Team political skill and team performance
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between team political skill, i.e., the mean level of political skill among team members, and team performance. Specifically, it proposes that the link between team political skill and team performance is ambiguous and contingent upon a common professional background as well as collective team commitment within the team.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 45 service teams with 295 team members and their supervisors were analyzed. Hypotheses were tested using OLS regression.
Findings
The results show that a common professional background and collective team commitment serve as crucial contingencies for the relationship between team political skill and team performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study complements previous individual-level research demonstrating a positive relation between political skill and relevant outcomes by highlighting that the link between team political skill and team performance is ambiguous and contingent upon other team characteristics.
Practical implications
To enhance team performance, managers should carefully consider the interplay between team political skill and other team characteristics when making staffing decisions.
Originality/value
The study highlights the relation of political skill with team performance and points to a potential downside of political skill in organizations.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank meta|five GmbH, Cologne, for generously supporting this research project. The authors’ names are listed in alphabetical order. All authors contributed equally.
Citation
Semrau, T., Steigenberger, N. and Wilhelm, H. (2017), "Team political skill and team performance", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-03-2016-0074
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited