Team Performance

The last twenty years of team research have seen a bloom in the publishing of team performance methods, frameworks, theories, and more. This bibliography offers research that is both novel and foundational, focusing on the last three decades of research (starting in 1996) to highlight recent findings while still providing the reader with a basic understanding of concepts surrounding team performance. In this bibliography, a “team” is defined as a group of two or more people working together to accomplish a common goal. Furthermore, we conceptualize team performance not as the output of a team, but instead as the actions and factors that comprise it. Team scientists conceptualize team performance as a dynamic process primarily composed of task and teamwork behaviors. Task behaviors can be defined as team members’ interactions with different factors, such as tools or systems to carry out the team’s goal. On the other hand, teamwork behaviors comprise everything the team does in order to achieve that goal, such as communicating or coordinating with team members. However, team performance is simultaneously a multilevel process involving individual-level inputs, team-level inputs, and organizational inputs in both of these categories. Lastly, team effectiveness can be understood as the caliber of performance outcomes, which will ultimately vary depending on the goal at hand. In this bibliography, we summarize key reference sources (such as journals) and present research that underlies and explores the foundations of task and teamwork behaviors, also looking at how leadership affects team performance, and how performance can be improved via measurement and team training. We take findings from a variety of fields and contexts, aiming to provide an interdisciplinary overview. The bibliography’s sections aim to provide general overviews of the materials provided. Additionally, under each item’s description, we highlight why each source might be useful, trying to describe the nature of the methods, if applicable, and the general findings of the research at hand. Each subsection is organized in alphabetical order. If applicable, we describe if the article is more practitioner-based. This aside, team performance research is always adapting and growing, and we look forward to updating the bibliography as new advancements are made.