How Does Communication Structure Influence Team Performance in Complex Tasks

Abstract

본 연구는 커뮤니케이션 밀도와 및 커뮤니케이션 집중성이 어떻게 팀 성과에 영향을 미치는지 그 관련성을 파악하고자 진행된 실험실연구이다. 특히 기존 연구들과는 달리 팀성과를 팀효과성과 팀효율성으로 구분하여 이들 독립변수들이 어떤 차별적인 영향을 미치는지를 탐구하였다. 연구결과 커뮤니케이션 밀도가 높고, 커뮤니케이션 집중도가 낮은 팀은, 혁신적이며, 정보공유와 지식 아이디어가 많고, 업무의 효율성이 높은 것으로 나타났다. 반면 커뮤니케이션 집중성이 높고, 밀도가 낮은 팀은 신속한 의사결정을 하는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 집중성과 밀도가 동시에 낮은 팀은 보다 자율적인 팀으로 나타났다. 향후 연구에서는 실험실상황이 가져오는 외적 타당성의 문제를 해결하기 위하여 보다 현실적인 리더십, 조직풍토 등의 변수가 포함되어야 한다. 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.