Title: Team innovation: the role of team absorptive capacity and team decision-making

Authors: Anjali Singh; Sumi Jha

Addresses: Indian Institute of Management Mumbai, Organization Behaviour, and Human Resources, Vihar Lake, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India ' Indian Institute of Management Mumbai, Organization Behaviour, and Human Resources, Vihar Lake, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Abstract: Drawing on the team-member exchange theory, we examine the perceived relationship between team absorptive capacity dimensions and team innovation in Indian organisations and the mediating role of team decision-making. It is a current research context mainly studied at the organisational/firm level that is highly relevant for corporate practice but has been neglected in management literature until now. The article developed and tested a moderated mediation model to examine the relationship between absorptive capacity dimensions, team decision-making, team member exchange, and team innovation using data from 65 teams and 263 team members working in diverse Indian organisations. Data were analysed using PROCESS Hayes's macro in SPSS. The findings reveal the impact of external knowledge transformation and exploitation capacity on team innovation only when there is effective team decision-making. However, in the case of acquisition and assimilation of external knowledge, it is not contingent on effective team decision-making.

Keywords: team innovation; team absorptive capacity; team decision-making; TDM; team-member exchange theory.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMP.2025.144791

International Journal of Management Practice, 2025 Vol.18 No.2, pp.109 - 132

Received: 24 Apr 2023
Accepted: 10 Dec 2023
Published online: 03 Mar 2025 *

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