Effektivität von individuellem Mentoring in Teams

The dissertation examines the question of how mentoring, which takes place individually between mentor and mentee, can further affect the team surrounding this mentoring relationship and its effectiveness. Especially these effects are only considered to a limited extent in the literature, which focuses primarily on the actual mentoring relationship. In order to close the existing research gap, the study starts with social and structural theory. In particular, the application of the “boat model” according to Coleman enables the precise differentiation between the individual level and the team level and consequently the level-specific assignment of causes and effects of mentoring. The research hypotheses are examined by means of an empirical analysis design. The core of the argumentation is the original assumption that by embedding individual mentoring in teams, not only mentor and mentee benefit from the individual mentoring relationship, but that it also radiates to the team, possibly both as a functional and dysfunctional effect. However, the results of the dissertation show that a benefit transfer between the individual mentoring relationship and the team is not consciously organized. The learning success generated by the individual mentoring relationship for the mentor and mentee is reserved only for these persons involved. Conversely, the team members do not share their knowledge with the mentor and mentee, and they do not seem particularly interested in knowledge transfer. Overall, the empirical findings show that there is in fact an invisible barrier between the individual mentoring relationship and the team surrounding it. As a result, the company in general and the team concerned in particular misses out on the benefits of a learning and development potential that could be tapped without a great deal of additional effort in times of personnel-networked working environments.