Team Learning

Conceptual Overview

Research on team learning has taken a central role in organization studies. No longer viewed as a tangential activity of organizations, there exists a growing consensus that regards learning at the team level as a fundamental and necessary activity for businesses to maintain their competitive advantage. Accordingly, [Page 1520]theorists, researchers, and practitioners must develop a better understanding of learning in work groups and how it can impact organizational outcomes.

Current research on team learning in organizations consists of three broad approaches. They are (1), theoretical investigations, (2) inductive inquiries, and (3) deductive examinations. In the first approach, researchers propose conceptual models of learning consisting of multiple dimensions or core competencies of team learning. The second method involves studying the learning of particular teams. The third and final approach consists of deductive examinations of hypotheses about the nature of team learning.

Researchers offer concepts such as suspending assumptions, regarding other members as colleagues, and relying on the presence of a skilled facilitator to promote dialogue as critical facets that facilitate team learning. These theoretical contributions provide a philosophical basis that informs our discussion of team learning. However, their value in guiding future research is limited due to challenges in operationalizing these beliefs. Despite these difficulties, continued theorizing indicates the need for a better understanding of the processes and associated outcomes of team learning.

Scholars that inductively investigate team learning focus on the strengths and weaknesses of intact teams. This might include knowledge-gathering and -processing activities (e.g., framing of a group's internal perceptions, reframing those perspectives, experimenting to test these perspectives as hypotheses, and integrating the diverse perspectives of group members). Inductive approaches provide the basis for future theory and empirical development, but their generalizability and operationalization remain limited.

Deductive studies typically seek to establish relationships between team learning processes and specific team or organizational outcomes. For instance, Amy Edmondson in 1999 hypothesized a positive relationship between learning behaviors and two team-shared beliefs, which she labels group efficacy and psychological safety. Learning behaviors are asking questions, seeking information and feedback, attending to feedback, discussing mistakes, experimenting, and monitoring results. Efficacy is a group's confidence in its own ability to perform well. Psychological safety is a group's willingness and comfort in admitting and sharing errors. Deductive studies provide empirical support for the contention that learning is best conceived and studied as a localized process imbedded in team and group activity.

In summary, prior research has aided in understanding the team learning processes, but has yet to contribute a comprehensive theory that accounts for the microinternal group processes associated with knowledge creation. As such, conceptualizations of team learning remain in their infancy and experience a rich diversity in definitions and dimensions on which the topic has been considered. While the future study of team learning promises deep insight into the learning processes, current research appears to be slow in development.

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