Multi-team Systems: An Organization Form for Dynamic and Complex Environments

This book examines an emerging organizational form called the multi-team system (MTS). This type of aggregation is being increasingly adopted by organizations and agencies that need to respond to complex strategic problems. There has been increasing interest in MTSs over the last decade to the point where there is now a need to (a) describe these organizational forms more fully, (b) build conceptual frames that can guide research, and (c) begin developing tools to improve the study of MTSs. The purpose of this book is to respond to these needs. The book contains a series of chapters that expand prior conceptual frames of MTSs, defining in more detail the compositional and linkage attributes that characterize such units. The book also explores how such systems emerge and develop, as well as the methods for studying MTSs. The intent of the book is to establish and nurture a strong conceptual and methodological foundation that can guide research and practice with MTSs. Because the notion of MTSs cuts across multiple domains, this book will interest scholars in industrial/organizational psychology, organizational science, management and organizational theory, human factors, sociology, organization communications, and public administration.

Stephen J. Zaccaro is a professor of psychology at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. He is also an experienced leadership development consultant. He has written over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports on group dynamics, team performance, leadership, and work attitudes. He has authored a book titled, The Nature of Executive Leadership: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis of Success (2001) and co-edited three other books, Occupational Stress and Organizational Effectiveness (1987), The Nature of Organizational Leadership: Understanding the Performance Imperatives Confronting Today's Leaders (2001), and Leader Development for Transforming Organizations (2004). He has also co-edited special issues of Leadership Quarterly (1991-1992) on individual differences and leadership, and a special issue for Group and Organization Management (2002) on the interface between leadership and team dynamics. He serves on the editorial board of The Leadership Quarterly, and he is an associate editor for Journal of Business and Psychology and Military Psychology. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Divisions 14 (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology ) and 19 (Military Psychology).

Michelle A. Marks is an associate professor of management in Mason’s School of Management. She earned her undergraduate degree from James Madison University and her MS and PhD in industrial/ organizational psychology from George Mason University. She also currently serves as Associate Provost for Graduate Education at George Mason University. Prior to her faculty appointment at George Mason, Dr. Marks was an assistant professor at Florida International University. She has authored and delivered more than 75 peer review journal articles and national conference research presentations. She studies leadership development and teamwork in organizations. In 2006, Dr. Marks won the George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award and in 2008 she won the Executive MBA Professor of the Year award. She teaches courses in leadership, organizational behavior, global business and change management in executive, MBA and undergraduate programs. Dr. Marks is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Applied Psychology and a Board Member of the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research.

Leslie A. DeChurch is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Psychology at the University of Central Florida. Dr. DeChurch's research interests include team and multiteam system effectiveness, leadership, and conflict and negotiations. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Small Group Research, Human Factors, Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, & Practice, and the International Journal of Conflict Management. Dr. DeChurch is a consulting editor at the Journal of Applied Psychology and the Journal of Business and Psychology; her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Institute for the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. DeChurch earned a BS (1996) in Environmental Science from the University of Miami, and MS (2000) and PhD (2002) degrees in Psychology from Florida International University.