Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
5-2025
Abstract
In response to rapidly evolving markets and the pursuit of organizational agility, fluid teams—characterized by dynamic membership and flexible structures—have become prevalent as a key organizational form for addressing complex tasks and uncertainty. However, inherent challenges such as frequent member mobility and multiple project participation pose significant management difficulties and performance risks, including project delays and cost overruns, particularly evident in China's fintech sector. While existing research has begun examining fluid teams, systematic investigation into their structural antecedents and performance mechanisms—especially their contingencies across contexts—remains limited.
The study examines structural antecedents and contingencies of fluid team performance through a mixed-methods investigation of banking financial delivery teams at Company H, a leading Chinese fintech firm. Quantitative analysis of 1,625 completed fluid team projects (2020–May 2024) and qualitative interviews with 12 team members yield two findings: First, shared experience among team members significantly enhances fluid team performance by improving collaboration efficiency and task execution. Qualitative research highlights its role in strengthening trust, communication, and conflict resolution. Second, concurrent project count negatively impacts fluid team performance due to divided attention, resource consumption, and temporal conflicts. Qualitative research corroborates this finding, emphasizing increased cognitive load and task friction arising from multiple project participation.
Contingency analysis demonstrates that task novelty positively moderates the relationship between shared experience and fluid team performance. This is particularly evident in high-novelty tasks (e.g., product R&D or unique client needs). Qualitative research suggests that shared experience becomes critical for adaptability, rapid problem-solving, and innovation. Contingency analysis also indicates that leader time investment in focal projects mitigates the negative impact of concurrent project count on fluid team performance through resource coordination, priority setting, communication improvement, and stress reduction.
The study's theoretical contributions include expanding fluid team research by integrating shared experience and multiple project participation into a team performance framework, while mixed-methods evidence clarifies underlying mechanisms. Practically, findings guide organizations to limit core members' concurrent project count under resource constraints; strategically leverage shared experience based on task novelty; and prioritize project managers' time investment in key projects to enhance fluid team performance.
Keywords
fluid team, project timeliness, shared experience, multiple project participation, task novelty, leader time investment, mixed study
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Business Administration (Accounting and Finance)
Discipline
Accounting | Finance and Financial Management
Supervisor(s)
WANG, Jiwei
First Page
1
Last Page
118
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
ZHANG, Xiaodong.
Research on the structural antecedents and contingencies of fluid team performance. (2025). 1-118.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/768
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.