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Recovery during yesterday’s leisure time is beneficial for morning recovery, and morning recovery fosters employees’ work engagement, a positive, motivational state associated with job performance. We extended existing research by assuming that both, morning recovery (considered a resource) and anticipated leisure time (considered an anticipated resource gain), relate to work engagement. Anticipated leisure time comprises two constructs: general anticipation of leisure time, which refers to employees’ cognitive evaluation of their entire upcoming leisure time, and pleasant anticipation of a planned leisure activity, which describes a positive affective reaction because of one specific, upcoming leisure activity. We suggested that employees with high pleasant anticipation generate more thoughts of a planned leisure activity (ToPLA), which may distract them from their work, reducing their work engagement. A diary study over five days showed that morning recovery and general anticipation of leisure time were positively related to work engagement. Furthermore, employees with higher pleasant anticipation of a planned leisure activity reported more ToPLA. In contrast to our expectations, neither pleasant anticipation nor ToPLA was related to work engagement. In sum, this study introduced anticipated leisure time as a novel antecedent of work engagement and demonstrated that anticipated resource gains are important for high work engagement.

Teamwork is one of the most important organizational changes over the past 20 years. Consequently, it becomes more and more important to know what makes teams effective. This dissertation compiles three studies that aimed at investigating the impact of the best team member on team performance beyond the average performance level of the team. The best team member is referred to as an expert. Study 1 tested how the score of the best team member, i.e., the expert, is related to team performance. It was proposed that planning behavior is a mediator. The individual and dyadic problem solving processes from 106 computer science students working on two complex software design tasks were observed. Results showed that the best team member had a positive impact on team performance and that local planning partially mediated the relationship. Study 2 examined in an experimental study with 200 students from non-technical majors how individual performance relates to team performance. In this study, two types of expertise (i.e., actual and perceived expertise) were distinguished. Results showed that actual expertise had a positive impact on team performance but perceived expertise had not. There was also no interaction effect of actual and perceived expertise with respect to team performance. Study 3 examined the impact of individual expertise on team performance in a longitudinal field study. More specifically, it was investigated how the performance of the best team member in different team functions (i.e., task functions and team functions) was related to team performance. Participants were 96 software professionals from 20 teams. As predicted, the best team member in task functions predicted team performance over time and the best team member in team functions accounted for additional variance. This research provides consistent evidence from the laboratory and field research for the outstanding role of the best team member on team performance., Teamarbeit gehört zu den wichtigsten organisationalen Veränderungen. Daher wird es zunehmend bedeutsam zu bestimmen, was Teams effektiv macht. Diese Dissertation beinhaltet drei Studien, die den Zusammenhang zwischen dem Einfluss des besten Teammitglieds auf Teamleistung untersuchten. Das beste Teammitglied wird als Experte bezeichnet. Studie 1 untersuchte, wie der Wert des besten Teammitglieds, d.h. des Experten, mit der Teamleistung zusammenhängt. Es wurde vermutet, dass Planen den Zusammenhang mediiert. Die individuellen und dyadischen Problemlöseprozesse von 106 Informatikstudierenden bei der Bearbeitung von Software-Aufgaben wurden beobachtet. Ergebnisse zeigten, dass das beste Teammitglied einen positiven Effekt auf die Teamleistung hatte und dass lokales Planen den Zusammenhang partiell mediierte. Studie 2 testete in einem Experiment mit 200 Studierenden, wie individuelle Leistung mit Teamleistung zusammenhängt. In dieser Studie wurden zwei Arten von Expertise differenziert (d.h. tatsächliche und wahrgenommene Expertise). Ergebnisse zeigten, dass tatsächliche Expertise im Gegensatz zu wahrgenommener Expertise einen positiven Effekt auf die Teamleistung hatte. Es gab keine Interaktion zwischen tatsächlicher und wahrgenommener Expertise. Studie 3 untersuchte den Zusammenhang zwischen individueller Expertise und Teamleistung in einer Längsschnitt-Felduntersuchung. Es wurde untersucht, wie die Leistung des besten Teammitglieds in verschiedenen Funktionen (d.h. aufgaben- und teambezogenen Funktionen) mit Teamleistung zusammenhängt. Teilnehmer waren 96 Softwareentwickler aus 20 Teams. Wie angenommen, sagte die Leistung des besten Teammitglieds in aufgabenbezogenen Funktionen die Teamleistung vorher. Außerdem konnten die besten Teammitglieder in teambezogenen Funktionen zusätzlich Varianz aufklären. Die Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation zeigen konsistente Befunde aus Labor- und Feldforschung für die herausragende Rolle des besten Teammitglieds in Teams.