Date of Award
12-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair/Advisor
Marissa Shuffler
Committee Member
Allison Traylor
Committee Member
Patrick Rosopa
Committee Member
Nathanael Keiser
Abstract
Teams and multiteam systems (MTSs) are similar yet distinct forms of collective work. Researchers have long been interested in identifying what facilitates their respective effectiveness. The ABCs of teamwork, or affective emergent states (A), behavioral processes (B), and cognitive emergent states (C), are known to promote effective outcomes for teams, and appear to have important influences on MTSs as well. However, the lack of an empirical synthesis of MTS research has made it difficult for researchers to ascertain if there are differences between teams and MTS ABCs due to intra- and inter-team levels. To address this gap, a meta-analysis of 283 correlations from 34 primary studies was conducted to investigate ABC constructs across effectiveness outcomes. Specifically, analyses explored the extent to which teams and MTSs converged or diverged in terms of the patterns of observed correlations. The collected MTS correlations were examined in terms of broad categorizations of ABC constructs across four levels of predictor (X) and criterion (Y) measurement: Team–MTS, MTS–MTS, Team–Team, and MTS–Team. Results offer important insights regarding the distinctions between teams and MTSs while also highlighting the interesting nuances between relationships at the intra-and inter-levels. Notably, affective emergent states and behavioral processes were most strongly linked to component team effectiveness (Team–Team), whereas cognitive emergent states showed the strongest associations when component team constructs predicted overall MTS effectiveness (Team–MTS). These results advance theoretical understanding of teamwork and MTS dynamics and offer practical insights for how MTSs can be more effectively studied and trained.
Recommended Citation
Wentworth, Alexandria N., "Meta-Analytic Investigations of the ABCs of Teamwork and Multiteam Systems" (2025). All Dissertations. 4149.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4149
Author ORCID Identifier
Teams and multiteam systems (MTSs) are similar yet distinct forms of collective work. Researchers have long been interested in identifying what facilitates their respective effectiveness. The ABCs of teamwork, or affective emergent states (A), behavioral processes (B), and cognitive emergent states (C), are known to promote effective outcomes for teams, and appear to have important influences on MTSs as well. However, the lack of an empirical synthesis of MTS research has made it difficult for researchers to ascertain if there are differences between teams and MTS ABCs due to intra- and inter-team levels. To address this gap, a meta-analysis of 283 correlations from 34 primary studies was conducted to investigate ABC constructs across effectiveness outcomes. Specifically, analyses explored the extent to which teams and MTSs converged or diverged in terms of the patterns of observed correlations. The collected MTS correlations were examined in terms of broad categorizations of ABC constructs across four levels of predictor (X) and criterion (Y) measurement: Team–MTS, MTS–MTS, Team–Team, and MTS–Team. Results offer important insights regarding the distinctions between teams and MTSs while also highlighting the interesting nuances between relationships at the intra-and inter-levels. Notably, affective emergent states and behavioral processes were most strongly linked to component team effectiveness (Team–Team), whereas cognitive emergent states showed the strongest associations when component team constructs predicted overall MTS effectiveness (Team–MTS). These results advance theoretical understanding of teamwork and MTS dynamics and offer practical insights for how MTSs can be more effectively studied and trained.