Effects of Integrated and Differentiated Team Knowledge Structures on Distributed Team Cognition

This paper describes an experiment to study the effects of varying knowledge structures on distributed team cognition. Using the teamNETS simulation, integrated and differentiated knowledge structures were manipulated by varying the reference materials the participants received during training. While the two knowledge structures had no direct effects on team performance, other results were found for their collaborative processes and team perceptions. Specifically the results showed that teams with differentiated structures worked more independently of each other, simply coordinated their actions and minimal communication, while teams with integrated structures worked more interdependently with a much tighter collaboration and frequent communication.