Team pro-social rule breaking and team innovation performance: An information processing theory perspective

Area of Science:

• Organizational Behavior
• Innovation Management
• Team Dynamics

Background:

• Understanding factors influencing team innovation performance is crucial for enhancing organizational competitiveness.
• Information processing theory provides a framework for analyzing team processes and outcomes.
• Pro-social rule breaking, a deviation from norms for collective benefit, is explored as a potential driver of innovation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between team pro-social rule breaking and team innovation performance.
• To investigate the mediating role of team reflexivity in this relationship.
• To explore the moderating effect of team learning orientation on the mediated pathway.

Main Methods:

• A three-wave field study was conducted with 82 team leaders and 382 subordinates from two large manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai, China.
• A moderated mediation model was developed and tested using survey data.
• Statistical analyses were employed to assess the proposed relationships.

Main Results:

• Team pro-social rule breaking positively influences team innovation performance.
• Team reflexivity mediates the relationship between team pro-social rule breaking and team innovation performance.
• Team learning orientation moderates this indirect relationship, strengthening it when high.

Conclusions:

• Encouraging pro-social rule breaking can be a viable strategy to enhance team innovation.
• Fostering team reflexivity and a high team learning orientation are key to maximizing the benefits of rule-bending for innovation.
• These findings offer practical insights for organizations seeking to improve their innovation capabilities.