Axtell, C.M. orcid.org/0000-0002-4125-6534, Moser, K.S. and McGoldrick, J. (2020) Professional status and norm violation in email collaboration. Team Performance Management, 26 (1/2). pp. 1-15. ISSN 1352-7592
Abstract
Purpose
Status is a central aspect of teamwork relationships and successful collaboration in teams, both online and offline. Status group membership and status perception shape behavioural expectations and norm perceptions of what is appropriate, but despite their importance have been neglected in previous research. Status effects are of special interest in online collaboration, e.g. via email, where no immediate feedback or non-verbal/paraverbal communication and direct observation is possible. The purpose of this study is to address this gap in research.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental scenario study with two different professional status groups (lecturers and students) tested status effects on causal attributions, intergroup bias and emotional and collaborative responses to perceived norm violations in emails.
Findings
Results overall showed three key findings: a “black-sheep-effect” with harsher negative attributions for same status members, more aggression and less cooperation towards lower status senders and stronger (negative) emotional reactions towards high status senders.
Originality/value
The findings are important for managing professional online communication because negative personal attributions, strong emotions and aggressive behaviours can increase team conflict, lead to mistakes and generally undermine performance.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Emerald Publishing. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Team Performance Management. This version is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. |
Keywords: | email communication; status; norm perception; inter-group bias; emotional reactions |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 Dec 2019 14:02 |
Last Modified: | 19 Oct 2021 10:30 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Emerald |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1108/tpm-07-2019-0083 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:154853 |
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Filename: Axtell, Moser & McGoldrick, 2019_TPM accepted.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC 4.0