Emotion in teams: a scoping literature review

Abstract

Purpose

The empirical findings of the roles of emotions in teams are mixed. This study, a scoping literature review, aims to synthesize extant research on the roles of emotions in work teams and offers future research directions.

Design/methodology/approach

Sixty-nine empirical studies from the past ten years (2012 to 2021) were identified and reviewed. The authors then analyzed these 69 papers based on their research design, focus and nomological network of emotions.

Findings

The authors found that there is a clear increasing research trend of studying emotions in a team setting. In the extant literature, team emotions were studied from three major perspectives: emotions, emotional management and emotion measurement. The authors also summarized findings into the nomological network of team emotions. Last but not least, future research directions regarding the research context, focus and design and analysis were recommended.

Originality/value

The role of emotions in teams has not been extensively reviewed or synthesized, and the empirical findings are mixed. This paper synthesized the role of emotions in teams and critical factors that affect emotions in teams. In particular, the research recommendations for critical human resource development scholars cover three aspects: research context advancement, research focus advancement and research design and analysis advancement.