and Problem Solving based on Input-Mediator-Output Approach

The specialized knowledge that exists among information systems development (ISD) teams must be shared and integrated to successfully develop systems solutions. Unfortunately, knowledge sharing and integration continues to be problematic. In this study, we seek out those antecedent characteristics that ISD teams should possess to facilitate the collaboration and knowledge integration necessary for enhanced performance. We propose cooperative learning theory as a lens to understand knowledge integration activities in ISD projects. We suggest that knowledge integration behaviors are discretionary, and that ISD professionals must feel autonomy in deciding to engage in them. We investigate whether the effects of autonomy on cooperative learning and of cooperative learning on work outcomes vary depending on the types of autonomy present in ISD teams. A research model is proposed, and it is empirically tested through a study of 206 ISD professionals from 38 ISD teams. Our findings suggest that autonomous teams engage more frequently in cooperative learning behaviors, and consequently perform more effectively and are more satisfied. We also find that relationships exist between the type of autonomy present in teams and the resultant elements of cooperative learning and work outcomes.

<P> This paper addresses the understudied issue of how individually held expertise in information systems development (ISD) teams results in creativity at the team level during the development process. We develop the idea that team creativity results primarily from integration of individually held expertise of team members at the team level. We further propose the quality of intrateam relationships and knowledge complementarities that align the work of individual team members at the project level influence creativity primarily through the process of expertise integration. We use data from a field study of 142 participants in 42 ISD projects to test the proposed model. </P><P>The paper makes three new contributions to the IS literature. Its key contribution lies in developing an expertise integration view of team creativity. We demonstrate the centrality of integrating individually held tacit and explicit knowledge about the problem domain and the technology at the team level in achieving team creativity. The use of a process-focused conceptualization of team creativity is especially noteworthy here. The second contribution of the paper lies in conceptually developing and operationalizing the concept of expertise integration, a mechanism by which individually held knowledge is integratively applied at the project level. Although the importance of knowledge in the ISD process is widely recognized in prior research, this is the first study to develop the concept in a operationally meaningful way. The third key contribution lies in showing that the compositional and relational attributes of ISD project teams--diverse specialized knowledge in a team, the quality of intrateam working relationships, and members' cross-domain absorptive capacity--do not engender creativity by themselves; they do so primarily because they enhance integration of individual knowledge at the project level. We offer empirical evidence for such full mediation. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications, which are discussed in the paper.</P>

Information systems development (ISD) is typically a knowledge-intensive activity demanding coordinated application of business and information technology (IT) professionals’ expertise. However, knowledge sharing between these groups can be challenging, as their backgrounds and expertise domains differ. The problem is even more pronounced for ISD teams involving external IT consultants, where the gap between business and IT professionals is further widened by organizational boundaries. This study proposes that perceived social (goal, task, and reward) interdependencies can influence the extent of knowledge sharing between the subgroups of business professionals and external IT consultants during ISD. Results from a survey of consultant-and-client matched pairs in ongoing ISD project teams indicate that perceived goal, task, and reward interdependencies are significantly related to knowledge sharing, which is, in turn, related to ISD project phase performance. Knowledge sharing fully mediates the relationships between the interdependencies and ISD project phase performance. Perceived goal interdependence is also related to perceived task interdependence. These findings augment existing theoretical understanding of knowledge sharing in ISD. They also provide directions for the development of interventions for enhancing knowledge sharing and performance in ISD.

As the significant success of business enterprises, information system development becomes IT managers' concern to keep the balance between business and information system. The information system has an important role to deliver advantages to the business enterprises. To keep maintain these issues, information system should be developed to innovate the business process. However, in developing an information system, the information system process improvement may obtain the possibility of information system development failures. Therefore, to avoid the failures in implementing information systems there are some important factors. Those factors are called critical success factors (CSF). Therefore, this study observes the critical success factors (CSF) in information system development (ISD) projects. This systematic literature review discusses critical success factors in information system development. The method section determines the research question. It also describes how to collect and filter the data. The order of this research written is according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Checklist or also known as PRISMA Checklist. Therefore, to collect and filter the data, this systematic literature review uses Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses method or also known as PRISMA method. There were 20 papers selected to help this research based on the filtering papers due to PRISMA flow diagram. Most of those papers are discussing information system development and the rest are about factors of information system development. The result section has two parts, which are study characteristics and study results. This systematic literature review concluded that there are five critical success factors in developing information system projects. Those critical success factors are people, project, organization, knowledge, and expertise. Those critical success factors are also supported by several items of each factor. Therefore, the output of this research is expected to satisfy the information system development projects to meet the organizations' need and reduce also possibly avoid the failures in information system development projects.

