Group affective tone and team performance: A week level study in project teams

Group affective tone is an emergent state that can be shared by group members during interdependent tasks. Groups can experience positive group affective tone (PGAT), a shared feeling of, e.g., excitement, enthusiasm, or activation, as well as negative group affective tone (NGAT), a shared feeling o...

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Main Authors: Hilko, Paulsen, Klonek, Florian, Kurt, Schneider, Simone, Kauffeld
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79956
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author Hilko, Paulsen
Klonek, Florian
Kurt, Schneider
Simone, Kauffeld
author_facet Hilko, Paulsen
Klonek, Florian
Kurt, Schneider
Simone, Kauffeld
author_sort Hilko, Paulsen
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Group affective tone is an emergent state that can be shared by group members during interdependent tasks. Groups can experience positive group affective tone (PGAT), a shared feeling of, e.g., excitement, enthusiasm, or activation, as well as negative group affective tone (NGAT), a shared feeling of, e.g., distress, anxiety, and hostility. So far, previous cross-sectional research suggests that PGAT and NGAT are related to team performance outcomes. However, little is known about how the dynamic and fluctuating group affective states are related to team performance over an extended period of time. Therefore, the current study investigated the relation between PGAT, NGAT, and performance over the course of 34 software engineering projects. We hypothesized that PGAT is positively related to team performance, whereas NGAT is negatively related to team performance. Based on the punctuated equilibrium model and the feeling-as-information theory, we expected that these associations become stronger in the second half of the project. Using week-level design with 165 participants in 34 software engineering teams, we repeatedly assessed PGAT, NGAT, and team performance over 14 weeks. Data were analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling. As expected, PGAT was positively related to team performance, whereas NGAT was negatively related to team performance – between teams over the course of the projects as well as within teams over time. More importantly, the weekly relationships were stronger in the second half of the project. Our study indicates that weekly variations in group affective tone are more relevant after projects reach a temporal midpoint. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for project teams.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-799562021-01-08T07:54:28Z Group affective tone and team performance: A week level study in project teams Hilko, Paulsen Klonek, Florian Kurt, Schneider Simone, Kauffeld Group affective tone is an emergent state that can be shared by group members during interdependent tasks. Groups can experience positive group affective tone (PGAT), a shared feeling of, e.g., excitement, enthusiasm, or activation, as well as negative group affective tone (NGAT), a shared feeling of, e.g., distress, anxiety, and hostility. So far, previous cross-sectional research suggests that PGAT and NGAT are related to team performance outcomes. However, little is known about how the dynamic and fluctuating group affective states are related to team performance over an extended period of time. Therefore, the current study investigated the relation between PGAT, NGAT, and performance over the course of 34 software engineering projects. We hypothesized that PGAT is positively related to team performance, whereas NGAT is negatively related to team performance. Based on the punctuated equilibrium model and the feeling-as-information theory, we expected that these associations become stronger in the second half of the project. Using week-level design with 165 participants in 34 software engineering teams, we repeatedly assessed PGAT, NGAT, and team performance over 14 weeks. Data were analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling. As expected, PGAT was positively related to team performance, whereas NGAT was negatively related to team performance – between teams over the course of the projects as well as within teams over time. More importantly, the weekly relationships were stronger in the second half of the project. Our study indicates that weekly variations in group affective tone are more relevant after projects reach a temporal midpoint. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for project teams. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79956 10.3389/fcomm.2016.00007 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ fulltext
spellingShingle Hilko, Paulsen
Klonek, Florian
Kurt, Schneider
Simone, Kauffeld
Group affective tone and team performance: A week level study in project teams
title Group affective tone and team performance: A week level study in project teams
title_full Group affective tone and team performance: A week level study in project teams
title_fullStr Group affective tone and team performance: A week level study in project teams
title_full_unstemmed Group affective tone and team performance: A week level study in project teams
title_short Group affective tone and team performance: A week level study in project teams
title_sort group affective tone and team performance: a week level study in project teams
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79956