De la régulation individuelle à la régulation d’équipe : intégration théorique et empirique de la théorie de l’autodétermination dans les équipes de travail

These days, the work team constitutes an indispensable form of task organization that increases organizational performance. It is now widely recognized that the composition of a work team can affect the effectiveness of that team - specifically, the quality of the interpersonal relationships and performance of its members. Studies have attempted to isolate the individual characteristics liable to influence the work team context. Indeed, the effects of the composition of a work team have been studied through the personality traits of its members, their attitudes and values, as well as the cognitive ability they have each demonstrated. Despite repeated insistence on studying the motivation in and of work teams, very little work has been done on the motivational composition within this collective context.  Within the large stream of research on work teams, the tendency seems to be to measure team effectiveness exclusively through team and team member performance. Faced with significant data concerning problems of psychological health among workers, it has become paramount to investigate the conditions under which work teams can contribute to both the well-being and performance of their members.  Using the analytical framework proposed by Self-Determination Theory, the present thesis seeks to address these issues. The first article of the thesis proposes a theoretical model that outlines how the composition of a work team, along with the regulatory styles of each of its members, can potentially affect the interpersonal relationships of team members, as well as their performance and well-being. Using Multilevel Theory’s processes of emergence, this model also suggests that, under certain conditions, the motivational composition of a work team can bring about the unique phenomenon of team motivation. The mechanisms facilitating the emergence of this phenomenon are presented in this article.  The second article of this thesis focuses on the first empirical verification of certain propositions from the theoretical article. From a sample of 138 teams comprising 680 workers, it was possible to verify, using multilevel analyses, the impact of either an autonomous or controlled motivational work team composition on the work satisfaction of participants. The results of this study show that a more autonomous work team composition is positively related to work satisfaction. Moreover, an interaction between individual autonomous regulation and the autonomous regulation of a team on satisfaction experienced at work was found. Thus, work satisfaction is higher for participants whose regulatory style is more autonomous and who are part of a team whose motivational composition is more autonomous. Conversely, the results show that a more controlled motivational composition is negatively related to work satisfaction.  Overall, this thesis highlights the importance of considering the socio-motivational context that emerges from the composition of a work team, in terms of the individual regulatory styles of each of its members. This thesis allows for a fresh perspective on work team motivation, as well as the motivational variables that should be evaluated when creating work teams within organizations.

Keyphrases: Team motivation, Motivational composition, Self-determination theory, Work satisfaction, Well-being, Effectiveness, Interpersonal relationships