The Effectiveness of Self-Managing Teams: A Quasi-Experiment

The balance of evidence indicates that self-managing teams were more effective than comparable traditionally-managed groups that performed the same type of work.

Abstract

This study used a quasi-experimental design to assess the effectiveness of self-managing teams in a telecommunications company. These teams performed customer service, technical support, administrative support, and managerial functions in a variety of locations. The balance of evidence indicates that self-managing teams were more effective than comparable traditionally-managed groups that performed the same type of work. The study illustrates the value of a collaborative research project in which researchers and clients jointly define the research questions, study design, and methods.