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Ego-relevance in team production.
César Mantilla1, Zahra Murad2,3
1Economics Department, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
Plos One
|December 21, 2022
Summary
Ego-relevance in team tasks increases effort responsiveness to teammates, especially when performance depends on the bottom-performer. This effect is mediated by expected teammate contributions, not direct interactions.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Social Psychology
- Organizational Behavior
Background:
- Individual effort in team settings is influenced by various factors.
- Understanding the role of ego-relevance in team dynamics is crucial for productivity.
- Team production functions can be sensitive to either top or bottom performer output.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how ego-relevance affects individual effort in team production tasks.
- To examine the mediating role of expected teammate effort on effort contribution.
- To test the differential impact of top- vs. bottom-performer dependent tasks on ego-relevant effort.
Main Methods:
- An experiment was conducted manipulating ego-relevance by labeling a task as either an "IQ Task" or a "Pattern Task."
- Participants' effort contribution was measured in a team production setting.
- The team's production function was varied to depend on either the top or bottom performer.
Main Results:
- Ego-relevance significantly impacts individual effort contribution to team tasks.
- The effect of team production function on effort is mediated by the teammate's expected effort.
- Ego-relevance amplifies responsiveness to a teammate's expected effort contributions.
- Increased responsiveness was observed when team success depended on the bottom performer.
Conclusions:
- Ego-relevance enhances sensitivity to social cues regarding teammate effort.
- The structure of team interdependence (top vs. bottom performer) influences how ego-relevance impacts effort.
- Future research should explore interventions to leverage ego-relevance for optimal team performance.
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