Improving productivity with self-organised teams and agile leadership

Parker, David W. and Holesgrove, Melanie and Pathak, Raghuvar D. (2015) Improving productivity with self-organised teams and agile leadership. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 64 (1). pp. 112-128. ISSN 1741-0401

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Abstract

Purpose – Many organisations remain adverse to self-organised teams. The reasons are non-trivial
and complex, but it is suspected that not willing to let go to direct control by senior management is at
the root cause. There is a perceived security in following traditional, hierarchical chains of command
under the guise of reducing risks and maintaining efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to describe
the development of a research agenda that will empirically test in the field a range of widely held
assumptions around leadership of self-organised teams. In total, 23 companies have agreed to participate
in the proposed longitudinal research.
Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature review has identified extant theories,
frameworks, and methodologies adopted by researchers to gain greater understanding of self-organised
teams. This knowledge will be used as the basis for generating hypotheses for subsequent testing in
the field.
Findings – There is a considerable knowledge base established for self-organised teams. However, there
is limited understanding of the benefits or detrimental effects of self-organised teams on organisational
productivity and the appropriate style of leadership. This initial research has identified several hypotheses
that will be used to develop questionnaires and instruments for information collection.
Research limitations/implications – The tools and techniques presented in this article need to be
adapted to the organisation’s specificities as well as to the contextual situation.
Practical implications – The work is of significant practical use. The research will be completed in
a number of companies. There will be continuous input from operational and executive management.
The findings from the work will be disseminated through various channels including workshops and
conferences. Companies implementing and using self-organised teams will benefit from the knowledge
generated.
Social implications – Self-organised teams are used in a variety of settings – commercial businesses,
not-for-profit, NGOs. The work will explore issues around behavioural networks and inter- intra-team
relationships.
Originality/value – There is much rhetoric around the adoption and uses of self-organised teams, yet
there appears to be little understanding of the effect of leadership style of these teams and effect on
productivity. This work will therefore contribute to the understanding of self-organised teams. While
prior research has been conducted in the motivational and behavioural implications of self-organised
teams, the knowledge is at best scant when leadership models for self-organised teams and operational
factors are explored

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Divisions:	Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) > Graduate School of Business
Depositing User:	Fulori Nainoca - Waqairagata
Date Deposited:	13 Jan 2015 00:38
Last Modified:	28 Apr 2016 21:50
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/7875

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