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Journal ArticleDOI

Time and Transition in Work Teams: Toward a New Model of Group Development

01 Mar 1988-Academy of Management Journal (Academy of Management)-Vol. 31, Iss: 1, pp 9-41
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of the complete life-spans of eight naturally-ocurring teams was conducted and it was found that several project groups did not accomplish their work by progressing gradually through a universal series of stages, as traditional group development models would predict.
Abstract: This study of the complete life-spans of eight naturally-ocurring teams began with the unexpected finding that several project groups, studied for another purpose, did not accomplish their work by progressing gradually through a universal series of stages, as traditional group development models would predict. Instead, teams progressed in a pattern of “punctuated equilibrium,” through alternating inertia and revolution in the behaviors and themes through which they approached their work. The findings also suggested that groups' progress was triggered more by members' awareness of time and deadlines than by completion of an absolute amount of work in a specific developmental stage. The paper proposes a new model of group development that encompasses the timing and mechanisms of change as well as groups' dynamic relations with their contexts. Implications for theory, research, and practice are drawn.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure, which is a process similar to hypothesis-testing research.
Abstract: Building Theories From Case Study Research - This paper describes the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure. Some features of the process, such as problem definition and construct validation, are similar to hypothesis-testing research. Others, such as within-case analysis and replication logic, are unique to the inductive, case-oriented process. Overall, the process described here is highly iterative and tightly linked to data. This research approach is especially appropriate in new topic areas. The resultant theory is often novel, testable, and empirically valid. Finally, framebreaking insights, the tests of good theory (e.g., parsimony, logical coherence), and convincing grounding in the evidence are the key criteria for evaluating this type of research.

40,005 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define a leadership event as a perceived segment of action whose meaning is created by the interactions of actors involved in producing it, and present a set of innovative methods for capturing and analyzing these contextually driven processes.
Abstract: �Traditional, hierarchical views of leadership are less and less useful given the complexities of our modern world. Leadership theory must transition to new perspectives that account for the complex adaptive needs of organizations. In this paper, we propose that leadership (as opposed to leaders) can be seen as a complex dynamic process that emerges in the interactive “spaces between” people and ideas. That is, leadership is a dynamic that transcends the capabilities of individuals alone; it is the product of interaction, tension, and exchange rules governing changes in perceptions and understanding. We label this a dynamic of adaptive leadership, and we show how this dynamic provides important insights about the nature of leadership and its outcomes in organizational fields. We define a leadership event as a perceived segment of action whose meaning is created by the interactions of actors involved in producing it, and we present a set of innovative methods for capturing and analyzing these contextually driven processes. We provide theoretical and practical implications of these ideas for organizational behavior and organization and management theory.

22,673 citations


Cites background or methods from "Time and Transition in Work Teams: ..."

  • ...Gersick (1988), for example, added several cases to her original set of student teams in order to more closely observe transition point behaviors among project teams....

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  • ...Some investigators employ only some of these data collection methods (e.g., Gersick, 1988, used only obser- 537 This content downloaded from 129.240.204.115 on Fri, 14 Nov 2014 09:07:17 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions vations for the first half of her study), or they may add others…...

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  • ...Gersick (1988) followed a similar strategy of diverse sampling in order to enhance the generalizability of her model of group development....

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  • ...Yet, as Glaser and Strauss (1967) argue, it is the intimate connection with empirical reality that permits the development of a testable, relevant, and valid theory. This paper describes building theories from case studies. Several aspects of this process are discussed in the literature. For example, Glaser and Strauss (1967) detailed a comparative method for developing grounded theory, Yin (1981, 1984) described the design of case study research, and Miles and Huberman (1984) codified a series of procedures for analyzing qualitative data....

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  • ...Gersick (1988) used this tactic in separating the analyses of the student group cases from her other cases....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The research strategy of theory building from cases, particularly multiple cases, involves using one or more cases to create theoretical constructs, propositions, and/or midrange theory from case-based, empirical evidence.
Abstract: This article discusses the research strategy of theory building from cases, particularly multiple cases. Such a strategy involves using one or more cases to create theoretical constructs, propositions, and/or midrange theory from case-based, empirical evidence. Replication logic means that each case serves as a distinct experiment that stands on its own merits as an analytic unit. The frequent use of case studies as a research strategy has given rise to some challenges that can be mitigated by the use of very precise wording and thoughtful research design.

13,581 citations


Cites background from "Time and Transition in Work Teams: ..."

  • ...Classic scholars (Chandler, 1962; Whyte, 1941) as well as the authors of highly regarded AMJ papers (Dutton & Dukerich, 1991; Sutton & Raphaeli, 1988) have used the method....

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  • ...Gersick (1994), Hargadon and Douglas (2001), and Mintzberg and Waters (1982) are exemplars of this approach....

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  • ...Indeed, papers that build theory from cases are often regarded as the “most interesting” research (Bartunek, Rynes, & Ireland, 2006) and are among the most highly cited pieces in AMJ (e.g., Eisenhardt, 1989a; Gersick, 1988), with impact disproportionate to their numbers....

