How Does Communication Structure Influence Team Performance in Complex Tasks

Abstract

This is an experimental study which is designed to identify the joint relationship between communication density and centrality as independent factors to team performance, discovering how they would jointly affect work team performance. Specially different from existing studies, separating team performance into team efficiency and team effectiveness, we identified differential influences to the two independent factors. Findings suggest a competing relationship between communication density and centrality. A framework was proposed to help managers understand the joint effect of density and centrality on performance. Work team has high communication density and low centrality is “Innovating”, which is likely to have a great extent of ideas, knowledge and information sharing, and reach high effectiveness. Team with high centrality and low density is characterized as “centralized”. Such communication structure may reduce diversity of perspectives and accelerate team decision making. When both density and centrality are low, the team is “Autonomous”. To increase external validity, other factors such as leadership, organizational climate influencing on team performance should be reflected in the future research.