Structure and Function of Team Learning Emergence : A Multilevel Empirical Validation

The aim of this study is to examine how learning emerges in terms of structure and function to transform from an individual to a collective (team) phenomenon. Drawing on learning theory and multilevel thinking, the authors developed and validated measures for the basic team learning processes (i.e., intuition, interpretation, integration, and codification) in three independent field studies of innovation project teams and employed multilevel structural equation modeling to test relationships across the individual and team levels of analysis. Their results confirm the hypothesis that team learning originates in individual intuitions, is amplified through interpretation and integration, and manifests itself at the team level via the codification of collective cognition and action. Across the three studies, team learning was found to significantly affect team performance. The authors’ approach contributes to a conceptualization and measurement of team learning as a multilevel phenomenon.