Cooperative, Competitive and Hybrid Motivated Information Processing in Teams

Currently, there is a proliferation of studies examining group and team dynamics, as an increasing number of organizations are incorporating group and team-based structures. Extant literature has provided mixed findings regarding the influence of reward structures on various team outcomes. E.g., More rapid activity in teams has been found for competitive reward structure, with diminishing quality of work (Mailer, 1929). Which type of reward structure (competitive, cooperative or hybrid) has the best implication for team performance in organizations? This paper aims to address this question by incorporating the mechanism (i.e., epistemic and social motivation) and moderating variable (i.e., need for affiliation). Understanding the motivated information processing in groups model (MIP-G) and antecedents of team performance has important managerial implications. This moderator (i.e., need for affiliation) has not been examined in relation to all three types of reward structures in past studies. This paper hopes to extend the literature of reward structures and motivated information processing model by encompassing this new boundary condition. It is essential to incorporate novel contexts while examining relationships among variables as this approach further develops existing theories.