Introduction
In Thomas Gilbert’s behavior engineering model, response capacity is a clear condition for achieving desired behaviors.  To what extent does confidence in  work group capacity (efficacy) enhance performance? Research examines the role of efficacy in self-managed team performance.
Article
de Jong, A., Ko, d. R., & Wetzels, M. (2006). Linking employee confidence to performance: A study of self-managing service teams. Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 34(4), 576-587. doi:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0092070306287126
Background
Organizing front-line service workers into self-managed teams (SMTs) has been found to improve flexibility and adaptability in meeting customer expectations. Empowering teams to manage performance shifts the focus from the individual to the group. Research has established that individual confidence in ability to do the job (self-efficacy) is a significant determinant of performance success.  This study investigates whether the same premise holds true for team efficacy. The researchers distinguish between group potency (confidence in general group competency) and team efficacy (confidence in the team’s ability to perform a specific task) and how they each relate to performance.  They also examine the reciprocal relationships between performance, group potency, and team efficacy.
Research
The researchers surveyed service employees and customers of one of Europe’s largest banks. To gauge team efficacy and group potency, a random sample of 100 was drawn from the bank’s 848 SMTs; of those, a total of 51 SMTs with approximately 20 employees each participated in the study. All employees were invited to complete the same 11-item questionnaire at the start (Time 1) and conclusion (Time 2)  of the seven-month period. The survey consisted of statements related to employees perceptions of their team’s efficacy and potency which they assessed using a seven point Likert-type scale. There was a 78% return rate for the first survey administration and a 64% return rate for the second. Of the surveys returned, 793 from the first set and 642 from the second were used.
To gauge performance, a random sample of 150 customers of each of the 51 SMTs were surveyed at the same time points. The SERVQUAL customer-perceived survey instrument was used.  The response rates for the two customer surveys were 19.7% and 19.5%.  Of the surveys returned, a total of 1,334 for the first survey and 1,302 for the second were analyzed for this study. In addition, researchers used service revenue figures from the bank’s database to define performance.
The study gathered data at two points over a seven-month period to test the relationships in the conceptual model shown below:
Time 1 Time 2
Team Efficacy——>  Service Revenues
Team Efficacy——> Customer-Perceived Service Quality
Group Potency—–> Customer-Perceived Service Quality
Group Potency—–> Service Revenues
The study also examined the reciprocal relationships among the variables:
Time 1 Time 2
Service Revenues——>  Team Efficacy
Customer-Perceived Service Quality ——> Team Efficacy
Customer-Perceived Service Quality —–> Group Potency
Service Revenues —–> Group Potency
Findings and Implications
Overall, SMT efficacy (confidence in ability to perform specific tasks) had a higher correlation to positive customer-perceived service quality and revenue than did group potency (general confidence in the group’s abilities). Survey data showed that the positive effects of team efficacy were strongest when team members worked interdependently and agreed on task-specific issues. Conversely, prior performance success had a positive impact on team efficacy, with perceived customer service exerting greater influence than service revenues.
Research results hold two significant implications for managers. First, team confidence in task-specific competence has a greater bearing on performance than confidence in general abilities. Supervisors should assemble teams and design team training with an eye toward enhancing specific skill sets in order to strengthen group capability and performance. Additionally, performance feedback such as customer feedback and revenue reports can be used to foster perceptions of competency and establish a positive competency-performance cycle.
Questions for OPWL-N Members
How are work teams organized at your workplace? Are teams assembled based on overall ability, task-specific capabilities, or other criteria? How has team composition affected the efficacy of the groups and their ability to achieve performance goals?
Workplace Oriented Research Central (WORC)
Prepared by OPWL Graduate Assistant, Susan Virgilio
Directed by OPWL Professor, Yonnie Chyung
Posted on December 14, 2012