Boosting team flow through collective efficacy beliefs: A multilevel study in real‐life organizational teams

Team flow is a positive team state that may augment team performance and well-being of team members. Although gaining momentum, the topic of collective flow in a work team context is still largely unexplored and little is known about what factors foster it. In addition, research into this topic has so far been conducted predominantly outside real-life organizational work settings. In the study reported on in this paper, 386 respondents from 60 teams in four public organizations in different domains were included in a survey study. Results of a multilevel analysis showed that, at the between-group level and the within-group level, team goal commitment was positively associated with team flow, and collective efficacy beliefs served as a mediator in the relationship between team goal commitment and work team flow. Moreover, at the within-group level, support was found for a positive, mediated association of team proximity with team flow and for a moderating role of collective challenge-skills balance. Conclusions from this study provide more insights into the complex mechanisms involved in establishing collective flow within a work team context, with implications for both researchers and managers.