The association between accounting students’ lone wolf tendencies and their perceptions, preferences and performance outcomes in team projects

In this study we examine the association between accounting students’ lone wolf tendencies and their perceptions of the usefulness of team work, team interaction behaviors, and team performance. While prior studies find that students generally perceive positive benefits from engaging in team work, our study finds that students with greater lone wolf tendencies perceive fewer benefits from engaging in team work. We also find that during team interactions, teams with a greater proportion of students with higher lone wolf tendencies experience less team commitment and team leadership. Further, such teams rate the outcome of their project negatively, although, there is no significant association with the project marks earned by these teams. We discuss the implications of our findings and suggest directions for future research.

Research highlights► In this study, we examine the association between accounting students’ lone wolf tendencies and team work. ► Students with greater lone wolf tendencies perceive fewer benefits from engaging in team work. ► Teams with a greater proportion of students with higher lone wolf tendencies experience less team commitment and team leadership. ► Such teams rate the outcome of their project negatively. ► However, there is no significant association between the proportion of members with higher lone wolf tendencies and actual team performance.