12451 THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN: TRANSACTIVE MEMORY SYSTEMS AND THE PREVENTION OF RESOURCE LOSSES DANIEL G. BACHRACH Department of Management College of Commerce University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 ANTHONY C. HOOD University of Alabama-Birmingham KYLE L. LEWIS University of Texas ELLIOT BENDOLY Emory University ABSTRACT From transactive memory systems (TMS) theory, TMS indirectly enhances team performance by diminishing resources losses from conflict involvement. Survey data of 107 project management teams and archival team performance reveals conflict involvement mediates the relationship between TMS and team performance, highlighting a role for TMS in reducing intrateam conflict involvement. INTRODUCTION The use of work teams has expanded (Sundstrom, De Meuse, & Futrell, 1990), leading to intense focus on team performance drivers (e.g., Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006; Mathieu, Maynard, Rapp, & Gilson, 2008; Salas, Stagl, & Burke, 2004), including the use of resources such as time, attention and energy (Lewis & Herndon, 2011). Transactive memory systems (TMS) help teams manage resource scarcities (Faraj & Sproull, 2000; Lewis, Lange, & Gillis 2005; Moreland 1999). TMS is “a social network of individual minds” (Wegner, 1987; p. 206) where members maintain a cognitive expertise directory and develop routines to coordinate expertise (Brandon & Hollingshead, 2004; Lewis & Herndon, 2011). Although TMS helps mobilize resources (e.g., Faraj & Sproull, 2000; Hollingshead, 1998; Lewis, Belliveau, Herndon, & Keller, 2007; Lewis et al., 2005), little research has focused on the role of TMS in preventing resource losses from disagreements over the coordination of tasks (i.e., intrateam conflict - Jehn, Rispens, Jonsen, & Greer, 2013). Intrateam conflict is the perception of values, viewpoints, and preferences incompatibility (Carnevale & Probst, 1998), Jehn, 1995; Jehn & Mannix, 2001), and can divert resources away from productive activities (Shaw, Zhu, Duffy, Scott, Shih, & Susanto, 2011). Here, we investigate the role of conflict involvement in the TMS- team performance relationship. BACKGROUND AND THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT TMS and Team Performance