How multi-teaming affects individuals and teams

This dissertation explores the phenomenon of multi-teaming, defined as an individual’s membership in multiple work teams. Participation in multiple teams gives individuals the opportunity to gain access to the knowledge of others through their own connections, and the indirect connections of their teammates. Therefore, there are incentives for individuals to be part of not just one team, but to participate in multiple teams. However, participation in multiple teams can also be ill advised as individuals have limited resources to devote across various team tasks. While multi-teaming is an unavoidable fact for contemporary teamwork, there is not yet enough empirical evidence to fully comprehend its effects on individuals and teams. This dissertation takes a multi-method approach to examine how multi-teaming impacts individuals and teams. The research is divided into two parts: 1) a quantitative study, and 2) a qualitative study. Study 1 establishes how individuals’ participation in multiple teams has an impact on the performance of individuals and teams. Study 2 takes a deeper dive into the experience of multi-teaming from the perspective of multi-teamers and people who work with multi-teamers. This study is intended to uncover the perceptions surrounding multi-teaming, and generate theory on how engaging in multi-teaming, or working with others that do, influences both individuals and teams.Ph.D