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The current study builds on the non-linear Dynamic Systems (NDS) perspective to test the assumption that change in sickness absenteeism is non-linear, and that such change is due to workload, team adaptability and task cohesion. Participants were 37 firefighter teams (n = 250 individuals) from a main European capital city. The research hypotheses were tested using SPSS and the "cusp" package, in the statistical software R. The results suggest that change in sickness absenteeism behaviours over time is non-linear, with the cusp catastrophe model predicting such behaviours better than the linear and logistic models. In our model, task cohesion functions as an asymmetry factor (i.e., the independent variable that determines the strength and discrepancy between the two stable states of the dependent variable) leading to a linear change in sickness absenteeism. Interestingly, both workload and team adaptability function as bifurcation (i.e., the independent variable that determines the change between the two stable states of the order parameter) and asymmetry factors leading to non-linear and linear change in sickness absenteeism over time. This study contributes to the growing evidence that incorporating the NDS perspective enables a better understanding of action teams, namely those working in extreme environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking a motivational approach, this study deepens the role of team members’ shared understanding of the work to be done in a project team setting. More specifically, the goal of this study is to test a second stage moderated mediation model in which the mediating role of team members’ proactive behavior in the relationship between perceived shared understanding and team performance is moderated by team adaptability. Based on a multisource and multimethod approach, data were collected from 111 teams of undergraduate and graduate students (521 participants) participating in a project management simulation. Results support the hypothesized moderated mediation model. Indeed, the results indicate that the relationship between perceived shared understanding and team performance is mediated by proactive behavior. The results also show that the relationship between proactive behavior and team performance is moderated by team adaptability. Overall, results reveal that the indirect effect of perceived shared understanding on team performance is moderated by team adaptability, such that this indirect effect is stronger when the level of team adaptability is high. In terms of practical implications, the study highlights the importance of fostering the perception of being “on the same page” in order to motivate members to be proactive and to enhance project team performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of three team mental model measurement approaches. Specifically, this study measures the similarity (MM-similarity) and quality (MM-quality) facets of team strategy- focused mental models using structural networks, priority rankings, and importance ratings. The convergent and divergent relationships among the three mental model metrics are then examined via a multi-facet multi-method matrix. Finally, the relative utility of each metric for understanding the relationships between team mental models, team adaptability, and decision effectiveness are compared. The study was conducted in a laboratory setting, modeling 56 four-person decision-making teams. Results indicate little convergent and extensive discriminant validity across the three mental model metrics. In addition, only mental models measured using the structural networks metric were found to have predictive validity in relation to team adaptation and performance. The quality and similarity of team structural networks were found to have interactive effects in relation to adaptation such that mental model quality was most strongly related to adaptation for teams with low mental model similarity and unrelated to adaptation for teams with high similarity. In turn, adaptation was critical for team decision effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]