What Are Team Models?

“Teams involve a dynamic interplay between learning conditions, processes and outcomes.” — Decuyper et al. (2010, p. 2)

Team models are theoretical frameworks that describe how teams are structured, how they function, and what drives their effectiveness. They provide researchers and practitioners with conceptual maps for understanding the relationships between team inputs, internal processes, and outcomes — and increasingly, for capturing the dynamic, multilevel, and emergent nature of team behavior.

Because science teams operate in complex, knowledge-intensive, and often long-horizon environments, selecting the right model is not merely academic — it shapes how teams are designed, how problems are diagnosed, and what interventions are likely to work.