Convergence of collaborative behavior in virtual teams: The role of external crises and implications for performance.

Organizations have increasingly relied on virtual teams (VTs). For VTs to succeed, the collaborative behavior of team members plays an important role. Drawing from the open systems theory and using a phenomenon-driven approach, we investigate the dynamic pattern of collaborative behavior convergence among members of VTs (i.e., the emergence of collaborative behavior consensus) and its relationship with VT performance. Moreover, we investigate the differential influence of external crises, exemplified by key dynamic facets of the COVID-19 crisis (i.e., COVID-19 health threat and social distance). We used a multilevel approach (i.e., time, individual, and team levels) with the multilevel group-process framework to test our hypotheses. Results from a survey of 3,506 participants nested in 703 teams suggest that collaborative behaviors of VT members tend to converge over time, leading to the emergence of collaborative behavior consensus. Furthermore, a dynamic COVID-19 health threat leads to lower collaborative behavior consensus over time. Moreover, our results show that collaborative behavior consensus is partially positively related to VT performance and is particularly important for VTs with a lower level of collaborative behavior at the end of the collaboration. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Happy Culture: A Theoretical, Meta-Analytic, and Empirical Review of the Relationship Between Culture and Wealth and Subjective Well-Being.

Do cultural values enhance financial and subjective well-being (SWB)? Taking a multidisciplinary approach, we meta-analytically reviewed the field, found it thinly covered, and focused on individualism. In counter, we collected a broad array of individual-level data, specifically an Internet sample of 8,438 adult respondents. Individual SWB was most strongly associated with cultural values that foster relationships and social capital, which typically accounted for more unique variance in life satisfaction than an individual's salary. At a national level, we used mean-based meta-analysis to construct a comprehensive cultural and SWB database. Results show some reversals from the individual level, particularly masculinity's facet of achievement orientation. In all, the happy nation has low power distance and low uncertainty avoidance, but is high in femininity and individualism, and these effects are interrelated but still partially independent from political and economic institutions. In short, culture matters for individual and national well-being.

Scale validation via quantifying item validity using the Dm index.

While most validity indices are based on total test scores, this paper describes a method for quantifying the construct validity of items. The approach is based on the item selection technique originally described by Piazza in 1980. Unfortunately, Piazza's P2 index suffers from some substantial limitations. The Dm coefficient provides an alternative which can be used for item selection and provides a validity index for a set of items. The index is similar to that of traditional criterion-related validity indices. Criterion-related validity is used to demonstrate the accuracy of hypothesized relations of the measure with outcome variables of interest in research and practice. This method may be useful when the sample of items or persons is small, rendering more traditional approaches such as factor analysis or item response theory inappropriate. An example of how to use the technique is provided.