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The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted an ongoing phenomenon: Virtual Teams (VTs) are now a ubiquitous feature of organizations. This undeniable transformation of the way individuals and teams work brings challenges for vital team processes, including coordination, information exchange, and interpersonal relationships, as well as for many other fundamental aspects, such as leadership or emotional exchanges. Understanding the specificity of Virtual teams is the reason behind this Special Section. We aim at pushing research on virtual teams forward, by widening theoretical frameworks that explore the experience of teamworking virtually. In this editorial, we introduce the collected papers highlighting their contributions, and describe four avenues to shape future research on VTs, motivated by those papers.

International audience; Organizational teams operate in increasingly volatile environments in which the speed and degree of change accelerates, demanding rapid adaptation processes namely of the improvisational type. It is therefore essential to understand how to prepare teams to operate in such contexts. This work investigates the effects of team mental model similarity, in-action reflexivity, and transitional reflexivity on team-improvised adaptation performance and on team-improvised adaptation learning. Two experiments were conducted with a total of 121 teams. We manipulated the independent variables and used an overtime design to measure team-improvised adaptation learning. Our findings suggest that teams operating in unpredictable environments that require rapid adaptation should be able to reflect collectively, both while acting and between tasks. These teams should also develop a common understanding of the main elements of the context and the task, so that they are effective in the face of unpredictability and rapid change.

Research has demonstrated the value of team adaptation for organizational teams. However, empirical work on interventions that teams can take to increase adaptive team performance is scarce. In response, this study proposes a concept mapping intervention as a way to increase teams’ ability to adapt following a task change. Particularly, this study examines the effect of a concept mapping intervention on team transition adaptation (the drop in performance after a change) and reacquisition adaptation (the slope of performance after the change) via its effect on task mental models and transactive memory systems. We conducted a longitudinal experimental study of 44 three-person teams working on an emergency management simulation. Findings suggest that the concept mapping intervention promotes reacquisition adaptation, task mental models, and transactive memory systems. Results also suggest that task mental models mediate the effect of the concept mapping intervention on reacquisition adaptation. A post hoc analysis suggests that the concept mapping intervention is only effective if it leads to high task mental model accuracy. Our study presents concept mapping as a practical intervention to promote shared cognition and reacquisition adaptation. Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCT info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Literature on Shared Mental Models (SMMs) has been burgeoning in recent years. Although this has provided increasingly detailed insight and evidence into the importance of SMMs across contexts, it has also become apparent that there are key limitations which might hinder future development. First, SMMs are operationalized and measured via in-depth, context dependent measures, which complicates the creation of a coherent body of knowledge. Second, different conceptualizations of the dimensionality of SMMs exist, which may complicate the comparison findings from different studies. We argue that the field of SMMs has now matured enough that it is possible to take a deductive approach and evaluate the prior studies in order to refine the key SMMs dimensions and operationalizations. Hence, we take a three-stage approach to distil measurement items from the literature, using four samples to do so. Ultimately, this leads to a 30-item five-dimensional scale (i.e., equipment, task execution, interaction, team composition, and temporal SMMs) which provides scholars with a tool which enables the measurement, and comparison, of SMMs across diverse team contexts. It offers practitioners the option to straightforwardly assess SMMs in their teams, allowing them to more readily identify challenges in their teams and design appropriate interventions for improvement.

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. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

International audience; Change and unpredictability characterize today's business environment. Organizational teams must effectively cope with this reality and ensure that high levels of performance are not compromised. By refining team adaptation with the integration of team improvisation, this study tests a team adaptation temporal framework comprising two processes - team improvised adaptation and team preemptive adaptation. We also investigate the relationships between these constructs and shared temporal cognitions, team learning behaviors, and team performance. We conducted four studies with three different samples, and the results suggest that the two framework constructs are distinct. The results also indicate that team improvised adaptation behaviors mediate the relationship between shared temporal cognitions and team performance, and that team learning behaviors moderate this mediation.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify individual and contextual influences on in-house safety trainers’ role orientation toward the transfer of training (TT). Design/methodology/approach The authors tested a model where felt-responsibility for TT mediates the influence of job resources (i.e. autonomy, access to resources, access to information and organizational support) on trainers’ definition of their role and where training safety climate exerts a moderator effect. Data were collected from 201 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professionals, all in-house safety trainers, of large public and private companies. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings The model highlighted the mediating influence of felt-responsibility in the interplay between job resources and role orientation, the moderating influence of safety climate on the relationship of autonomy and organizational support on role definition, but not access to resources and access to information on role definition in the TT. Results suggest that how much safety trainers consider supporting the TT as a part of their overall role is affected by autonomy and organizational support through a sense of responsibility regarding training results, and these effects are influenced by the perceived importance of safety training to the organization. Research limitations/implications The study is cross-sectional and used self-reported data, meaning that causal inferences should be carefully drawn. Further studies should explore other sources of influence over felt-responsibility, for example, supervisors’ support for transfer, the relationship between how in-house safety trainers define their role in the transfer process and trainees’ effective application of their new knowledge and skills. Practical implications Companies should overtly signal the importance of safety training to in-house safety trainers because it will elicit, by reciprocity, a greater sense of personal responsibility and increased efforts concerning training success. Originality/value No previous research looked at how in-house trainers define their role in the TT, as well as the individual and contextual factors that influence their efforts toward the efficacy of training.

