A multilevel analysis of person-group regulatory-mode complementarity: the moderating role of group-task interdependence

Regulatory mode is a psychological construct pertaining to the self-regulatory orientation of individuals or teams engaged in goal pursuit. Locomotion, the desire for continuous progress or movement in goal pursuit, and assessment, the desire to critically evaluate and compare among goals and means, are distinct regulatory modes. However, they are also complementary, in that both locomotion and assessment are necessary for effective goal pursuit. In the present research, we sought to demonstrate that cross-level regulatory-mode complementarity (i.e., the combination of individual locomotion and group assessment, or individual assessment and group locomotion) can positively impact individual-level performance on goal-relevant tasks. More important, we aimed to show that this effect is moderated by task interdependence, such that the complementarity effect occurs only in the high-interdependence condition. We recruited employees (N 489) from pre-existing work teams (n 89) in organizations in Italy, and obtained (a) employees’ individual-level scores on the Regulatory Mode Scale (Kruglanski et al., 2000), (b) employees’ ratings of task interdependence, and (c) employees’ work performance. The results generally supported our hypotheses regarding the interaction between task interdependence and cross-level regulatory-mode complementarity on individual performance. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.