The Effects of Task Interdependency on Cooperative and Competitive Group Processes: An Example of Scheduling Audit Engagements

Our study investigates and tests the interaction of cooperative and competitive group processes and high and low task interdependencies on performance in scheduling staff auditors to audit areas. The task examined is the scheduling of staff auditors to audit areas. In one case, we assume managers schedule staff auditors to audit areas and in the other we assume staff auditors schedule themselves to audit areas. We measure performance as the total expected time of those scheduled to complete the audit areas, where less time translates to better performance. Task interdependency varies depending on who performs the task. When managers schedule audit areas, task interdependencies arise related to information and scarce human resources, neither of which exist when staff auditors schedule themselves. Accordingly, because of the difference in task interdependencies, cooperative and competitive group processes result in larger performance differences for managers scheduling staff auditors than for staff auditors scheduling themselves. The results of our laboratory experiment support this conclusion.