Do behaviors of string quartet ensembles represent self-managed teams? Malka Tal-Shmotkin School of Management, The College for Academic Studies, Or-Yehuda, Israel, and Avi Gilboa Music Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to explore whether string quartets (SQs) adopt self-managed-team (SMT) principles in line with organizational models of team work. This exploration is significant in face of the status of the SQ as one of the leading and prototypical ensembles in Western music. Design/methodology/approach – Members of 22 leading SQs around the world were contacted and asked to fill out a questionnaire which measures SMT characteristics in managerial teams while referring to their own SQ ensemble. Findings – Results showed that SMT levels of all SQs were extremely high (M ¼ 4:39, SD ¼ 0:39, on a 1 to 5 scale). In addition, four factors were revealed in this questionnaire: Interpersonal relations and shared monitoring, Leadership, Management style, and Resources explaining 18.4, 15.9, 14.2, and 11.9 percent of the variance, respectively. Research limitations/implications – The current sample is limited in size and may not adequately represent professional SQs worldwide. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that SQs actually work as SMTs. Additionally, the SMT frame of SQs is expressed in distinct factors of characteristics. Originality/value – The current study is one of a few investigations that examined descriptions of SQ members about behaviors in their own musical ensembles. This study suggests that successful SQs may serve as a benchmark for various SMTs in organizational settings. Keywords Self-managing teams, String quartet, Team working, Organizational unit, Self managed learning Paper type Research paper The status of string quartets (SQ) as the chamber ensemble par excellence in Western music (Brinner, 1995) has attracted much attention to the ways in which the four members of this ensemble (two violinists, viola player, and cello player) succeed in producing outstanding musical products. Musicological studies have focused on the musical products of this ensemble while other studies, from the psychology of music approach have focused on the social interactions between the SQ members. Such studies are beneficial to the field of management because it is possible that the teamwork of SQs follows processes resembling those of various organizational units. Moreover, SQs may serve as a benchmark for excellence bridging between creative inspiration and skillful performance, thus providing important insights regarding teams with similar demands, mainly teams characterized by intensive work and relations. In the present study we aim to delineate the behavior of SQ members in terms of self-managed team (SMT) characteristics. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1352-7592.htm Behaviors of string quartet ensembles 57 Team Performance Management Vol. 19 No. 1/2, 2013 pp. 57-71 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1352-7592 DOI 10.1108/13527591311312097