The impact of internal and external team factors on search and rescue team performance: the mediating role of team motivation / Norsyazwani Ab Halim

This study examined the internal team factors (team communication, team leadership, and team time management) and external team factors (work environment, technology compatibility, relational boundary) that affect Search and Rescue (SAR) team performance via the mediating role of team motivation. This study was conducted because SAR team in Malaysia faced various challenges such as poor communication, poor improvements of the overall SAR process and procedures, speed to reach at the incident location, geographical condition, technological challenges, and new prevalence of task due to COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires consisting of nine sections; demographic data of respondents, SAR team performance, team communication, team leadership, team time management, work environment, technology compatibility, relational boundary, and team motivation. The data collection involves nine selected Fire and Rescue stations such as Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Cyberjaya/Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, and Kedah, which consists of 850 rescue personnel. The aggregation of data was done from 850 rescue personnel become only 209 teams. Purposive sampling was used as the sampling technique. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26 software for Windows and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique using partial least square analysis by SmartPLS Version 3.0. The results indicated that team communication, team time management, and relational boundary have a direct relationship with SAR team performance. Team communication (P = 0.206, pO.01), team time management (P = 0.293, p<0.001), and relational boundary (P = 0.184, p<0.01) has a positive and significant relationship with SAR team performance. Besides, team leadership (p = 0.203), team time management (P = 0.145), and relational boundary (P = 0.419) have an indirect relationship with SAR team performance via the mediating role of team motivation. This study also provided two implications of the study, which are theoretical and practical implications. This finding of this study contributed to the existing literature for Social Exchange Theory (SET). Besides, the results from this study found that the internal team factors and external team factors have direct and indirect effects on SAR team performance via the mediating role of team motivation. Therefore, a few recommendations are suggested to the FRDM to improve the SAR team performance. A few suggestions have been suggested for future studies such as future studies may include a spacious field of rescuers from other related agencies, expand the study in the bigger context, which include Sabah and Sarawak, including other aspects of team factor that may affect team performance and involve this study in longitudinal.