Having Each Other’s Back: The Mediating Role of Supportive Behaviours in the Relationship Between Team Autonomy and Team Effectiveness

Alexandrino Joana (), Lourenço Paulo Renato (), Rebelo Teresa () and Dimas Isabel Dórdio ()
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Alexandrino Joana: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Lourenço Paulo Renato: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Centre for Business and Economics Research (CeBER), Coimbra, Portugal
Rebelo Teresa: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Centre for Business and Economics Research (CeBER), Coimbra, Portugal
Dimas Isabel Dórdio: Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Centre for Business and Economics Research (CeBER), Coimbra, Portugal

Organizacija, 2024, vol. 57, issue 1, 87-98

Abstract: Background and Purpose Incorporating autonomy in teams has been an increasingly popular practice, but the mechanisms that make autonomous teams effective still need to be completely understood. Adopting a multidimensional approach to team effectiveness, the aim of this study was to analyse the mediating role of team members’ supportive behaviours in the relationship between team autonomy and team effectiveness (team performance, team viability, quality of group experience and team process improvement). Methods: This research adopts a group-level analysis with a sample of 90 teams of 40 organisations from different sectors. Regression analysis was used to analyse the data, namely the product of the coefficients method. Results A positive relationship between team autonomy and supportive behaviours, which, in turn, is positively related to the four criteria of team effectiveness, was found, suggesting that supportive behaviours are a team process that explains the relationship between team autonomy and team effectiveness. Conclusion This research enriches our knowledge of the antecedents of team effectiveness and explains the mechanisms through which team autonomy relates to team effectiveness, encouraging organisations to incorporate autonomy into teams’ design to enhance supportive behaviours and team effectiveness.

Keywords: Work teams; Team autonomy; Team effectiveness; Supportive behaviours; Quality of group experience; Team performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:organi:v:57:y:2024:i:1:p:87-98:n:3

DOI: 10.2478/orga-2024-0006

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