In prior research, a nonlinear relationship between team potency and team creativity was proposed (Miron-Spektor et al., 2011). However, the descriptions of the nature and the underlying mechanisms that produce the nonlinear relationship are still inconsistent. Building on the process model of team regulation, I propose and test two mechanisms (team persistency and team satisfaction with the current state) that explain this nonlinear relationship. In Study 1 (155 teams from two organizations) and Study 2 (122 teams from seven organizations), I find that team potency has a positive relationship with team persistency and a nonlinear relationship with team satisfaction with the current state. In turn, team persistency and team satisfaction with the current state have, respectively, a posit...[ Read more ]

In prior research, a nonlinear relationship between team potency and team creativity was proposed (Miron-Spektor et al., 2011). However, the descriptions of the nature and the underlying mechanisms that produce the nonlinear relationship are still inconsistent. Building on the process model of team regulation, I propose and test two mechanisms (team persistency and team satisfaction with the current state) that explain this nonlinear relationship. In Study 1 (155 teams from two organizations) and Study 2 (122 teams from seven organizations), I find that team potency has a positive relationship with team persistency and a nonlinear relationship with team satisfaction with the current state. In turn, team persistency and team satisfaction with the current state have, respectively, a positive and a negative relationship with team creativity. Together, the above two mechanisms produce a nonlinear relationship between team potency and team creativity. My main contribution is to explicate the mechanisms (team persistency and team satisfaction with the current state) that would produce the nonlinear relationship between team potency and team creativity and reconcile inconclusive findings in the literature.

Keywords:

Team potency; team creativity; team persistency; team satisfaction with the current state