Social loafing in student entrepreneurship teams

1.0 Abstract As a form of collaborative learning, allowing students to engage in teamwork has been attributed to the retention of information, motivation, critical reasoning, communication and social skills among others (Hansen 2006). However, is the use of teamwork always the right technique? The benefits outlined are dependent on the success of the teamwork initiative which is not guaranteed (Holtham et al. 2006; Eva 2002). Ineffective student teams can experience numerous problems including role confusion, low trust, clashing personalities and the social loafing phenomenon, where certain members of the group do not participate fully (Burdett, 2003; Hansen, 2006). Researchers have attempted to prevent such problems using pedagogical interventions with varying degrees of success (Pieterse & Thompson 2010; Hardy & Crace 1997). The team signatory code is among these tactics considered, a governance document whereby teams create their own code of conduct for the teamwork initiative (Bailey et al. 2005). This research study proposes that the use of the team signatory code could assist to facilitate teamwork on two levels; firstly by acting as an early development tool for teams during their norming stages of functioning, and secondly as an earlywarning system for educators to detect poorly developing teams.