IDENTITY ASYMMETRIES: AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF SOCIAL IDENTITY AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE IN MULTITEAM SYSTEMS

摘要

Many complex organizational tasks are performed by networks of teams, or "multiteam systems." A critical challenge in multiteam systems is how to promote information exchange across teams. In three studies, we investigate how identity "asymmetries"- differences between teams in terms of whether the team or overarching system constitutes their primary focus of identification-affect interteam information sharing and performance. In Study 1, we manipulate teams' foci of identification (team vs. system focused) in a sample of 84 five-member teams working in one of 21 four-team multiteam systems performing a computer strategy simulation. We find that, while system-focused teams shared information equally with all teams, team-focused teams shared less information with system-focused teams than they did with other team-focused teams. Interteam information sharing positively predicted interteam performance. In Study 2, we test the assumptions underlying our theory in a vignette experiment, demonstrating that team-focused individuals adopt instrumental motives toward interteam interaction. Finally, in Study 3, we investigate the implications of system composition in terms of team identity foci by means of a simulation study based on the empirical results of Study 1. The results of the simulation yield novel propositions about the nonlinear effects of social identity in multiteam systems.