2012 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2013), "2012 Awards for Excellence", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmp.2013.05028aaa.001

2012 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2012 Awards for Excellence From: Journal of Managerial Psychology, Volume 28, Issue 1

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Journal of Managerial Psychology

"The role of star performers in software design teams''

Judith VolmerDepartment of Psychology, Social Psychology Group, University of Erlangen, Nuremberg, Germany

Sabine SonnentagDepartment of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

Purpose - This study seeks to extend previous research on experts with mainly ad-hoc groups from laboratory research to a field setting. Specifically, this study aims to investigate experts' relative importance in team performance. Expertise is differentiated into two categories (task functions and team functions) and the paper aims to investigate whether experts in task and team functions predict team performance over and above the team's average expertise level.

Design/methodology/approach - Longitudinal, multi-source data from 96 professional software design engineers were used by means of hierarchical regression analyses.

Findings - The results show that both expert members in task functions (i.e. behavior that aids directly in the completion of work-related activities) and the experts in team functions (i.e. facilitation of interpersonal interaction necessary to work together as a team) positively predicted team performance 12 months later over and above the team's average expertise level.

Research limitations/implications - Samples from other industry types are needed to examine the generalizability of the study findings to other occupational groups.

Practical implications - For staffing, the findings suggest that experts are particularly important for the prediction of team performance. Organizations should invest effort into finding "star performers" in task and team functions in order to create effective teams.

Originality/value - This paper focuses on the relationship between experts (in task functions and team functions) and team performance. It extends prior research on team composition and complements expertise research: similar to cognitive ability and personality, it is important to take into account member expertise when examining how to manage the people mix within teams. Benefits of expertise are not restricted to laboratory research but are broadened to real-world team settings.

Keywords Team performance, Team working

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/02683941111112659

This article originally appeared in Volume 26 Number 3, 2011, pp. 219-34, Journal of Managerial Psychology

The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award

"A comparative examination of traditional and skill based pay plans''

Atul MitraNina GuptaJason D. Shaw

This article originally appeared in Volume 26 Number 4, 2011, Journal of Managerial Psychology

"Sex and position status differences in workplace aggression''

Raymond T. LeeCaleste M. Brotheridge

This article originally appeared in Volume 26 Number 5, 2011, Journal of Managerial Psychology

"Cognitive hardiness, appraisal and coping: comparing two transactional models''

Melanie L. CashDianne Gardner

This article originally appeared in Volume 26 Number 8, 2011, Journal of Managerial Psychology

Outstanding Reviewers

Emma ParryCranfield School of Management, UK

Donald GardnerUniversity of Colorado at Colorado Springs, USA