Though information systems development (ISD) projects use modularization as an approach to better manage complex tasks by decomposing them into simpler intra-project modules, we lack clearly established modalities for managing such modularized ISD projects. Adopting a control theory perspective and leveraging a case study research approach, we unearth the underlying “control mechanisms” that an organization leveraged to manage eight modularized ISD projects. Specifically, we explore the intra-project modular dependencies that the projects’ business requirement documents indicated and use results from semi-structured interviews with project members to identify the corresponding control mechanisms. Our results indicate that, in scenarios with a low level of intra-project modular interdependencies, formal outcome and formal behavior constitute the preferred control mechanisms. However, specific situations related to flexible project practices and volatile client requirements may minimize the level of formal outcome and formal behavior control mechanisms in such projects. A low level of interdependencies between intra-project modules minimizes the need for informal clan control; nonetheless, informal clan-control mechanisms may help team members understand project requirements in a shared manner. Projects with a high level of interdependencies between intra-project modules have a high level of informal clan control. However, in some situations, projects with a high level of intra-project modular interdependencies have a low level of informal clan control often due to time pressures. Organizations may govern projects with a high level of intra-project modular interdependencies and poor structures through an enabling control style. Organizations can effectively govern projects with a low level of intra-project modular interdependencies through authoritative control style except in the projects where they assign team members to multiple projects simultaneously. By leveraging control theory to examine the intra-project modular dependencies, we add to the ongoing discourse on control theory and ISD project governance.

The iterative and incremental development (IID) approach is widely adopted in information systems development (ISD) projects. While the IID approach has played an important role the management of many ISD projects, some of the key techniques have not received critical appraisal from the academic community. This paper aims to fill the gap and examines three such techniques through a case study. First of all, the gap between the theory of user participation and the reality of user’s lack of real influence on design and development is explored. The author proposes the concept of “participatory capture” to explain the side effect of user participation. Secondly, the assumption that evolutionary prototyping converges to a successful design is questioned. Thirdly, the side effect of the timeboxing technique is considered. The paper suggests that the IID approach represents the learning approach as categorized in Pich et al. (2002) and it might be ineffective in dealing with the significant uncertainties in ISD projects.

This chapter examines the causes of failure in a Web-based information system development project and finds out how complexity can lead a project towards failure. Learning from an Information System Development Project (ISDP) failure plays a key role in the long-term success of any organization desirous of continuous improvement via evaluation and monitoring of its information systems (IS) development efforts. This study reports on a seemingly simple (but only deceptively so) failed ISDP to inform the reader about the various complexities involved in ISDPs in general, and in developing countries in particular. An existing framework from contemporary research is adopted to map the complexities found in the project under study and the critical areas, which lead to the decreased reliability and failure in Web-based information system development, are highlighted.

This paper focuses on 18 well-known recommended practices for information system (IS) development projects to assess their relative dissemination and effectiveness and to examine the role of standardization frameworks in promoting them. Findings from a survey of 97 information technology (IT) professionals show that most of these practices tend to be adopted, that they are associated with higher chances of success in IS development projects and that software process improvement models, project management maturity models and formal development methodologies tend to promote such practices. Findings show however some notable exceptions that may require to refine this existing set of recommended practices. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

PurposeExtant literature on design theory has little empirical evidence about how work characteristics affect team interaction processes. This paper examines the knowledge-sharing process in information systems development (ISD) projects.Design/methodology/approachTask interdependence from work design theory was used as an antecedent of knowledge sharing for collaboration for the empirical analysis. Data were collected from 203 ISD project teams in South Korea to examine team social capital and knowledge sharing among team members.FindingsThe results indicate that task interdependence has a statistically significant impact on the knowledge-sharing process. The mediating roles of social capital and knowledge sharing are critical. Additionally, the effects of social capital change over time as long-term projects have different mechanisms than short-term ones.Originality/valueThe paper introduces a novel perspective (i.e. the adoption of task interdependence from work design theory) and integrates it with the research constructs that play important roles in ISD projects: knowledge sharing and teams’ social capital. In an ISD project team, which represents knowledge-intensive collaboration and has heterogeneous team characteristics, task interdependence has a positive impact on the team as predicted by work design theory. It verifies the mediating effect of social capital, particularly the changing influence of social capital with time.

Organisational globalisation has strengthened the popularity of virtual information systems development (ISD) teams, by maximising the availability of resources. However, few studies investigate the practices of virtual ISD teams. This paper presents findings from a survey on the use of ISD methodologies by virtual ISD teams. Virtual ISD teams appear to employ the use of methodologies to a greater extent than do colocated teams. Teams employed a structured approach to the ISD process, following a methodology with clear emphasis on the importance of documentation and constant communication between team members. Conversely, ISD literature on colocated teams presents a view that methodologies are not wholly used and where they are used, a tailoring of the methodology takes place. The virtual teams involved in this study did not engage in a tailoring of methods during development. Most teams utilised an internally developed methodology specific to the organisation. The results lead to recommendations for future research into virtual ISD teams.

Purpose: This paper examines the mediating role of the team's entrepreneurial passion between positive leadership and team creativity in small and medium-sized enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: The data was collected from 604 Chinese SME team leaders. A structural equation model was used to analyze the direct and indirect effects of positive leadership, team creativity, and entrepreneurial passion. SPSS 16 and AMOS 23 software were used for statistical analysis. The findings are as follows: First, Positive leadership in small and medium-sized enterprises has a positive influence on the team's creativity. Second, positive leadership has a positive impact on the entrepreneurial passion of small and medium-sized enterprise teams. Third, the entrepreneurial passion of teams has a positive influence on the creativity of teams in SMEs. Fourth, in SMEs, the entrepreneurial passion of the team plays a mediating role between positive leadership and team creativity. Research limitations/Implications： This study is static and does not fully capture the dynamic process of team creativity in which positive leadership is involved through its long-term effects on team cognition and team emotions. The research focuses mainly on the team level but does not explore the complex relationship between positive leadership and team creativity. Originality/Value ： This paper aims to support SME leaders in choosing the right team leader type and enhance team members' intrinsic cognitive and emotional strengths through positive leadership, thus providing helpful guidance for team creativity. We constructed a model based on social cognitive theory to test our research hypothesis.

Relationship between the interactive use of control systems and the project performance: The moderating effect of uncertainty and equivocality

The transactive memory system (TMS) has been considered as one critical element for effective teamwork. However, viewing TMS as a second‐order construct that mixes cognitive (specialty and credibility) and behavioural (coordination) components leads to confusion and increases the difficulty in interpreting study results. This study follows the concept proposed by one recent study and attempts to distinguish between behavioural and cognitive components. Furthermore, drawing on the need for diverse members to be integrated behaviourally, we also attempt to extend the TMS research stream by proposing a more comprehensive behavioural component of TMS. We argue that to obtain better teamwork outcomes, information system development (ISD) team members need to integrate the expertise possessed by each individual, make decisions jointly and interlink all individual actions. In light of this, our study aims to replace coordination with team behavioural integration, a more comprehensive behavioural consequence of cognition and explore the critical role of behavioural integration in ISD teams by understanding its impact on ISD teamwork project team performance. The study result, based on data collected from 205 information system project managers, supports our hypotheses that expertise specialty, credibility and their interaction positively affect team behavioural integration. This, in turn, leads to enhanced project team performance.

