Information Hoarding Reduced Team Performance

A researcher assigned undergraduates into 89 small groups to compete for cash prizes in a murder mystery game. In some groups, each member received all the clues needed to solve the mystery; in others, each only received some of those clues.

The study found that a group was not as likely to identify the murderer when the needed clues were doled out among the members instead of all members getting all clues. Groups whose members already had all the critical clues were more likely to share clues during discussions than groups given less information. Groups performed better if their members:

• shared critical information openly;
• offered information that supported other members' opinions; and
• confirmed each other's statements during discussions.

This was true regardless of the amount of information members had or their perceptions of their co-workers.

Source: Kim, P. (03), "When Private Beliefs Shape Collective Reality: The Effects of Beliefs About Coworkers on Group Discussion and Performance," Management Science 49(6):801.