Collaborative Technology and Dimensions of Team Cognition: Test of a Second-Order Factor Model

The purpose of this study was to explore team cognition as a multidimensional activity comprised of team learning, team reflexivity, and team mental model during project teamwork. A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the effects of two different modes of collaboration – face-to-face and technology-mediated collaboration on team cognition and its subsequent impact on task outcomes. Team cognition was represented as a second-order construct comprised of three first-order dimensions. A direct-observation rating scale used to derive measures of the first-order dimensions was shown to have strong psychometric properties. The partial least squares method was used to test a structural equation model where the second-order construct was presented as a mediator between collaboration mode and task outcomes (productivity and interaction quality). As hypothesized, team cognition significantly influenced productivity and interaction quality outcomes. Further, collaboration mode significantly improved team cognition through its specific effects on the team learning, team reflexivity, and team mental model development. The main contribution of the study lies in its finding that team cognition can be viewed as a hierarchical construct that accounts for distinct yet cognition-related behaviors. This finding offers an extension to current related research models and identifies behavioral indicators that can be monitored by project managers in developing prescriptive measures aimed at promoting project success.