Start Date
11-12-2016 12:00 AM
Description
Organizational tasks are complex and time-sensitive, requiring group effort to achieve goals under pressure. To improve group performance, organizations often invest in a services designed to strengthen teams (e.g., ropes courses). However, such activities are time- and resource-expensive and have demonstrated mixed results. To proffer a more practical (shorter and less expensive) alternative, we explore the potential of video gaming as a team building activity. To this end, we employed a multi-experiment study in which we administered competitive and cooperative video games to newly formed work groups. To theoretically explain the effects of video gaming on group performance, we adapt the theoretical construct to flow to the group level. Our results reveal that all forms of video gaming had a positive effect on group performance. However, competitive versus cooperative gaming have different effects on the sub-constructs of group flow. Therefore, optimal results are obtained with cooperative-competitive video games.
Recommended Citation
Keith, Mark; Anderson, Greg; Dean, Douglas; Gaskin, James; Wiser, Trevor; Gremmert, Seth; and Gremmert, Seth, "The Effects of Video Gaming on Work Group Performance" (2016). ICIS 2016 Proceedings. 21.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2016/HumanBehavior/Presentations/21
The Effects of Video Gaming on Work Group Performance
Organizational tasks are complex and time-sensitive, requiring group effort to achieve goals under pressure. To improve group performance, organizations often invest in a services designed to strengthen teams (e.g., ropes courses). However, such activities are time- and resource-expensive and have demonstrated mixed results. To proffer a more practical (shorter and less expensive) alternative, we explore the potential of video gaming as a team building activity. To this end, we employed a multi-experiment study in which we administered competitive and cooperative video games to newly formed work groups. To theoretically explain the effects of video gaming on group performance, we adapt the theoretical construct to flow to the group level. Our results reveal that all forms of video gaming had a positive effect on group performance. However, competitive versus cooperative gaming have different effects on the sub-constructs of group flow. Therefore, optimal results are obtained with cooperative-competitive video games.