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This research aims to examine the relationship between transactive memory systems and team sensemaking in the presence of critical boundary conditions, namely, task conflict and reward interdependence.

The data for Study 1 was collected from 304 team members who worked in 87 organizations in the Information, Communication and Technology sector of Pakistan. Study 2 is based on team-level data that was collected from 180 teams working in the New Product Development sector, with four to seven members in each team. The data tested the three-way interaction effect of the transactive memory systems, task conflict and reward interdependence on team sensemaking.

Results have shown that transactive memory systems have a positive relationship with team sensemaking, particularly when both task conflict and reward interdependence were perceived to be high.

To reap synergies, human resource managers should avoid disrupting team structures, assigning new members to a team or rotating team members very frequently. Moreover, if a team is experiencing high task conflict, reward interdependence may encourage conflict to remain constructive.

The current study is one of the first few attempts that examine the pivotal role of task conflict and reward interdependence as boundary conditions on transactive memory systems and team sensemaking. This research, therefore, highlights the role of transactive memory systems in enhancing team sensemaking at higher levels of task conflict and reward interdependence.

While extensive research exists on how positive life circumstances and positive personality traits promote entrepreneurship, there is little research focusing on how negative personal circumstances may potentially breed entrepreneurship. This study aims to build upon the theory of underdog entrepreneurship to examine the effect of challenging life circumstances such as poverty on the development of entrepreneurial traits in underdog entrepreneurs. This research analyzed the effect of risk-taking (RT) on the entrepreneurial success (ES) of underdog entrepreneurs and the role of optimism (OPM) and persistence (P) as mediating variables and poverty as a moderator variable.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 400 micro-finance borrowers of Akhuwat Foundation Pakistan. Akhuwat provides interest-free small loans to the poor segment of society. Preliminary testing of the survey questionnaire with a sample of 35 borrowers of Akhuwat Foundation in Lahore city was conducted before data collection. Data was collected from four randomly selected branches in Lahore city.

The authors found that OPM and P significantly mediate the relationship between RT and ES. In addition, the authors analyzed the moderating effect of poverty on the relationship between OPM and ES and found a negative moderating effect. A strong positive moderating effect of poverty was found on the relationship between P and ES. The results of multi-group analysis show that successful and unsuccessful underdog entrepreneurs differ in their RT propensity, which is significantly mediated by OPM and P.

This study provides empirical evidence on entrepreneurial traits and success of poor entrepreneur in an emerging economy. This work is original and has not been submitted elsewhere.

The contemporary organizational environment calls for work team members to be more resilient in the face of likely setbacks, which are routinely experienced at the workplace. In two separate studies of work teams, we examine the impact of team sensemaking on team bricolage and subsequently, on team resilience. These studies further investigate whether task interdependence moderates the mediation of team bricolage for the relationship between team sensemaking and team resilience. In brief, these two studies conceptualize and test the relevance of team sensemaking, team bricolage and task interdependence for team resilience.

A sample of 213 team members participated in the self-administered survey for Study 1. For Study 2, a second sample collected from 81 teams, elicited team-level data by consensus among team members.

Findings show that team sensemaking as an antecedent has a significant and positive impact on team resilience. The results also show how and when the relationship between team sensemaking and team resilience is facilitated through an underlying mechanism of team bricolage in the presence of task interdependence among team members. This research improves the understanding about the relationship between team sensemaking and team resilience by examining the underlying mechanism and boundary condition under which the relationship is the strongest.

These findings have important implications for human resource managers. In face of adverse events, team sensemaking plays a pivotal role as it can enable team members to have better situational awareness, communication and reflection. Team sensemaking can be further facilitated for improved team resilience by embedding bricolage and task interdependence components in the employee orientation, job description and training of potential and current employees.

These findings demonstrate that in the wake of adverse events, team sensemaking can play a pivotal role as it enables team members to have better situational awareness, communication and reflection. For team resilience, the findings imply that team sensemaking can be further facilitated by team bricolage in the presence of task interdependence in work teams. Thus, managers of modern work teams and organizations can sensitize team members about these aspects through employee orientation, job description and on and off job training activities.