Welcome to Francis Academic Press

Academic Journal of Business & Management, 2026, 8(1); doi: 10.25236/AJBM.2026.080116.

Research on the Impact of Shared Mental Model on the Team Innovation Performance: Considering the Moderating Effect of Emotional Infection

Author(s)

Meiqing Tan, Xianrun Zhang, Zhuoling Liu, Qingsheng Wang, Jitao Sun

Corresponding Author:
Meiqing Tan
Affiliation(s)

International Business School, Yunnan University of Finance & Economics, Kunming, Yunnan, China

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of the shared mental model (SMM) on team innovation performance (TIP) by exploring the moderating effect of emotional infection (EI).The Credamo platform was used to conduct a questionnaire survey on Chinese teams participating in collaborative innovation projects, and 198 valid samples were collected for the research. The authors apply confirmatory factor analysis to test the reliability and validity of the constructs, structural ordinary least squares hierarchical regression model to verify the hypothesis. The results show that both the collaborative shared mind model and the task-based shared mind model have significant positive effects on team innovation performance. Positive emotion infection can regulate the relationship between the collaborative shared mind model and team innovation performance, but has no significant moderating effect on the relationship between the task-based shared mind model and team innovation performance. Negative emotional contagion not only negatively moderates the relationship between the collaborative shared mental model and team innovation performance, but also negatively moderates the relationship between the task-based shared mental model and team innovation performance.

Keywords

Shared Mental Model; Team Innovation; Innovation Performance; Emotional Contagion

Cite This Paper

Meiqing Tan, Xianrun Zhang, Zhuoling Liu, Qingsheng Wang, Jitao Sun. Research on the Impact of Shared Mental Model on the Team Innovation Performance: Considering the Moderating Effect of Emotional Infection. Academic Journal of Business & Management (2026), Vol. 8, Issue 1: 113-123. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJBM.2026.080116.

References

[1] Cannon, J.A,, Salas,E. and Converse, S.A. (1990), “Cognitive psychology and team training: training shared mental models and complex systems”, Human Factors Society Bulletin, Vol. 33 No. 12, pp. 1-4.

[2] Yang, H.D., Kan, H.R. and Mason, R.M. (2008), “An exploratory study on meta skills in software development teams: antecedent cooperation skills and personality for shared mental models”, European Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 47-61.

[3] Hekkert, M.P., Janssen, M. and Wesseling, J.H. (2020), “Mission-oriented innovation systems”, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 76-79.

[4] Mathieu, J.E., Hefner, T.S., Goodwin, G.F., Salas, E. and Cannon, J.A. (2000), “The influence of shared mental models on team process and performance”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 85 No. 2, pp. 273-283.

[5] Lavy, S. and Littman, H. (2017), “My better self:using strengths at work and work productivity, organizational citizenship behavior,and satisfaction”, Journal of Career Development, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 95-109.

[6] Decanio, S.J. (1993), “Barriers within firms to energy-efficient investment”, Energy Policy, Vol. 21 No. 9, pp. 906-914.

[7] Holman, D. and Niven, K. (2019), “Does interpersonal affect regulation influence others'task performance? The mediating role of positive mood”, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 820-830.

[8] Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L. and Hayes, T.L. (2002), “Businessunit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 87 No. 2, pp. 268-279.

[9] Liu, C.H. and An, L.R. (2016), “Organizational knowledge sharing in mobile internet age:from individual cognition to team cognition”, Forum on Science and Technology in China, Vol. 32 No. 12, pp. 105-109.

[10] Zhang, T., Liu, Y.P. and Lai, B.H. (2008), “Empirical research on influence of team conflict and team trust to team mental model formation”, Journal of Beijing Jiaotong University(Social Sciences Edition), Vol. 14 No. 4, pp.58-63.

[11] Paul, S. and Peter, T. (2007), “Social Factors of Work Environment Creativity”, Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 407-428.

[12] Yu, D.P., Duan, Y.L. and Zhang, X.Q. (2017), “Research between general human capital of entrepreneurs and innovative opportunity identification”, Science and Technology Progress and Policy, Vol. 34 No. 14, pp. 112-118.

[13] Wang, L.Y. and Chen, J. (2010), “A study on influencing mechanism of R&D team creativity——the mediating role of team shared mental model”, Studies in Science of Science, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 420-428.

[14] Marks, M.A., Sabella, M.J. and Burke, C.S. (2002), “The Impact of Cross-Training on Team Effectiveness”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 87 No. 1, p. 3.

[15] Sun, T.T., Xia, W.L. and Wei, X.J. (2015), “Research on relationships among shared mental models, process agility and team performance——take software development team as an example”, Science and Technology Progress and Policy, Vol. 4 No. 8, pp. 16-23.

[16] Levesque, L. (2001), “Cognitive divergence shared mental models software development project teams”, Journal Organizational Behavior, Vol. 22 No. 11, pp. 135-144.

