Management Teams: The Case for Balancing or Unbalancing

Team formation has emphasized a balanced approach to team member composition in order to insure that required knowledge was not missing from the teams. However, with significant knowledge gaps among team members, the existence of a strong knowledge leader amongst a novice group can impact team success over more balanced teams. This research measures team formation based on a balance of prior domain knowledge and team communication skills. Team success is measured by the results from a simulated business environment in which teams compete based on their knowledge of a cash-to-cash manufacturing market cycle. Results indicate that a strong knowledge leader with strong communication skills in a relatively novice group can be more effective than a team assembled with a more balanced knowledge base.