Developing cooperative teams to support individual performance and well-being in a call center in China
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Group Decision and Negotiation
Publication Date
3-1-2014
Volume
23
Issue
2
First Page
325
Last Page
348
Keywords
Call center, China, Cooperative teamwork, Stress management, Workplace quality
Abstract
The theory of cooperation and competition, though developed in the West, may be useful to develop and analyze productive teamwork in China. Three hundred and sixty-eight employees from a call center participated in a cooperative teamwork 1-day workshop followed by daily practice. Results support the hypothesis that cooperative teams strengthen relationships, reduce turnover, and improve productivity of individual team members. During the 2-month period, team members increased the number of phones answered by nearly 40%, reduced customer complaints by over 55%, and lowered the turnover by over 20%, while the control call centers had either minor increases or decreases in these measures. These results support that the theory of cooperation and competition can guide the development of effective teams in China and that cooperative teams can improve the performance of individual employees.
DOI
10.1007/s10726-012-9314-6
Print ISSN
09262644
E-ISSN
15729907
Publisher Statement
Copyright © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Tjosvold, D., Chen, N. Y., Huang, X., & Xu, D. (2014). Developing cooperative teams to support individual performance and well-being in a call center in China. Group Decision and Negotiation, 23(2), 325-348. doi: 10.1007/s10726-012-9314-6