Title :
Reducing work related uncertainty: the role of communication and control in software development
Author :
Guinan, Patricia J. ; Faraj, Samer
Author_Institution :
Babson Coll., Babson Park, MA, USA
Abstract :
Applies an “organizational theories” lens to the general problems incurred when organizations undertake unclear, poorly specified technical projects for which there are no easy solutions. In an empirical study of 57 software development teams, we investigate the impact of team member communication and team control strategies on the role and task ambiguity experienced by team members. The results indicate that stakeholder rating of team performance is associated with decreased levels of role and task ambiguity. This finding goes beyond previous studies by showing the mediating impact of role and task ambiguity on the relationship between team performance on the one hand, and team communication and control strategies on the other
Keywords :
human resource management; software development management; mediating impact; organizational theories; poorly specified technical projects; role ambiguity; software development teams; stakeholder rating; task ambiguity; team control strategies; team member communication strategies; team performance; work-related uncertainty reduction; Airports; Business communication; Communication effectiveness; Communication system control; Costs; Educational institutions; Lenses; Programming; Software systems; Uncertainty;
Conference_Titel :
System Sciences, 1998., Proceedings of the Thirty-First Hawaii International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Kohala Coast, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-8186-8255-8
DOI :
10.1109/HICSS.1998.654761
