Using two distinct samples, this research unpacks the relationships between team innovation processes and effectiveness (measured as performance and reputation). Furthermore, we examine the moderating role of two team emergent states: goal clarity and commitment, and affective tone. We find that the relationship between innovation processes and performance is moderated by goal clarity and commitment, such that the relationship is more strongly positive when goal clarity and commitment is high. Conversely, innovation processes are more positively related to reputation when teams have lower levels of negative affective tone. Implications for research on innovation processes, emergent states, and effectiveness are discussed along with implications for practice. Practitioner pointsInnovation processes are beneficial for both team performance and reputation. However, these effects are influenced by the way team members view their goals and the emotions they experience in the team, respectively. We find that the effect of innovation processes on team performance is stronger when team objectives are clear and members are committed to their goals. The relationship between innovation processes and team reputation is weakened when team members experience negative affect. The findings, observed in both call centre and roller hockey teams, highlight that for the relationship between innovation and effectiveness to be positive, it is important to provide clear goals and manage team affect.

Purpose This paper is focused on team learning, the fourth discipline proposed by Senge (1990) in his seminal book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. This paper aims to provide a reflection upon the journey that this construct has made since this book’s publication, in terms of conceptualization, research and its link to organizational learning and learning organizations. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a review of Senge’s (1990) conceptualization of team learning and on a literature review of team learning research that has been produced since then. Findings Since the first edition of Senge’s book in 1990, team learning has been growing as an autonomous research topic with numerous papers centered on learning at this level of analysis. Senge’s proposals concerning team learning remain present in the way team learning is now conceptualized, but this research stream has led to advancements in its conceptualization and on the understanding of its antecedents and consequences. Nevertheless, the authors observed a lack of research centered on the link between team learning and organizational learning, as well as between team learning and the concept of the learning organization. Originality/value This paper offers a review of research on team learning, suggesting some avenues for further research on this topic and its contribution to learning organizations. As teams are nowadays the building blocks of most organizational structures, and learning is a key process for effectiveness, research on learning at this level of analysis will remain valuable.

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to contribute to a deeper understanding of the effects of transformational leadership on team performance, examining the role of team psychological capital (team PsyCap) and team learning behaviours as intervening mechanisms in that relationship. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative study with a cross-sectional design was conducted. The sample was composed of 82 teams from 57 Portuguese companies. Hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling. Findings Results revealed that transformational leadership is positively related to team PsyCap, which, in turn, is positively related to team learning behaviours. Moreover, the study’s findings supported the indirect influence of transformational leadership on team performance, through the role played by team PsyCap and team learning behaviours. Originality/value This is the first study that considers the mediating role of team PsyCap and team learning behaviours in the relationship between transformational leadership and team performance. In this manner, the present research contributes to the body of research on leadership, highlighting the way through which leadership might translate into team performance. Moreover, it contributes also to the positive organisational behaviour literature, identifying both antecedents and consequents of team PsyCap. The study’s findings encourage organisations to develop ways of reinforcing transformational leadership behaviours and psychological capital among teams.

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The purpose of this study was to contribute to the clarification of the conditions under which teams can be successful. To attain this goal, the direct and interactive effects of diversity and of the team's cultural orientation towards learning on team outcomes (team performance, team members' satisfaction) were analyzed. Data were obtained from a survey among 73 teams from different industrial and service companies, which perform complex and non-routine tasks. In order to test the hypotheses, multilevel analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were conducted. The results show a significant (although marginal) effect of diversity on members' satisfaction with the team. The team orientation towards learning presented positive effects on both team performance and members' satisfaction with the team. No interactive effects were identified. Although the positive impact of a learning culture on organizational effectiveness has already been studied and is well established in the literature, this is one of the first studies that provides empirical evidence of the impact of this kind of culture at the team level. At an intervention level, this study points to managers who want to create successful teams that they may be advised to enhance the levels of the team orientation towards learning, creating conditions in the team to promote and support the acquisition of knowledge.