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Group Size, Group Development, and Group Productivity

GDQ Associates, Inc.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gdq{at}gdqassoc.com.

	Abstract

This research investigated the impact of small and large work groups on developmental processes and group productivity. There were 329 work groups operating in for-profit and nonprofit organizations across the United States in this study. Groups containing 3 to 8 members were significantly more productive and more developmentally advanced than groups with 9 members or more. Groups containing 3 to 6 members were significantly more productive and more developmentally advanced than groups with 7 to 10 members or 11 members or more. The groups with 7 to 10 members or 11 members were not different from each other. Finally, groups containing 3 to 4 members were significantly more productive and more developmentally advanced on a number of measures than groups with 5 to 6 members. Work-group size is a crucial factor in increasing or decreasing both group development and productivity.

First published on January 6, 2009, doi:10.1177/1046496408328703

Small Group Research 2009;40:247.

A more recent version of this article appeared on April 1, 2009


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