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When curiosity counts more: team curiosity, transactive memory systems, and team formalization.
Shengjun Zhang1, Junying Cao2,3, Yige Zhuo4
1Department of Human Resource Management, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|May 11, 2026
Summary
Team curiosity, the average member curiosity, boosts team performance by enhancing transactive memory systems (TMS). This effect is stronger in teams with higher formalization, offering insights into team dynamics and structure.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Team Dynamics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Individual curiosity is well-researched, but its impact on team functioning is underexplored.
- Transactive Memory System (TMS) theory provides a framework for understanding how teams share and manage knowledge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between team curiosity and team performance.
- To examine the mediating role of TMS in the team curiosity-performance link.
- To explore the moderating effect of team formalization on this relationship.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multi-source, time-lagged data from 87 teams across various organizations.
- Measured team curiosity as the average member curiosity.
- Assessed TMS presence and team performance outcomes.
Main Results:
- Team curiosity positively correlates with the development of TMS within teams.
- TMS mediates the relationship between team curiosity and enhanced team performance.
- The positive indirect effect of team curiosity on performance via TMS is amplified by higher levels of team formalization.
Conclusions:
- Introduces team curiosity as a significant team-level construct.
- Highlights TMS as a key mechanism through which team curiosity influences performance.
- Emphasizes the crucial role of team formalization in optimizing the benefits of team curiosity.
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