My team makes me think I can (not) do it: team processes influence proactive motivational profiles over time

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate cross-level influences of team cohesion, trust and conflicts on team member’s proactive motivational profiles and outcomes of profile membership over time. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected in a four-month longitudinal field study with 47 teams (N = 202). Findings Latent profile analysis derived four proactive motivational profiles. The higher motivated profiles reported better study outcomes, higher levels of team trust and cohesion and fewer conflicts over time. Team trust and interpersonal conflicts emerged as significant predictors of profile membership. Practical implications Recommendations are derived on how to best manage teams and the members comprising it when trust in teams is low or interpersonal conflicts are high. Originality/value Applying a person-centred approach in a team context advances multi-level theories of team motivation by mapping the cross-level effects of team processes on different kinds of motivational states.