The Effect Of Transactive Memory System On Team Performance In Virtual Teams:An Empirical Study

The rapid development of information and communication technology and the rapidly changing market environment makes each work more complexity. In order to adapt to the needs of the development of economic globalization, virtual teams which is across the time, the space and the organizational boundaries have been adopted by more and more organizations. Therefore, the way to achieve the efficient allocation of virtual team members, improve team members’ work efficiency and the performance of virtual team has become the focus of researchers in recent years. As specialty knowledge and skills of cognitive team knowledge management system, Transactive memory system has been thought an effective system and has a positive impact on group performance by many scholars. But in a virtual team situation whether the transactive memory system still has positive effect on team performance remains to be further research.So this article introduces the transactive memory system theory in the study of virtual team performance, discusses the impact of transactive memory system on the role of performance in the virtual team. At the same time, complexity of the task as a moderator variable, analysis task complexity of transactive memory system on three dimensions and the regulation of relationships between team performance effect. Based on questionnaire survey in virtual team, this research using SPSS 19.0 and AMOS 17.0 and Excel software, through the principal component analysis, regression analysis and structural equation model fitting methods to verify the proposed models and assumptions.The results of empirical research show that a team of virtual geographic dispersion dimension is negatively related to the form of the transactive memory system, while technology dependence dimensions can promote the formation of transactive memory system. Three dimensions such as professional, credibility and coordination team transactive memory system all have positive influence on group performance. Task complexity can reverse adjust on the relationship of the specialization and coordination and team performance, and not on the relationship between the credibility and team performance.According to the results of the empirical study, this research puts forward several management suggestions: first, team members geographic dispersion makes the virtual team, the formation of the transactive memory system in more difficult, but technology dependence can promote the formation of the team transactive memory system, so managers should pay more attention to the communication between the team members, can use the technology such as video conference will be gathered to the geographical position different members exchange and communication, promote the formation of the team transactive memory system. Secondly, virtual team should also be given enough emphasis on transactive memory system, for the team support the establishment and maintenance of transactive memory systems. Can establish a clear division of cooperation system, make the team better for each other’s specialty knowledge and skills to locate and search, easing the burden on individual and team knowledge and information redundancy. Also want to be in good communication processes are established within the team, promote the establishment of trust between team members, encourage mutual coordination and cooperation among team members, improve the ability of work coordination between team members, encourage team members to fully integrate and use each other’s specialty knowledge and skills, so as to effectively improve team performance. Finally, in the face of complex high degree of task, a clear division of specialty knowledge system need to establishment and efforts should be made to create a team atmosphere of cooperation and coordination.