Due to changing organizational demands, team leaders increasingly need to engage in temporal leadership behaviors in order to coordinate team members’ efforts, avoid time related conflicts and ensure that teams perform well. Simultaneously, temporal conflicts and team performance are impacted by team members’ shared temporal cognitions. In this study, we investigate the effect of temporal leadership and shared temporal cognitions on team performance via temporal conflict and test whether the impact of temporal leadership on temporal conflict may be substituted by shared temporal cognitions. Our study was conducted in a management simulation involving 142 teams working on a task over 5 weeks. Results suggest that temporal conflict mediates the relationship between temporal leadership and team performance as well as between shared temporal cognitions and team performance. Further, we found support for the idea that shared temporal cognitions function as a substitute of temporal leadership for reducing temporal conflict in teams. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

The aim of this study is to identify the influence of social dimensions of the work environment and the employees' felt responsibility on the transfer of safety training. We tested a model in which responses and reactions from safety players such as coworkers, supervisors, and safety professionals are positively related to the transfer of training (TT), through the mediating effect of the employees' felt responsibility and the moderating influence of supervisor support and sanctions. A two-time data collection was implemented among blue-collar employees, all low qualified, from four city councils who attended a fundamental safety training program delivered by in-house safety trainers, all safety professionals (n = 203). Data analysis revealed that (a) supervisors' safety responses, coworkers' safety responses, and safety professionals' reactions positively influenced the TT, an effect (b) mediated by employees' felt responsibility and (c) moderated by supervisor sanctions, but not by supervisor support. The results suggest that high sanctions enhance the positive effect of high self-responsibility on TT, and, importantly, aggravate the negative effect of low self-responsibility on TT. This is the first study to empirically test both the influence of felt responsibility and the safety professionals' reactions in the transfer process. Research should continue to examine the former construct's influence on the transfer process including, for example, its effect on supervisor support, and the latter as a safety-related social dimension variable of the work environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

In competitive and dynamic contexts team members need to be creative to ensure that teams achieve high levels of performance and feel satisfied with their work. At the same time, team members need to have a shared understanding regarding relevant aspects related to task accomplishment and team interaction. In this study we investigate the mediating mechanisms of intra-group conflict and creativity in the relationship between shared mental models and team effectiveness (team performance and satisfaction). We tested our model in a sample of 161 teams (735 individuals) performing in a management simulation. We collected data at three time points. Our results suggest that high shared mental models are related to low levels of intra-group conflict, foster creativity, and in turn improve team performance and satisfaction. These findings contribute to a scarce thematic – the relationship between shared mental models and creativity – emphasizing the importance of a shared understanding for creativity and team effectiveness.

In this longitudinal study, we integrated a team process and a learning curve perspective on team learning and empirically analysed whether team learning processes lead to performance improvement. In addition, we tested whether this relation is moderated by the similarity of team members’ task, team, and temporal mental models. We tested our model on a sample of 67 teams (314 individuals) competing in a management simulation over five consecutive time periods, using random coefficient modelling (RCM). Our findings suggest that team learning behaviours do not have a direct effect on the team learning curve, but temporal and task mental models are crucial for the translation of team learning behaviours into performance improvement. We found that when teams have similar task and temporal mental models, engaging in team learning processes is beneficial, whereas, when teams have dissimilar task and temporal mental models, it is detrimental to performance improvement. We did not find a significant effect for the moderating role of team mental model similarity. Our study emphasizes the importance of integrating different perspectives on team learning and provides support for the role of team cognition as a catalyst for team learning. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Buildings play an important role in energy consumption, mainly in the operation phase. Current development on IoT allows implementing sustainable actions in building towards savings, identify consumption patterns and relate consumption with space usage. Comfort parameters can be defined, and a set of services can be implemented toward the goals of saving energy and water. This approach can be replicated in most buildings and considerable savings can be achieved thus contributing to a more sustainable world without negative impact on building users’ comfort. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Purpose – This study aims to evaluate the extent to which similar team mental models (TMMs) at the beginning of a team's lifecycle influence the level of relationship conflict within the team, TMM-similarity at the middle of the team lifecycle, and in turn team effectiveness. Thus far, no research has analysed the mediating role of a dysfunctional team process between TMM-similarity and effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted in a strategy and management competition involving 414 individuals who comprised 92 teams (3-5 members). Data were collected at four moments in time. The questionnaires were developed based on validated scales and adapted for the specific context. Findings – The results provide support for the mediating role of conflict between the similarity of team-TMMs at the beginning of team lifecycle and effectiveness. The results also provide support for the mediating role of task-TMMs in the middle of team lifecycle between task-TMMs at the beginning of team lifecycle and effectiveness. Findings suggest that teams with more similar TMMs, experience less relationship conflict which in turn improves effectiveness. Research limitations/implications – In this study TMM-accuracy was not analysed. Future research should analyse the role of TMM similarity and accuracy. Further, future research should explore the optimal level of TMM-similarity and when the similarity of TMM is disruptive to teams. Originality/value – This paper sheds light on the role of conflict as a dysfunctional team process between TMM-similarity and effectiveness. Moreover, this paper shows that more research on TMM evolution is needed.

