The Impacts of Reward Structures on MTS-Based New Information Technology Product Development

The literature on multiteam systems (MTSs) consistently emphasizes the need for multiple teams to collaborate in their efforts to accomplish overarching goals. Despite this consensus, management frequently encounters a distinct lack of coordination among teams engaged in new information technology product development (NITPD). The prevailing wisdom suggests that shared rewards can motivate intrateam members to prioritize shared responsibilities in pursuit of team-based goals, while individual rewards can motivate personal accomplishments. As research on MTS matures, in this article, we acknowledge a gap in our theoretical understanding of how better to motivate a group of teams within these systems. Our approach harnesses prevailing reward structures through a sequential mixed-method design, culminating in the establishment of an “MTS reward structures” framework. This framework integrates rewards focused on individual component teams with those targeting the MTS as a whole, taking into consideration the dynamic interplay with NITPD tasks. Qualitative findings suggest that task characteristics distinctly influence team motivation: information technology (IT) compatibility-building tasks appear to heighten perceived dependency and, thus, better motivate teams when system-based rewards are offered, while IT novelty-responding tasks seem to bolster perceived competence, resonating more with teams that receive component-team-based rewards. Our quantitative analysis, drawing from a multiwave and multisource survey involving 104 large-scale NITPDs, tests these hypothesized relationships. Results reveal that the nature of the task at hand profoundly magnifies the relationship between given reward structures and level of interteam coordination—an insight pivotal for managing and motivating teams in complex, NITPD contexts.