When do interprofessional teams succeed? Investigating the moderating roles of team and professional identity in interprofessional effectiveness

Abstract

This study investigates the role of professional identity threat and team identity as moderators of the relationship between diverse composition and the performance of interprofessional teams. Survey data from 47 interprofessional teams in a tertiary referral hospital in New South Wales, Australia demonstrates the value of social identity in understanding the performance of such teams. The first finding, that team identity moderates the relationship between diversity and team effectiveness, indicates that commitment and attraction to their team enhances members’ ability to work together cooperatively. The second finding, that threat to professional identity plays a deleterious role by moderating an inverse relationship between diversity and effectiveness, suggests that professional dissent may increase the negative effects of diversity. Finally, support for the role of interprofessional motivation in strengthening team identity and reducing identity threat provides both an additional theoretical contribution, and offers a practical strategy for enhancing the effectiveness of interprofessional teams.