Dr. Chester Spell Examines the Science Behind Team Chemistry
What makes a team successful? Is it simply a collection of talented individuals, or does the way people work together make a difference?
Rutgers School of Business–Camden Professor of Human Resources/Organizational Behavior, Dr. Chester Spell, explores these questions in a newly published book chapter, “Team Chemistry, Performance Pressure, and When Things Matter,” co-authored with Katerina Bezrukova and Alex Lindsey and published in the Research Handbook on Group Decision Making on July 14, 2026.
Using data from NBA teams and lineups, the chapter examines how differences and similarities among team members can influence performance. Rather than treating “team chemistry” as an intangible concept that is difficult to measure, the researchers model it through faultlines, or divisions within teams created when members align across characteristics such as age, nationality, experience, position, and status.
The researchers analyzed more than 41,000 NBA lineup observations from the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 seasons, making it the largest study of faultlines or groups and teams described in the chapter and the first NBA study to examine lineup chemistry.
Their findings challenge the idea that diversity within a team is necessarily a source of conflict. Instead, the study found that team chemistry modeled through faultlines can have a beneficial effect on lineup performance, particularly earlier in the season and in lower-pressure contexts. The positive effect became weaker as the season progressed and was less pronounced during the high-pressure environment of the playoffs.
The research suggests that teams can benefit from a balance of shared characteristics and complementary differences. In other words, successful teams may not be those in which everyone is alike, but those that are able to leverage both common ground and diverse perspectives.
The implications extend well beyond professional sports. Understanding how teams form, adapt, communicate, and perform under pressure can provide valuable insights for organizations across industries. The authors conclude that their approach to measuring team chemistry could help managers and coaches make more informed decisions about team composition and how groups are managed over time.
Dr. Spell’s latest publication reflects the kind of research that connects academic theory with real-world organizational challenges, offering new ways to understand how diverse groups can work together to achieve stronger outcomes.
Congratulations to Dr. Chester Spell on this latest scholarly publication!