The formation of Group Affect and Team Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Identification

J.A.L. Tanghe, B.M. van Knippenberg, H. van der Flier

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    In the current research we use the social identity perspective to enhance our understanding of group affect (i.e. a collectively shared pattern of affective states among group members). Because higher identification (i.e. the extent to which group members define themselves in terms of their group membership) is related to higher attentiveness to fellow group members, we expected that group identification would foster affective convergence, and that the effects of group affective tone on team effectiveness would be stronger for higher identifying groups. A survey of teams (n=71 teams) confirmed our expectations. A scenario experiment (n=121 participants) added to our findings by showing that identification does indeed lead group members to affectively converge to their fellow group members and that this affective convergence, in turn, explains subsequent team-oriented attitudes. Our study testifies to the notion that team managers may want to take notice of and manage affect in work groups, because, especially in higher identifying teams, affect may spread among team members and influence the team's effectiveness. © 2009 British Academy of Management.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)340-358
    Number of pages18
    JournalBritish Journal of Management
    Volume21
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

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