Abstract:

In a complex and changing market environment, and in the context of China's implementation of an innovation-driven strategy, companies will need to rely on team innovation to establish a unique competitive advantage for its long-term development. The procedural black box in the relationship between team reflection and team innovation has been identified after review of existing research. It has been suggested that reflecting the past can lead to new ideas and changes in the literature, but there is little empirical research conducted on how this is achieved. Based on the traditional idea of after-action reflection, this study proposes the differences in conceptual connotation and empirical measurement of in-action team reflection. Through an emphasis on the importance of reflection in the team processes, this will effectively promote information processing and emotional integration during team activities, help teams effectively resolve difficulties and problems encountered in the innovation stages, and prevent teams from deviating from team goals and make timely adjustments. In addition, this study examines the differential role of team reflection in different stages of innovation, dynamically analyzes the behavioral outcomes of creative formation and implementation, and proposes the coupling of the two mechanisms, namely information processing at the cognitive level and team emotion at the emotional level, by integrating the motivated information processing theory and the social functions of emotion, to construct an overall model of team reflection on innovation. This study also thoroughly explores the process mechanism, and includes a comprehensive analysis of the moderating role of contextual factors at each stage of the relationship to enhance the overall validity of the model.

Through the construction of the above theoretical model, exploring the process and conditions of the impact of reflection on innovation in teams, and the collection of empirical data for statistical analysis, this study will make the following three contributions theoretically and practically. First, this study specifically distinguishes the connotations and characteristics of in-action and after- action reflection. On this basis, this study explores the differential effects of the coupling of cognitive and emotional mechanisms in the different stages of innovation, expands the role of team emotions in existing cognitive mechanism, expects to expand the understanding and knowledge of the process and results of team reflection on innovation. Second, upon the motivated information processing theory and the social function of emotion, this study constructs a dynamic process of team reflection from an empirical perspective, and considers the role of team reflection in the different stages of innovation through dynamic and systematic views. Finally, multi methods have been conducted this study, such as in-depth interviews, questionnaires and experimental research, to cross-examine and approach the research questions from different perspectives. This study proposes the dynamic and situational characteristics of reflection in innovation, and uses a more comprehensive and scientific approach to analyze and validate the results to enhance the validity and persuasiveness of the research model.

Key words: team reflection-in-action, team innovation, information processing, team emotional tone, innovation stage