Team Change Adaptation: The Role of Goal Orientation and Change Characteristics

This study examines how planned and improvised adaptation processes contribute to team performance following a change event and the conditions under which each is most effective. Across a laboratory experiment and a multi-wave field survey, we find that the effectiveness of each adaptation process is contingent on change characteristics: planned adaptation is more effective when changes are less disruptive and novel, whereas improvised adaptation becomes more effective as changes become more disruptive and novel. We also find that team goal orientations differentially shape teams’ engagement in each process. These findings offer a more integrative account of team adaptation following change.