Small Group Research

Richard Kettner-Polley and Charles Gavin founded Small Group Research (SGR) to present research, build theory, and generally advance the study of small groups by combining insights from multiple disciplines. Currently, we evaluate the extent to which this interdisciplinary mission has been upheld over time. To do this, we apply the perspective and tools of big data analytics to the nearly 3 million words that span the 829 articles that comprise the SGR corpus from February 1990 to June 2017. Keyword analysis, ontological ordering, and interdisciplinary content analyses identify intriguing patterns and detect latent trends. Our results speak to the consistent interdisciplinarity of SGR while identifying opportunities for further development and more complex disciplinary integration in research on small groups.

This study tested status-contingency theory and conversion theory on a task in which members made ordered judgments instead of dichotomous judgments. In groups, participants discussed whether “under God” should be in the pledge of allegiance and reached consensus on an ordered scale. Members’ contributions were scored for integrative complexity. In groups with more dispersion of opinion, members with opinions less discrepant from other group members did not have higher integrative complexity than members with more discrepancy of opinion, failing to support status-contingency theory for nondichotomous decisions. In support of conversion theory, members with more discrepant opinions were more influential when they had higher integrative complexity in their arguments. Replicating past research, groups with longer discussions had higher integrative complexity.

As the number of unmarried adults in the workforce is on the rise, employees increasingly have to navigate lifestyle differences between single, married, and divorced members of their work groups. To understand the impact of this new form of diversity in groups at work, we introduce the concept of marital diversity as an important predictor of group performance outcomes. We argue that marital diversity may benefit group outcomes by providing members with complementary life experiences and skills, without instigating the stereotyping or conflict often associated with other less mutable forms of diversity. In Study 1, an archival study of rock bands reveals that marital diversity positively affects group outcomes when band tenure is high. In Study 2, this pattern is replicated in a study of project groups. Overall, the studies show that marital diversity can positively affect groups, especially groups with longer tenure.

Online support groups are a common way for people to receive social support. Utilizing online support sites allows members to connect with people in similar situations, without the need for geographic proximity. Many online groups rely on member-leaders, or individuals with personal experience, to lead groups. These member-leaders are often favored by members over professional leaders but often lack training in leadership. This project explored how member-leaders interact in an online support group. This article uses both interaction process analysis (IPA) and research on leader behaviors to understand how member-leaders communicate in online support groups. Results show that leaders primarily use task messages, with the majority of leader behaviors labeled as meaning attribution and use of self. Member-leaders primarily focused on perspective taking rather than discussion facilitation. An examination of the task and relational interaction profile in terms of leader behaviors is also explored.

Team learning behavior is found to be one of the most effective team processes, as learning behavior at the team level (e.g., sharing, discussing, and reflecting on knowledge and actions) enables teams to adapt existing or develop new knowledge. Team leadership behavior is considered a critical accelerant for creating conditions that are essential to engage in team learning behavior, such as a safe environment. Yet despite the growing amount of research in team learning, this relationship remains unclear. Meta-analytic techniques were used to examine when team leadership behaviors support team learning behavior and how the task type moderates that relationship. Forty-three empirical studies reporting 92 effect sizes were synthesized. Analyses show that team leadership behavior explains 18% of the variance in team learning behavior. Furthermore, results indicate that person-focused leaders foster team learning for both adaptive and developmental tasks, whereas task-focused leaders influence team learning for adaptive tasks only.