Abstract
Group efficacy has generally been found to have a positive effect on group performance. This study reveals a less favorable consequence of high group efficacy, its tendency to promote inferior group decisions under certain circumstances. Previous studies have found that members in a group generally exhibit bias towards utilizing shared information to make decisions. This study examines the effect of group efficacy on both the process (in terms of communication) and outcomes (in terms of decision quality and deviation from initial individual preference) of group decision-making. When information was not completely shared by group members prior to group discussion, members of low-efficacy groups communicated more and more readily changed their initial decision preferences. In the end, they were able to make objectively better decisions. These effects of group efficacy were even more pronounced when individual group members had conflicting information in the beginning about the issues prior to group discussion.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bandura, A. 1986. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. 1997. Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
Bandura, A., & Jourden, F. J. 1991. Self-regulatory mechanisms governing the impact of social comparison on complex decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60: 941–951.
Brockner, J. 1988. Self-esteem at work: Research, theory and practice. Lexington: Lexington Books.
Burst, A., & Schlesinger, L. A. 1987. The management game. New York: Viking.
Cannon, M. D., & Edmondson, A. C. 2001. Confronting failure: Antecedents and consequences of shared beliefs about failure in organizational work groups. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22: 161–177.
Duffy, M. K., Shaw, J. D., & Stark, E. M. 2000. Performance and satisfaction in conflicted interdependent groups: When and how does self-esteem make a difference?. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 772–782.
Earley, P. C. 1994. Explorations of the individual and the cognitive self: An assessment of self-efficacy and training across cultures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39: 89–117.
Earley, P. C. 1999. Playing follow the leader: Status-determining traits in relation to collective efficacy across cultures. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 80: 192-212.
Gettys, C., Pliske, R. N., Manning, C., & Casey, J. T. 1987. An evaluation of human actgeneration performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 39: 23–51.
Gibson, C. B. 1999. Do they do what they believe they can? Group efficacy effectiveness across tasks and cultures. Academy of Management Journal, 42: 1–15.
Gibson, C. B. 2001. Me and us: Differential relationships among goal-setting training, efficacy and effectiveness at the individual and team level. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22: 789–808.
Gigone, D., & Hastie, R. 1993. The common knowledge effect: Information sharing and group judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65: 959–974.
Gist, M. E. 1987. Self-efficacy: Implications for organizational behavior and human resource management. Academy of Management Review, 12: 472–485.
Goncalo, J. A., & Duguid, M. M. 2008. Hidden consequences of group-serving bias: Causal attributions and the quality of group decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 107: 219–233.
Greitemeyer, T., & Schulz-Hardt, S. 2003. Preference-consistent evaluation of information in the hidden profile paradigm: Beyond group-level explanations for the dominance of shared information in group decisions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84: 322–339.
Hackman, J. R. 1990. Group influences on individuals in organizations. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.). Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, 2nd ed., Vol. 3: 199–267. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists.
Hollingshead, A. B. 1996. The rank order effect in group decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 68: 181–193.
Janis, I. L. 1972. Victims of groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Jessup, L. M., Connolly, T., & Galegher, J. 1990. The effects of anonymity on GDSS group process with an idea-generating task. MIS Quarterly, 14: 313–321.
Knight, P. A., & Nadel, J. I. 1986. Humility revisited: Self-esteem, information search, and policy consistency. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 38: 196–206.
Lam, S. S. K., & Schaubroek, J. 2000. Improving group decisions by better pooling information: A comparative advantage of group decision support systems. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85: 565–573.
Lam, S. S. K., Schaubroeck, J., & Brown, A. D. 2004. Esteem maintenance among groups: Laboratory and field studies of group performance cognitions. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 94: 86–101.
Larson, J. R. Jr., Foster-Fishman, P. G., & Keys, C. B. 1994. Discussion of shared and unshared information in decision making groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67: 446–461.
Lindsley, D. H., Brass, D. J., & Thomas, J. B. 1995. Efficacy-performance spirals: A multilevel perspective. Academy of Management Review, 20: 645–678.
McGrath, J. E., & Hollingshead, A. B. 1993. Putting the group back in group support systems: Some theoretical issues about dynamic processes in groups with technology enhancements. In L. M. Jessup & J. S. Valacich (Eds.). Group support systems: New perspectives. New York: Macmillan.
