[SOUND] Hi, welcome to this video. I am Stefano Tasselli, an assistant professor at Innovation Management Group of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. I focus my research on the importance of social networks for individual behavior and outcomes in organizations. In this video, we will discuss the importance of teams and social networks for innovation in organizations. We will introduce the concept of teams and discuss whether and how they are relevant for fostering innovation. However, teams need to be properly managed in order to be successful. Therefore, we will discuss team composition and management with particular attention to the role of diversity in affecting team success. In the third video, we will discuss the difference between teams and networks, making the point that informal networks even more than teams are the pipes through which innovative ideas can flow in modern organizations. Then, we will take a more detailed view of network structure, understanding what types of positions in such network display innovation processes. This will be the focus of the last video. Through the short videos, what you will learn? You will learn whether or not teams and networks are important for fostering innovation activities in organizations. You will be able to understand featuring successful teams and how network positions can enable individual develop good ideas and be drivers of innovation. Overall, the gist of the story is that innovation is a relational activity that requires interpersonal coordination and interaction. What is a team, and why does teamwork become increasingly popular in organizations? In modern organization, work is divided in tasks. And tasks are divided among people and organizational units. These units are repositories of knowledge and expertise that allow the differentiation of work activities which is needed in modern work environments. The importance of teams comes from consideration that people cannot achieve complex tasks working alone. So, what is a team? It's a group of people with a common goal, diverse expertise, diverse organizational function, diverse personal background and experience in general with people who are different from themselves. Teams are created with this purpose, cutting horizontal in organization, asking diverse people to work together in search of common goals. Moreover, teams are important not only in they are important in everyday life. Relevant examples include sports teams, medical teams, and even firefighters teams. Why do you think that teams are important for innovation? Let's discuss an example. A leading technological manufacturing firm wants to develop a new product in the field of mobile phones. What type of people does the firm need to win this challenge? They need an electronic engineer first. That is somebody who technically knows how to build and make a mobile phone properly work. But mobile phones today are not only technological tools. They have an essentially static and status component, which is driven by their novelty and fancy design. Thus, firms must allow the electronic engineers to work with designers. But even a properly functioning, well designed mobile phone can turn out to be an unsuccessful innovation, if not properly addressed to the right market and at the right moment. First, engineers and designers need to work close to marketing experts in order to be sure to address their product to the right segment of the market. But even so, it is not enough. Perhaps the mobile phone is properly functioning, is well designed, and oriented to a specific market, but can still turn out to be failure for a company. How? For example, if it's too expensive to be produced such that margins are too low, or the final price for the consumer is too high and so out of the market. Therefore, engineers, designers, and marketing experts need help of the pricing and business consultant. As we said before, we're speaking of people with diverse expertise, diverse function, diverse personal backgrounds work together for a common goal. In summary, we suggest that teams and teamwork can be an important determinant of effective organizational outcomes, including innovation. This short example highlights the importance of teams for innovation processes. But let's go a bit more far in terms of understanding the paths we want to explore. What is the role of such teams for innovation processes? Let's take a look at the picture, elaborating from West and Anderson, that summarizes the role of teams in affecting innovation. This picture highlights the team based determinants of innovation. Teams foster important group processes, including clarity of and commitment to common goals, participation, task orientation, and support for innovation. These processes can influence, in turn, several fundamental aspects of innovation, such as radicalness, magnitude and effectiveness. By effective innovation, the group process is a society with teams interplaying toward a broader organizational context. Now, we need to proceed a step further. Teams can improve innovation process only if they're well designed and well managed. Otherwise, they could also hamper innovation. How, to successfully design innovative teams? We will explore team design and diversity in the next video. Thank you. [BLANK AUDIO]