Please use this form to submit your study for inclusion into our database. It will be checked by a member of the Innovation Growth Lab team, who may be in contact to ask for more information. Your email address * Your name * Title * The name of the study Short summary Interpersonal effects of physical space indirectly affect performance for group engaged in knowledge work. Physical space shapes performance indirectly by affecting group members' arousal and territorial behaviour, which together influence information elaboration. The physical context in which a group works can shape interpersonal dynamics and ultimately group performance. A brief description of the project's goals and its current state Abstract <p>Non-sedentary work configurations, which encourage standing rather than sitting in the course of work, are becoming increasingly prevalent in organizations. In this article, we build and test theory about how non-sedentary arrangements influence interpersonal processes in groups performing knowledge work—tasks that require groups to combine information to develop creative ideas and solve problems. We propose that a non-sedentary workspace increases group arousal, while at the same time decreasing group idea territoriality, both of which result in better information elaboration and, indirectly, better group performance. The results of an experimental study of 54 groups engaged in a creative task provide support for this dual pathway model and underscore the important role of the physical space in which a group works as a contextual input to group processes and outcomes.</p> The full abstract of the study, if available Links http://spp.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/06/12/1948550614538463.abstract Links to any published papers and related discussions Authors * Affiliations Academic and other institutes that the authors of the study are members of Delivery partner Organisations involved in delivering the trial, if appropriate Year Year Year199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026 Month MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec Day Day12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 Journal Journal publishing the study, if available Publication stage * Working Paper Published Ongoing Research Forthcoming Discussion Paper Research theme * Entrepreneurship Innovation Business Growth Country Country or countries where this study took place. Topics What sort of topics does the study cover? Sample attributes Hypotheses / research question Does a non-sedentary workspace promote or inhibit the performance of groups engaged in knowledge work, engaged in solving problems with creative solutions? Do non-sedentary workspaces enhance group performance by increasing group arousal and decreasing territorial behaviour? Theory predicts that the effects of a non-sedentary workspace on information elaboration are mediated by arousal and idea territoriality, and predict information elaboration to be positively related to group performance on a knowledge work task. Sample Trial population and sample selection 214 undergrad students at a university in the Midwestern United States - students received course credit for participating. Students registered for a 1-hour timeslot and received a link to a web-based survey. Participants arrived at their scheduled time to complete a group-based creativity task. Each study session included between 3 and 5 participants yielding 54 groups. Groups were assigned to sedentary or non-sedentary workspaces; both were identical in dimensions, presence of a whiteboard, 2 easels, notepads, markers, and table, but the sedentary workspace included chairs. Number of treatment groups Size of treatment groups Not available Size of control group Unit of analysis Clustered? Yes No Cluster details Trial attributes Treatment description Groups were asked to complete a 30 minute creativity exercise (develop and record a university recruitment video). The control group room (sedentary workspaces) included chairs, while the treatment group room (non-sedentary workspaces) did not. Otherwise, the rooms were identical, equipped with whiteboard, easels, markers, notebooks, and a table. Rounds of data collection Baseline data collection and method Registration for the experiment required students to provide demographic information. To operationalize group arousal, we first calculated a baseline score for each individual, using the average electrodermal activity (EDA) recorded during the initial 15 min of the study session when participants received instructions and completed a survey. Data collection method and data collected Evaluation Outcome variables <p>Group arousal: Electrodermal activity (EDA). Group idea territoriality: Posttask survey responses provided by participants on the perceived protectiveness of others in the group towards their ideas (5-point scale). Group information elaboration: 3rd-party ratings of video recordings of group interactions. Raters used a 5-point scale and were blind to the research hypothesis. Group performance: Assistants from the university independently rated overall quality of each group's video based on the objective the groups were given (5-item measure).</p> Results <p>Working in non-sedentary space marginally increased group arousal (B=0.09, p=0.06), decreased group territorial behaviour (B=-0.25, p=0.05) and increased information elaboration (B=0.34, p=0.02). There was no significant direct effect of workspace condition on group performance. Bivariate correlation between group territorial behaviour and information elaboration (r=-.21, p > .10) did not reach statistical significance. After controlling for covariates, working in a non-sedentary space increased group arousal (β=0.25, p<0.5) and group arousal was positively related to information elaboration (β=0.27,p<0.5). Also decreased idea territoriality (β=-.28,p<0.1), which was negatively associated to information elaboration (β=-0.32, p<0.01). The total indirect effect of workspace on elaboration was significant.</p> Intervention costs Not available. Cost benefit ratio Reference Knight, A. P., & Baer, M., 2014. 'Get Up, Stand Up The Effects of a Non-Sedentary Workspace on Information Elaboration and Group Performance'. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 1948550614538463. Citation for use in academic references
