Multi-team systems are prevalent in military organizations. Working in multi-team systems (MTS) requires Soldiers to interact effectively both within their small units, and as part of larger systems of small units. The complexity and diversity of modern military operations requires that Soldiers work effectively in these complex collectives. This research was undertaken to address three overarching questions with important implications for the design of work in the military. The first question was: which factors lead Soldiers to develop positive relationships such as cohesion, trust, and efficacy, both within their small units and with other small units in larger systems? The second question was: which types and patterns of relationships are necessary for the functioning of both small units, and the functioning of larger systems? The third question was: how can unobtrusive digital trace data be used to track the development of Soldier relationships both within and across their small units? This research program developed a novel theory of organizational effectiveness informed by multiteam systems theory and network theory, conducted controlled experiments to evaluate propositions derived from this theory, and developed unobtrusive measures of Soldiers’ relational development.
 

  • Noshir Contractor, Northwestern University
  • Leslie A. DeChurch, Northwestern University
  • John Mathieu, University of Connecticut
  • Scott Poole, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Pilny, A., Schecter, A., Poole, M. S., & Contractor, N. (2017). An illustration of the relational event model to analyze group interaction processes. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice.

Carter, N.T., Carter, D.R., & DeChurch, L.A. (2017). Implications of observability for the theory and measurement of shared emergent team properties. Journal of Management, published online before print, October, 2015, doi: 10.1177/0149206315609402.

Leenders, R., DeChurch, L. A., & Contractor, N. S. (2016). Once upon a time: Understanding team dynamics as relational event networks. Organizational Psychology Review, 6(1), 92-115.

Sullivan, S., Lungeanu, A., DeChurch, L., & Contractor, N. (2015). Space, time, and the development of shared leadership networks in multiteam systems. Network Science, 59(5), 548-564.

Carter, D. R., DeChurch, L. A., Braun, M. T., & Contractor, N. S. (2015). Social network approaches to leadership: An integrative conceptual review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 597-622.

Murase, T., Carter, D.R., DeChurch, L.A., & Marks, M.A. (2014). Mind the gap: The role of leadership in multiteam system collective cognition. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(5), 801-1078.

Shumate, M., & Contractor, N. (2013). Emergence of multidimensional social networks. In L. L. Putnam & D. Mumby (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Communication (pp. 449-474). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Schecter, A., Contractor, N. (2017). Understanding and assessing collaborative processes through relational events. In Zhu, M., Kyllonen, P., & von Davier, A. (Eds.) Innovative Assessment of Collaboration, Springer.

Asencio, R., & DeChurch, L. A. (2017). Assessing collaboration within and between teams: A multiteam systems perspective. In A. A. von Davier, M. Zhu, & P. Kyllonen (Eds.), Innovative Assessment of Collaboration. Springer.

DeChurch, L.A., Carter, D.R., Asencio, R., Wax, A., Seely, P.W., Dalrymple, K., Vaughn, S., Jones, B., Plummer, G., & Mesmer-Magnus, J.R. (2017). From teams in organizations to organizing in teams. In Anderson, Ones, Sinangil, & Viswesvaran, Handbook of Industrial, Work, and Organizational Psychology (2nd Ed.). Sage.

Poole, M. S., Lambert, N. J., Murase, T., McDonald, J. D., & Asencio, R. (2017). Sequential analysis of process. In H. Tsoukas & A. Langley (Eds.), Sage Handbook of Process Organization Studies on Quantitative Sequence Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Murase, T., Poole, M. S., Asencio, R., McDonald, J. (2017). Sequential synchronization analysis. In Group processes: Computational and data driven approaches. US: Springer.

DeChurch, L.A., Carter, D.R., & Zaccaro, S.J. (April, 2014). Leadership governance approaches. Paper Proceedings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Human Factors and Medicine Panel.

This research program was supported by the Army Research Institute for the Social and Behavioral Sciences under contract W5J9CQ12C0017.