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When Does Coordination Matter? Large-scale Evidence On Structural Contingencies In The Team Player Effect

Author

Listed:
  • Christoph M. Flath
  • Fabian Kosse
  • Victor Klockmann
  • Alicia von Schenk
  • Nikolai Stein
  • Nico Elbert

Abstract

The value of being a "team player" is not fixed – it depends on how work is organized. Using 1.5 million matches among 30,459 players in temporary teams formed by quasi-random matchmaking, we measure each player's coordination ability as a stable trait distinct from solo technical skill. This "team player effect" has a standardized coefficient ratio to individual skill (TPE/SELO) of about 47% in team contests but near zero in solo play. The return to coordination is strongly context-dependent: across a team-size × task-structure grid, the TPE/SELO coefficient ratio shifts from 35% to 72% (2.1×; 1.28×–1.49× within player), driven by team scale increasing coordination demands and task interdependence attenuating the predictive power of individual skill. Teammates perceive this quality, re-selecting high-coordination partners 23% more often. These findings connect individual coordination capabilities to organization design, providing field-scale evidence for classical contingency theory's prediction that the value of coordination depends on structural context.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph M. Flath & Fabian Kosse & Victor Klockmann & Alicia von Schenk & Nikolai Stein & Nico Elbert, 2026. "When Does Coordination Matter? Large-scale Evidence On Structural Contingencies In The Team Player Effect," CESifo Working Paper Series 12626, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12626
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

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