[17] Walter, F. and Bruch, H. (2008), “The positive group affect spiral: a dynamic model of the emergence of positive affective similarity in work groups”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 239-261.

[18] Wang, X., Li, W.Z. and Du, J.G. (2010), “The advance research of emotional contagion theory”, Advances in Psychological Science, Vol. 18 No. 8, pp. 1236-1245.

[19] Monks, K., Conway, E. and Fu, N. (2016), “Enhancing knowledge exchange and combination through HR practices: Reflexivity as a translation process”, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 304-320.

[20] Kimberly, A. and Smith, J. (2005), “Investigating linear and interactive effects of shared mental models on safety and efficiency in a field setting”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 131-154.

[21] Zhou, J. and Shalley, C.E. (2003), “Research on employee creativity:a critical review and directions for future research”, Research in personnel and human resource management.London: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

[22] Richard, K. and Susan, M. (1994), “Team mental model Construct or metaphor”, Journal of Management, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 403-437.

[23] Lv, X.J. (2009), “The Influence of shared mental model on team effectiveness: team process as the mediating variable”, Journal of Psychological Science, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 439-442.

[24] Ayoko, O.B. and Chua, E.L. (2014), “The importance of transformational leadership behaviors in team mental model similarity,team efficacy, and intra-team conflict”, Group& Organization Management, Vol. 36 No. 5, pp. 504-531.

[25] Wu, X. and WU, Z.M. (2006), “Research on team knowledge management based on shared mental model”, R&D Management, No. 3, pp. 9-15.

[26] Goncalo, J.A., Flynn, F.J. and Kim, S.H. (2010), “Are Two Narcissists Better Than One?The Link Between Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, and Creative Performance”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 36 No. 11, pp. 1484-1495.

[27] Wuyts, S., Colombo, M.G. and Dutta, S. (2005), “Empirical tests of optimal cognitive distance”, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Vol. 58 No. 2, pp. 277-302.

[28] Lee, C. and Wong, C.S. (2019), “The effect of team emotional intelligence on team process and effectiveness”, Journal of Management & Organization, Vol. 25 No. 6, pp. 844-859.

[29] Barsade, S.G., Brief, A.P. and Spataro, S.E. (2003), “The affective revolution in organizational behavior: The emergence of a paradigm”, Organizational Behavior: The State of the Science, Vol. 55 No. 2, pp. 3-52.

[30] Falkenberg, I., Bartels, M. and Wild, B. (2008), “Keep Smiling! Facial Reactions to Emotional Stimuli and their Relationship to Emotional Contagion in Patients with Schizophrenia”, European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, Vol. 258 No. 4, pp. 245-253.

[31] RHEE, S.Y. (2007), “Group Emotions and Group Outcomes: The Role of Group--Member Interactions”, Research on Managing Groups and Teams:Affect and Groups, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 65-95.

[32] Barsade, S.G. (2002), “The ripple effect: emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 47 No. 4, pp. 644-675.

[33] Walter, F. and Bruch, H. (2008), “The positive group affect spiral: a dynamic model of the emergence of positive affective similarity in work groups”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 239-261.

[34] Glomb, T.M., Bhave, D.P. and Miner, A.G. (2011), “Doing Good,Feeling Good:Examining the Role Of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors in Changing Mood”, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 191-223.

[35] Van, K.D. and Van, G.A. (2016), “Leadership and affect:Moving the hearts and minds of followers”, Academy of Management Annals, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 799-840.

[36] Peng, Z.L., Wang, H.L. and Gu, F. (2011), “The effect emergent leader plays on group emotion and employee innovative behavior”, Studies in Science of Science, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 471-480.

[37] Michael, E., Brown, S. and Mitchell. (2010), “Ethical and unethical leadership: exploring new avenues for future research”, Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 583-616.

[38] Sun, S.L. and Peng, C. (2017), “The performance evaluation index system research of I-U-R collaborative innovation project”, Science and Technology Management Research, Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 89-95.

[39] Kimura, M., Daibo, I. and Yogo, M. (2008), “The study of emotional contagion from the perspective of interpersonal relationships”, Social Behavior & Personality An International Journal, Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 27-42.

[40] Yu, D.P., Duan, Y.L. and Zhang, X.Q. (2017), “Research between general human capital of entrepreneurs and innovative opportunity identification”, Science and Technology Progress and Policy, Vol. 34 No. 14, pp. 112-118.

[41] Sun, Y.W., Li, J. and Chen, L.Y. (2021), “Ambidextrous innovation collaboration, appropriability mechanisms intensities and project innovation”, Studies in Science of Science, Vol. 39 No. 7, pp. 1293-1304.

[42] Yang, Z.L., Hou, Y.F., Li, D.H. and Wu, C. (2021), “The balancing effect of open innovation networks in the "dual circulation" of Chinese enterprises: an investigation based on digital empowerment and organizational flexibility”, Journal of Management World, Vol. 37 No. 11, pp. 184-205.