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The Influence of Change-Oriented Leadership and Psychological Safety on Team Learning in Healthcare Teams

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Abstract

Purpose

Researchers have identified team learning as an important predictor of team performance. In healthcare organizations, it is especially critical for care quality and hospital performance that teams engage in learning behaviors to reduce errors and improve service effectiveness. The main objective of this study is to examine the role of change-oriented leadership in the learning process and outcomes of healthcare teams.

Design/Methodology/Approach

The sample comprises a total of 698 healthcare professionals working in 107 teams at different public hospitals throughout Spain. Members of teams were invited to participate voluntarily by completing an anonymous individual questionnaire.

Findings

The results show a mediating effect of team learning on the relationship between change-oriented leadership and team performance and psychological safety and team performance.

Originality/Value

Our study contributes to the literature by investigating the role of change-oriented leadership in facilitating team learning behaviors. Moreover, this study advances our understanding of the mediators of the relationship between team leadership and outcomes by testing to assess whether specific change-oriented leader behaviors nurture psychological safety, team learning and, therefore, performance.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by FIS Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Grant No. P041981 and was partially supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Collaboration and Knowledge Interoperability Program and Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (ONR MURI) Grant No. N000140610446. The views expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the organizations with which they are affiliated, their sponsoring institutions or agencies, or their grant partners.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Accountancy and Management, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Madero 849, Col. Moderna, CP 78233, San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico

    Aída Ortega

  2. Department of Educational Research and Development, Maastricht University & University of Antwerp, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Piet Van den Bossche

  3. Department of Business Administration, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, C/Madrid, 126, 28903, Getafe, Madrid, Spain

    Miriam Sánchez-Manzanares

  4. Department of Social Psychology and Methodology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Ivan Pavlov, 6, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Ramón Rico

  5. Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, 28223, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Gil

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  1. Aída Ortega
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  2. Piet Van den Bossche
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  3. Miriam Sánchez-Manzanares
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  4. Ramón Rico
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  5. Francisco Gil
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Correspondence to Aída Ortega.

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Ortega, A., Van den Bossche, P., Sánchez-Manzanares, M. et al. The Influence of Change-Oriented Leadership and Psychological Safety on Team Learning in Healthcare Teams. J Bus Psychol 29, 311–321 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-013-9315-8

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