Does Overlap In Team Member Knowledge Predict Team Performance?

Team researchers have postulated that team members use an internal knowledge base, or shared mental model. that helps them perform effectively. Currently, research is focusing on identlfylng methods with which to measure these shared mental models among team members. One goal of this research is to establish effective measures of shared mental models, and then use those measures to examine the effectiveness of training interventions designed to build shared knowledge among teammates. Measurement techniques utilized thus far include assessing similarity of knowledge structures with statistical scaling techniques, measuring team understanding of procedures with concept graph methods, and measuring shared team member understanding using questionnaires. Although each study has brought greater understanding of shared knowledge. many questions remain unanswered. The current study examines the efficacy of a measurement tool which measures shared expectations among team members and a statistical scaling method of assessing similarity of knowledge structures to predict performance in three-member teams. Results indicated that the lower the agreement on expectations between team members. the lower the team score. However. overlap in knowledge structures did not predict performance. Results are discussed in terms of the value of each method and in terms of our overaIl understanding of team shared mental models.