In this study we examined the moderating effect of temporal mental model accuracy on the relationship between temporal mental model similarity and team learning. Further, we investigated the mediating mechanism of team adaptation in the relationship between team learning and performance. The study was conducted in a management simulation involving 68 teams (319 individuals). We collected data at three time points. The results showed that when accuracy is high, temporal mental model similarity is not significantly related to team learning; whereas, when accuracy is low, the more similar the team members’ mental models are, the less they engage in learning behaviors. This suggests that sharing an inaccurate mental model leads to closed minds. In addition, we found team adaptation to mediate the relationship between team learning and performance. These findings emphasize the importance of temporal mental models in predicting team learning, and the importance of team learning for team adaptation and performance. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of two specific dimensions of team climate (learning orientation and psychological safety), as a cognitive contextual factor, on different types of team conflict. We hypothesized that the relationship between learning orientation and the different types of conflict is moderated by psychological safety climate. A total of 218 teams (959 individuals) participated in this study. All teams were enrolled in a strategic and management competition for a 5-week period. Globally, the results supported the hypotheses concerning the direct influence of team climate on intragroup conflicts, since more positive climates diminish team conflict. The results also supported the hypothesis of the moderating role of psychological safety on the relationship between learning orientation and both relationship conflict and temporal conflict. Learning orientation diminishes both relationship and temporal conflicts when teams experience high levels of psychological safety. These results point out the importance of team climates on processes and dynamics among members., O objectivo do presente estudo foi o de avaliar o impacto de duas dimensões específicas do clima de equipa (clima de orientação para a aprendizagem e clima de segurança psicológica), enquanto factor contextual de natureza cognitiva, nos diferentes tipos de conflito das equipas. Colocou-se a hipótese de que a relação entre orientação para a aprendizagem e os diferentes tipos de conflito é moderada pelo clima de segurança psicológica. Participaram neste estudo 218 equipas (959 indivíduos) envolvidas numa competição de estratégia e gestão que decorreu ao longo de cinco semanas. Globalmente, os resultados suportaram as hipóteses da influência directa do clima de equipa nos conflitos intragrupais no sentido em que climas mais positivos diminuem os conflitos nas equipas. Os resultados suportaram igualmente a hipótese do papel moderador da segurança psicológica na relação entre orientação para a aprendizagem e o conflito relacional e o conflito de gestão de tempo, sendo que a orientação para a aprendizagem reduz os conflitos quer relacionais quer de gestão de tempo nas situações de elevada segurança psicológica. Estes resultados chamam a atenção para a importância dos climas de equipa nos processos e dinâmicas entre os membros.

