Teamwork Under Adversity: An Integrative Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

Given the complex environments in which most organizations operate today, work teams are confronted with adversity more frequently. Accordingly, it is important to understand how these teams are impacted by adversity and how they strive to overcome the challenges they face. As a result, substantial research attention has been given to the topic of teamwork under adversity. However, this research has emerged across multiple disciplines and various communities of practice, leading to a lack of shared understanding of what team adversity is and a proliferation of adversity-related concepts. To synthesize the existing literature, we leverage bibliographic coupling and qualitative content analysis approaches to examine a sample of 1,743 articles. Based on our integration of this literature, we present an inclusive definition of team adversity and introduce a nomological network that addresses the relationships among team adversity triggers, consequences, management approaches, as well as adversity-related resources and interventions that shape how teams experience and respond to adversity. We conclude by proposing several directions for future research that build upon the foundation provided by our review and synthesis of the team adversity literature.