The Links between Team Characteristics, Transactive Memory System, and Team Performance

A transactive memory system (TMS) is a mechanism that can explain how members of effective teams process information needed for solving problems, and how they apply what they know. Different from studies in the laboratory, the relationships between TMS and other team factors were examined with a sample of 41 teams from various industries in China. The results indicate that, TMS is significantly related to the routine level of task and expertise diversity of team members, but not so with the general diversity of members (demographic characteristics). In addition, TMS is positively related to team performance. The index r(wg) was used to test within group agreement, as providing a feasible resolution to multilevel problem in organizational studies.