Date of Award
1-1-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Accountancy
First Advisor
Kendall Bowlin
Second Advisor
Christy Nielson
Third Advisor
Jeremy Griffin
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
I experimentally examine how team success affects individual employees’ attribution of their own poor performance and whether inter-team dynamics impact their subsequent efforts. I argue, using attribution theory, that more successful, relative to less successful, team performance will lead employees to take more responsibility for their own poor performance and, thus, make more positive effort adjustments. This is because employees are more likely to accept responsibility for their poor performance when they learn that their team as a whole performed well. Additionally, using social identity theory, I argue that employees on teams with stronger team dynamics will make more positive effort adjustments than employees on teams with weaker team dynamics. Importantly, I argue this effect will be particularly strong for poor-performing employees on less successful teams. I find that team success impacts internal attributions indirectly through accountability, such that employees on more successful teams more internally attribute their poor performance, relative to employees on less successful teams. However, I find no support for the prediction that employees on more successful teams will have more effort adjustment than those on less successful teams. I also find that team dynamics impact the level of internal attributions, such that when a team is more successful, employees with stronger team dynamics increase their internal attribution, while employees with weaker team dynamics decrease their internal attribution. However, again, there is no evidence that team dynamics interact with team success to impact effort adjustment. My study highlights factors that mitigate employees’ documented adverse reactions to negative performance feedback, as well as the importance of strong team dynamics on an individual level. These outcomes can help managers form more precise feedback systems and can shed light on the importance of allocating resources to improve team dynamics.
Recommended Citation
Owens, Tina S., "The Impact of Team Success and Team Dynamics on Employee Effort" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2853.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2853