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  • ...Not surprisingly then, the winning authors (Ferlie, Fitzgerald, Wood, & Hawkins, 2005; Gilbert, 2005) of the most recent AMJ Best Article Award relied on this method....

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  • ...Gersick (1994), Hargadon and Douglas (2001), and Mintzberg and Waters (1982) are exemplars of this approach.(1) But presenting a relatively complete and unbroken narrative of each case is infeasible for multiple-case research, particularly as the number of cases increases. If the researcher relates the narrative of each case, then the theory is lost and the text balloons. So the challenge in multiple-case research is to stay within spatial constraints while also conveying both the emergent theory that is the research objective and the rich empirical evidence that supports the theory. Coping with the trade-off between rich story and well-grounded theory is easier to do in a multicase book or a single-case paper. But in journal articles, multicase researchers face a particularly difficult trade-off between theory and empirical richness. It can be especially challenging to satisfy readers who expect the extensive narratives of single-case research. They ask, Where’s the rich story? The best way to address this challenge of “better stories vs. better theories” is to develop a theory in sections or by distinct propositions in such a way that each is supported by empirical evidence. Thus, the overarching organizing frame of the paper is the theory, and each part of the theory is demonstrated by evidence from at least some of the cases. But since it is generally not realistic to support every theoretical proposition with every case within a text itself, the use of extensive tables and other visual devices that summarize the related case evidence are central to signaling the depth and detail of empirical grounding. In other words, the use of summary tables and aids that summarize the case evidence complements the selective story descriptions of the text and further emphasizes the rigor and depth of the empirical grounding of the theory. A separate table that summarizes the evidence for each theoretical construct is a particularly effective way to present the case evidence. These “construct tables” summarize the case evidence and indicate how the focal construct is “measured,” thus increasing the “testability” of the theory and creating a particularly strong bridge from the qualitative evidence to theory-testing research. Graebner (2004), Gilbert (2005), and Zott and Huy (2007) are excellent examples of blending construct tables with selected text descriptions....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors combine the concept of weak ties from social network research and the notion of complex knowledge to explain the role of weak links in sharing knowledge across organization subunits.
Abstract: This paper combines the concept of weak ties from social network research and the notion of complex knowledge to explain the role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organization subunits in a...

5,947 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the development and validation of a new instrument, KEYS: Assessing the Climate for Creativity, designed to assess perceived stimulants and obstacles to creativity in organizational work environments.
Abstract: We describe the development and validation of a new instrument, KEYS: Assessing the Climate for Creativity, designed to assess perceived stimulants and obstacles to creativity in organizational work environments. The KEYS scales have acceptable factor structures, internal consistencies, test-retest reliabilities, and preliminary convergent and discriminant validity. A construct validity study shows that perceived work environments, as assessed by the KEYS scales, discriminate between high-creativity projects and low-creativity projects; certain scales discriminate more strongly and consistently than others. We discuss the utility of this tool for research and practice.

5,240 citations

References
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Book
12 Oct 2017
TL;DR: The Discovery of Grounded Theory as mentioned in this paper is a book about the discovery of grounded theories from data, both substantive and formal, which is a major task confronting sociologists and is understandable to both experts and laymen.
Abstract: Most writing on sociological method has been concerned with how accurate facts can be obtained and how theory can thereby be more rigorously tested. In The Discovery of Grounded Theory, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss address the equally Important enterprise of how the discovery of theory from data--systematically obtained and analyzed in social research--can be furthered. The discovery of theory from data--grounded theory--is a major task confronting sociology, for such a theory fits empirical situations, and is understandable to sociologists and laymen alike. Most important, it provides relevant predictions, explanations, interpretations, and applications. In Part I of the book, "Generation Theory by Comparative Analysis," the authors present a strategy whereby sociologists can facilitate the discovery of grounded theory, both substantive and formal. This strategy involves the systematic choice and study of several comparison groups. In Part II, The Flexible Use of Data," the generation of theory from qualitative, especially documentary, and quantitative data Is considered. In Part III, "Implications of Grounded Theory," Glaser and Strauss examine the credibility of grounded theory. The Discovery of Grounded Theory is directed toward improving social scientists' capacity for generating theory that will be relevant to their research. While aimed primarily at sociologists, it will be useful to anyone Interested In studying social phenomena--political, educational, economic, industrial-- especially If their studies are based on qualitative data.

53,267 citations

Book
01 Jan 1962
TL;DR: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions as discussed by the authors is a seminal work in the history of science and philosophy of science, and it has been widely cited as a major source of inspiration for the present generation of scientists.
Abstract: A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were-and still are. "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962, it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. And fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach. With "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don't arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation, but that revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of "normal science," as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age. This new edition of Kuhn's essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introductory essay by Ian Hacking that clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn's ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book, Hacking's essay provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed, with an expanded index, this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.

36,808 citations

01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: The stages identified in these articles are separated into those descriptive of social or interpersonal group activities a: therapy-group studies, T-groups studies, and natural- and laboratory- group studies.

4,468 citations


"Time and Transition in Work Teams: ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...There was no initial "storming" (Tuckman, 1965; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977) in this group....

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