Effects of Organizational Support on Potency in Work Teams: The Mediating Role of Team Processes

In: Small group research: an international journal of theory, investigation, and application, Volume 40, Issue 1, p. 72-93

Abstract

This study focuses on team members' perceptions of organizational support as antecedents of team processes and potency. Potency is team members' collective belief that the team can be effective. In a field study of 39 work teams in six organizations, the authors find a positive relationship between organizational support and potency that is mediated by effective team processes. The authors also find a positive relationship between team processes and managers' ratings of team performance that is mediated by potency. Understanding how organizational support affects potency is important because research has consistently found that potency is strongly associated with team performance, yet little is known about how organizational context affects potency. Therefore, this research has practical as well as theoretical implications.