With so many natural and man-made disasters bringing catastrophic losses worldwide, the initial response is the one during which real-time decision-making is particularly important for the overall performance. During the response phase, first responders with diverse backgrounds (e.g., fire, medical, law enforcement, or public work) need to work together as an ad hoc team to save lives and infrastructures at risk. For successful response operations, cognition (i.e., the ability to support timely and effective decision-making) needs to be understood not only at the individual level but also at the team level. Yet, team cognition still remains to be an inadequately addressed topic in emergency response literature (Bigley &amp; Roberts, 2001; Comfort, 2007; Majchrzak, Jarvenpaa, &amp; Hollingshead, 2007). While the need to study real-world teams in the context of “broader sociotechnical systems” has been documented in team cognition and behavior literature (Kozlowski &amp; Ilgen, 2006; Salas, Cooke &amp; Rosen, 2008; DeChurch and Zaccaro, 2010), emergency response literature lacks attention to emergency responders’ collective efforts. Unlike many other cognitive psychology research topics, the theoretical growth of team cognition has been primarily driven by application needs – i.e., “there was no time to wait for a psychology of team cognition” because applications were “needed yesterday” (Cooke et al. 2007). That is, the scarcity of literature can be traced back to lack of efforts in conceptualizing and operationalizing team cognition in the unique context of emergency response. Most of all, the emergency response field must first come to consensus on what it means by team cognition. As it stands, there are at least five research domains of team cognition (Wildman, Salas, &amp; Scott, 2014), i.e., team mental models, transactive memory systems, team situation awareness, strategic consensus, and interactive team cognition (ITC). While each of these domains highlights some aspects of the multifaceted construct of team cognition, the direction of future research hinges on having a clear conceptualization of team cognition – particularly in the context of emergency response. A scoping review of literature was conducted as an initial effort to outline and synthesize how team cognition has been defined in the field of emergency response. Using targeted keyword searches in MEDLINE, COMPENDEX and CINAHL, the total of 1,799 articles published in English after 1994, which either empirically or otherwise investigated team cognition in emergency response were retrieved. After the initial search, paper titles, abstracts, and full texts were subsequently reviewed to exclude irrelevant ones and to define the subset for detailed review. Our qualitative analysis identified inconsistencies in definitions that may generate redundant research efforts and hinder the generalization of findings. Three main research gaps with respect to defining team cognition in emergency response are identified. (1) Team cognition needs to be defined at the team level, viewing a team either as an aggregated group of individuals or a cognitive system. (2) Product-based and process-based definitions of team cognition need to be clearly differentiated and aligned with two distinct views on a team. While team cognition has a nuanced literature that describes subtle distinctions between two perspectives (i.e., an emergent state vs. a cognitive process) (Durso, Rawson, &amp; Girotto, 2007; Cooke et al. 2007; Saner et al. 2009), emergency response literature has yet to produce research that shows satisfactory exploration on those distinctions. (3) Team cognition needs to be redefined in the unique context of emergency response. As posited by the ITC theory (“team cognition is inextricably tied to context”, Cooke et al. 2013), team cognition in emergency response could differ depending on the nature of the surrounding dynamic context including team, task, and environment. However, different constructs are taken directly from other disciplines and only very few of them are redefined in the context of emergency response (Sætrevik, 2015). This research documents the first component of the multistage on-going project that investigates how interactions among human, team, and technology affect team cognition and performance in emergency response. Based on the synthesis, a working definition for future work is presented as: “a collective cognitive process of team members 1) perceiving changes in the status of critical elements, 2) adapting in response to the perceived changes, and 3) learning from past performance, which supports timely and effective coordinated decision-making and manifests itself as behavioral patterns of dynamic interactions among individuals and technologies”. Future work in progress includes developing an appropriate measurement technique for team cognition based on working definition, designing and evaluating potential technologies to support team cognition in the simulated emergency response environment (i.e., Emergency Operations Training Center, TEEX, College Station, TX).

We examined the outcomes of elementary school-based problem-solving teams (PSTs) who participated in a multi-component consultation focused on enhancing systematic problem solving. Consultation provided to each PST included training in the use of a problem-solving protocol (i.e., Outcomes: Planning Monitoring, and Evaluating [Outcomes: PME]) and subsequent performance feedback and training regarding team use of the protocol. A train-the-trainer model was used whereby researchers trained school psychologists to deliver the intervention and serve as coaches on the PSTs. At baseline, all three PSTs demonstrated low (i.e., <50%) problem-solving procedural integrity (i.e., the degree to which critical components of the problem-solving process were implemented), often scoring lowest for problem-solving components related to data collection and analysis (e.g., treatment integrity, progress monitoring, and pre-post intervention data). Each PST demonstrated increased problem-solving integrity following implementation of the first intervention component, problem-solving information and Outcomes: PME training. Procedural integrity also increased for the two PSTs that received the second intervention component, performance feedback. An increase in procedural integrity was not found for one PST that received the third intervention component, targeted consulting; however, data collection was incomplete. Results are discussed in terms of future research priorities to examine consultation that promotes the use of quality team problem-solving components.