Students\u27 Perceptions of Social Loafing: Its Antecedents and Consequences in Undergraduate Business Classroom Teams

We report the findings from a 2-stage study of student perceptions of social loafing as it occurs in undergraduate business classroom teams. Given the popularity of student teams as a teaching and learning tool in undergraduate business classrooms, as well as the near absence of research that has focused on students\u27 definition of the problem, our purpose was to develop preliminary findings and spur new thinking about social loafing in this context. A definition of the construct was developed, and its key antecedents and consequences identified by way of exploratory analysis of student perceptions. The resulting hypotheses and conceptual model were tested using a structural equations model by way of a survey of 349 students taking classes in an undergraduate business program. Student perceptions of social loafing seem more complex than current views suggest. They point to student apathy and social disconnectedness as antecedents, and note that they take compensatory action when members of their teams social loaf. We identify issues for future research and discuss implications for instructors and program administrators

Students’ Perceptions of Social Loafing: Its Antecedents and Consequences in Undergraduate Business Classroom Teams

We report the findings from a 2-stage study of student perceptions of social loafing as it occurs in undergraduate business classroom teams. Given the popularity of student teams as a teaching and learning tool in undergraduate business classrooms, as well as the near absence of research that has focused on students’ definition of the problem, our purpose was to develop preliminary findings and spur new thinking about social loafing in this context. A definition of the construct was developed, and its key antecedents and consequences identified by way of exploratory analysis of student perceptions. The resulting hypotheses and conceptual model were tested using a structural equations model by way of a survey of 349 students taking classes in an undergraduate business program. Student perceptions of social loafing seem more complex than current views suggest. They point to student apathy and social disconnectedness as antecedents, and note that they take compensatory action when members of their teams social loaf. We identify issues for future research and discuss implications for instructors and program administrators

Student Perceptions of Social Loafing in Undergraduate Business Classroom Teams

There is a rich body of research devoted to the causes and remedies of social loafing in workplace teams. However, the social loafing phenomenon remains under investigated from the perspective of students in undergraduate business classroom teams. In particular, how they define and respond to loafing remains unknown. This article reports findings from a two-stage study that shows social loafing as a more complex construct than current conceptions suggest. Moreover, students avoid confronting loafers and prefer to have instructors administer post priori justice based on their self-report of individual contributions. Based on the findings and recent writings, the article speculates on the causes of these student responses to social loafing in classroom teams

Effects of Transparency and At-Stakeness on Students’ Perceptions of Their Ability to Work Collaboratively in Effective Classroom Teams: A Partial Test of the Jassawalla and Sashittal Model

While teams are common in business school classrooms, scholars note that few instructors provide teamwork-related instruction. The consequent negative experiences may explain the reported cynicism about teamwork among students. This article reports findings from a study that examined the link between a teaching strategy designed to help students function more effectively in teams and its impact on student perceptions of their ability to work collaboratively with others and on their perceptions of their team\u27s effectiveness. The study found evidence to suggest that a teaching strategy designed to help students reach the multiple stages of team development such as high levels of at-stakeness and transparency positively impacts their perceptions and that these stages effectively mediate the link between the strategy and key outcomes

What makes strategy making across the sales-marketing interface more successful?

Extant research on marketing strategy making (MSM) lacks process-based theoretical frameworks that elucidate how marketing strategies are made when sales and marketing functions are involved in the process. Using a grounded theory approach and data collected from (a) 58 depth interviews with sales and marketing professionals and (b) a focus group with 11 marketing professionals, we propose that MSM within the sales-marketing interface is a three-stage, multifaceted process that consists of Groundwork, Transfer and Follow-up stages. Our process-based model explicates the specific activities at each stage that are needed to develop and execute marketing strategies successfully, the sequence in which these activities may unfold, and the role sales and marketing functions may play in the entire process. Managerially, this paper highlights that successful strategy creation and execution requires marketing and sales functions to be equally invested in the entire proces