When collective- and self-efficacy affect team performance

The study examined task interdependence as a structural factor, which influences the emergence of collective-efficacy versus self-efficacy as a team-level construct. It tested for the differential effects of self- and collective-efficacy on team performance and the effects if initial perceptions of self- and collective-efficacy and record of past performance on the development of their subsequent perceptions. Results of a laboratory study demonstrated that collective-efficacy solidified as a meaningful team construct and influenced team performance on , when a highly interdependent task required team members to closely interact and coordinate their efforts. Under conditions of low task interdependence, collective-efficacy had no basis from which to emerge is a higher level team characteristic and no signficance in what is, in essence, individual performances. In contrast, self-efficacy emerged as a meaningful construct that explained individual performance under low task interdependence conditions.