A field examination of the moderating role of group trust in group efficacy formation

Abstract

Although support for the positive effect of group efficacy on group performance is copious, our understanding of how group efficacy forms is scant. Much remains unanswered about how the four efficacy antecedents, defined by social cognitive theory as enacted mastery, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and affect, concurrently influence group efficacy. Complementing the homology assumption of social cognitive theory, the authors propose and test a differential moderation model of group trust, in which group trust interacts synergistically or compensatorily with the four antecedents of group efficacy depending on the information content they provide. The results, based on 100 work groups in a manufacturing plant in China, showed that past group performance and group social persuasion were positively related to group efficacy, but that group vicarious learning and group positive affect were not. A significant interaction with group trust was found for group vicarious learning and for group positive affect. Finally, group efficacy was positively related to subsequent group performance, even after controlling for the four efficacy antecedents and group trust. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.