Means vs. Ends: Implications of Process and Outcome Focus for Team Adaptation and Performance
研究团队在知识工作中早期对结果或过程的侧重如何影响后续适应性和绩效，通过实验发现结果聚焦的团队在动态环境中表现更好。
Knowledge work frequently involves both the redefinition of desired outcomes and the specification of task processes. The relative emphasis that teams place on these issues early in work can lead members to become “outcome focused” or “process focused,” with consequences for performance. This paper develops and explores a theory of how outcome focus and process focus develop in teams and the implications of each for team adaptation and performance. Outcome and process focus were both observed and experimentally manipulated in 90 teams working on an open-ended task. Measures of the teams' performance as well as level of action identification and ability to adapt work processes point to an advantage for outcome-focused teams in dynamic environments. Implications for the design and management of knowledge work teams are discussed.