Measures

The researchers adopted translation and back-translation procedures to ensure scale accuracy.⁷⁰ The translated items in Chinese were reviewed and modified by an expert in the related field. All measures were answered on a five-point Likert scale (1 = “strongly disagree”; 5 = “strongly agree”).

Empathy among members was measured with a 10-item scale developed by Tian and Robertson (2017).³¹ A sample item included: “Putting myself in other people’s shoes is difficult for me sometimes”. The Cronbach’s α for the scale was 0.82. The mean R_wg value was 0.90, above 0.70, suggesting that aggregating individual empathy ratings to the team level is appropriate.⁷¹ The ICC1 and ICC2 values of empathy were 0.24 and 0.58, respectively, which were deemed appropriate.⁷²

A seven-item scale developed by Carmeli et al was adopted to capture team members’ experiences of HQIR.⁷³ A sample item included: “I think my colleagues understand me”. The Cronbach’s α for the scale was 0.90. The mean R_wg value was 0.90. The ICC (1) and ICC (2) values of the variable were 0.32 and 0.68, respectively.

Relationship closeness was measured with a nine-item scale developed by Chen and Peng (2008).⁵⁸ A sample item included: “We support and cooperate with one another in our work”. The Cronbach’s α for the scale was 0.90. The mean R_wg value was 0.89. The ICC (1) and ICC (2) values of relationship closeness were 0.28 and 0.63, respectively.

Team members’ moqi was measured with an eight-item scale.⁷ A sample item included: “Without explicit verbal communication or overt cues from my team members, I can understand their task requirements at work”. The Cronbach’s α for the scale was 0.93. The mean R_wg value was 0.92. The ICC (1) and ICC (2) values of moqi were 0.31 and 0.67, respectively.

Team tenure positively affects team effectiveness.⁷⁴ It also allows team members to accumulate information regarding one another,³² which could affect relationship-building and moqi emergence. Team size can negatively impact group experience,⁷⁵ so team tenure and team size were controlled for in this study. Firm ownership was also controlled to rule out its influence on employee relations climate.⁷⁶