Dissertação de mestrado em Direito e Informática, O interesse deste trabalho de carácter maioritariamente jurídico, baseia-se na problematização da privacidade e proteção de dados pessoais na Cloud e o seu enquadramento legal num contexto concreto de utilização de um software de gestão criado pela PRIMAVERA Business Software Solutions (passada a designar-se por PRIMAVERA), que oferece serviços on-line baseados numa infraestrutura (própria) de computação na Cloud. Estes serviços caracterizam-se pela utilidade e simplicidade para os seus clientes, no entanto deve atender-se a questões de proteção de dados e responsabilidade contratual. Por isso, este trabalho prende-se também com a obtenção de respostas para a PRIMAVERA no que toca às eventuais responsabilidades legais em que a mesma poderá incorrer por indevida utilização dos dados ou violação de preceitos legais. Assim, tendo em conta esta dupla ambição, esta dissertação foi elaborada com a colaboração afincada da PRIMAVERA, tendo esta à disposição uma equipa constituída por elementos distinguidos pela mesma, quer da área técnica, quer da área jurídica, bem como dos orientadores da Escola de Direito da Universidade do Minho e do HASLab INESC TEC/Departamento de Ciência de Computadores, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto. Naturalmente, a exposição contém as duas componentes associadas a este Mestrado, não de forma vincadamente separada, mas de forma conjugada com vista a encontrar no direito a ponte legal para a evolução tecnológica da computação na nuvem. Para identificar um combinado de problemas críticos desta computação, a dissertação está estruturada em doze capítulos, sendo que os três primeiros debruçam-se sobre os aspetos técnicos da computação na nuvem, nomeadamente na definição, conceitos, características, benefícios, desafios e por último tenta-se aludir a soluções para as ameaças trazidas pela utilização da mesma. O quarto centra-se nos serviços cloud que a empresa em estudo oferece aos clientes e as suas implicações jurídicas. Por fim, os restantes capítulos procuram o seu lugar dentro do quadro legislativo europeu e nacional de proteção de dados e comércio eletrónico, analisando os intervenientes na relação contratual, as suas responsabilidades jurídicas, os princípios consagrados e a perspetiva futura do quadro legal de proteção de dados pessoais., The interest of this mainly legal nature of work is based on the problematics of personal data privacy and protection in the Cloud and its legal framework in a particular context of use of a management software created by PRIMAVERA Business Software Solutions, which offers online services based on (own) infrastructure computing in the Cloud. These services are characterized by the utility and simplicity for their customers, but it takes risks like data protection issues and contractual liability. Therefore, this work goal is to give answers to PRIMAVERA as a data processor with regard to any legal responsibilities that it can cope with the misuse or infringing use of them. Thus, taking into account this double ambition, this work was developed in collaboration with PRIMAVERA, that provided a team of elements distinguished by the same whether the technical area or the legal department, as well as guided by Law School of University of Minho and HASLab INESC TEC/Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Porto. The exhibition contains two components associated with this Master, not distinctly separate, but combined in order to find the right legal bridge to the technological evolution of cloud computing. To identify some critical issues of this computation, the dissertation is divided into twelve chapters, and the first three are occupied with the technical aspects of cloud computing, including the definition, concepts, features, benefits, challenges and finally tries to present solutions to the threats posed by the use of it. The fourth focuses on cloud services that the company offers to customers and their legal implications. Finally, the remaining chapters seek their place in the European and National legislative framework of data protection, analysing actors in the contractual relationship, its legal responsibilities, the principles enshrined in the specific law and the future perspective of the personal data protection law.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide more insight into team temporal constructs and team satisfaction, this study proposes and tests a multiple mediation model of shared temporal cognition (STC), temporal conflict (TC), action processes, and team satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – The authors test the theoretical model in a sample of 364 student teams (1,414 individuals) from universities in the USA, Switzerland, Germany, and Portugal. Participants completed questionnaires at three points in time. Findings – Results indicated a direct, positive relationship between STC and team satisfaction and a direct, negative relationship between TC and team satisfaction. Action processes and TC partially and sequentially mediated the relationship between STC and team satisfaction over time. Research limitations/implications – This study was restricted to self-report, to a student population, and to Western cultures. The study was not of an experimental nature which prevents making causal claims regarding relationships among variables. Practical implications – These results demonstrate the need for teams to be conscious of time and its relationship to team interaction and satisfaction. The authors advise both team leaders and members to acknowledge the importance of STC. Social implications – The need for temporal awareness and STC in collaborative endeavors, and the need to mindfully utilize action processes to minimize conflict and assist in the effective use of shared cognition is widely applicable from a societal perspective. Originality/value – This study provides new theoretical and empirical insight into a multiple mediation model including STC, TC, action processes, and team satisfaction. The size and multi-cultural nature of the sample also enhance the generalizability of the findings.

The massive access to the Internet has changed the way we interact and relate. Social networks registered a massive adoption. Free and open source software (FOSS) eases the diffusion of social networks. Moreover, FOSS content management systems (CMS) allow the development and customization without requiring high technical knowledge. WordPress, the most used CMS, is widely used in the proliferation of social networks. This CMS disposes a social network plugin, the BuddyPress. In this paper the authors describe the architecture and functionalities of the BuddyPress. It's also presented a SWOT analysis on BuddyPress.

During the last 30 years, significant debate has taken place regarding multilevel research. However, the extent to which multilevel research is overtly practiced remains to be examined. This article analyzes 10 years of organizational research within a multilevel framework (from 2001 to 2011). The goals of this article are (a) to understand what has been done, during this decade, in the field of organizational multilevel research and (b) to suggest new arenas of research for the next decade. A total of 132 articles were selected for analysis through ISI Web of Knowledge. Through a broad-based literature review, results suggest that there is equilibrium between the amount of empirical and conceptual papers regarding multilevel research, with most studies addressing the cross-level dynamics between teams and individuals. In addition, this study also found that the time still has little presence in organizational multilevel research. Implications, limitations, and future directions are addressed in the end.