Mulvey, P. W., & Ribbens, B. A. 1999. The effects of intergroup competition and assigned group goals on group efficacy and group effectiveness. Small Group Research, 30: 651–677.
Myers, D., & Lamm, H. 1976. The group polarization phenomenon. Psychological Bulletin, 83: 602–627.
Pescosolido, A. T. 2003. Group efficacy and group effectiveness: The effects of group efficacy over time on group performance and development. Small Group Research, 34: 20–42.
Peterson, E., Mitchell, T., Thompson, L., & Burr, R. 1996. Group efficacy and shared cognition as predictors of group process and performance. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Meetings, Cincinnati, OH.
Powers, W. T. 1973. Behavior: The control of perception. Chicago: Aldine.
Powers, W. T. 1991. Commentary on Bandura’s “Human Agency.” American Psychologist, 46: 151–153.
Silver, W. S., & Bufiano, K. M. 1996. The impact of group efficacy and group goals on group task performance. Small Group Research, 27: 55–72.
Sniezek, J. A., & Henry, R. A. 1989. Accuracy and confidence in group judgment. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 43: 1–28.
Stasser G. 1988. Computer simulation as a research tool: The DISCUSS model of group decision making. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 24: 393–422.
Stasser, G. 1992. Information salience and the discovery of hidden profiles by decision-making groups: A thought experiment. Organization Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 52: 156–181.
Stasser, G., & Stewart, D. 1992. Discovery of hidden profiles by decision-making groups: Solving a problem versus making a judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63: 426–434.
Stasser, G., Stewart, D., & Wittenbaum, G. M. 1995. Expert roles and information exchange during discussion: The importance of knowing who knows what. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31: 244–265.
Stasser, G., Taylor, L. A., & Hanna, C. 1989. Information sampling in structured and unstructured discussions of three- and six-person groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57: 67–78.
Stasser, G., & Titus, W. 1985. Pooling of unshared information in group decision making: Biased information sampling during discussion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48: 467–478.
Stasser, G., & Titus, W. 1987. Effects of information load and percentage of shared information on the dissemination of unshared information during group discussion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53: 81–93.
Stasser, G., Vaughan, S. I., & Stewart, D. 2000. Pooling unshared information: The benefits of knowing how access to information is distributed among group members. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82: 102–116.
Steiner, I. D. 1972. Group process and productivity. New York: Academic.
Stewart, D. D., & Stasser, D. 1995. Expert role assignment and information sampling collective recall and decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69: 619–628.
Stone, D. N. 1994. Overconfidence in initial self-efficacy judgments: Effects on decision processes and performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 59: 452–474.
Valacich, J., & Schwenk, C. 1995. Devil’s advocacy and dialectical inquiry effects on face-to-face and computer-mediated group decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 63: 158–173.
Vancouver, J. B., Thompson, C. M., Tischner, C., & Putka, D. J. 2002. Two studies examining the negative effect of self-efficacy on performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87: 506–516.
Vancouver, J. B., Thompson, C. M., & Williams, A. A. 2001. The changing signs in the relationships among self-efficacy, personal goals, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86: 605–620.
van Ginkel, W. P., & van Knippenberg, D. 2008. Group information elaboration and group decision making: The role of shared task representations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 105: 82–97.
van Ginkel, W. P., & van Knippenberg, D. 2009. Knowledge about the distribution of information and group decision making: When and why does it work?. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, in press.
Weiss, H. M., & Knight, P. A. 1980. The utility of humility: Self-esteem, information search, and problem-solving efficiency. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 25: 216–223.
Whyte, G. 1998. Recasting Janis’s groupthink model: The key role of collective efficacy in decision fiascoes. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 73: 185–209.
Wittenbaum, G. M., & Stasser, G. 1996. Management of information in small groups. In J. L. Nye & A. M. Brower (Eds.). What’s social about social cognition: Research on socially shared cognition in small groups: 3–28. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Wood, R. E., & Bandura, A. 1989. Impact of conceptions of ability on self-regulatory mechanisms and complex decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56: 407–415.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, Grant HKU 745407H.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lam, S.S.K., Schaubroeck, J. Information sharing and group efficacy influences on communication and decision quality. Asia Pac J Manag 28, 509–528 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-009-9183-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-009-9183-y