The process of emergence of collective intelligence in work teams: Proposal of a model. Four case studies at TEMEX.

Summary The main objective of this research is to understand the complexity of the concept of collective intelligence and to appreciate all its implications for management sciences. In order to clarify this concept which is currently developing in the field of management, it is based on the following questioning: How can we understand and operationalize the concept of collective intelligence by improving the efficiency of work teams within organizations? We will identify and understand the process of emergence of collective intelligence in work teams, in order to better manage them and thus improve their efficiency. We propose to reconsider this concept by situating it in the evolution of systemic thinking in management and by enriching it with the contributions of complexity sciences. Moreover, collective intelligence is part of a complex economic and social context that must be taken into account. We also question its mechanisms in order to elaborate a set of proposals for the global management of work teams. This theoretical construction leads to a new definition of collective intelligence and to a conceptual model based on the paradigm of change, interaction, collaboration and human creativity. This model includes the dimensions, components and major capacities of collective intelligence in work teams and its effects on collective performance. To answer this research problem, a longitudinal explanatory case study is considered. This approach is declined in the observation of four collective work teams within the TEMEX company. After observing these teams, the results obtained allow us to refine the initially proposed model by making it more dynamic and to concretely understand the interactions at the heart of the latter. Our research leads to the legitimacy of the concept of collective intelligence in Management Sciences.