Shared Leadership and Team Performance: A Systematic Literature Review of Mechanisms and Contextual Conditions

Abstract

The increasing complexity, digitalization, and uncertainty of contemporary organizations have heightened the need for leadership approaches that facilitate the integration of distributed knowledge and expertise. Shared leadership has therefore gained increasing scholarly attention as an alternative to traditional vertical leadership. However, existing research remains fragmented in explaining how and under what conditions shared leadership contributes to team performance. This study conducts a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines to examine the evolution of shared leadership research, the theoretical mechanisms underlying its relationship with team performance, and the contextual conditions shaping its effectiveness. The findings reveal three major shifts in the literature: from direct relationships to underlying mechanisms, from variable-based approaches to relational and network-oriented perspectives, and from viewing context as a research characteristic to recognizing contextual configurations as determinants of effectiveness. Four complementary mechanisms are identified: relational capability, collective cognition, collective coordination and knowledge integration, and adaptive capability. These mechanisms are explained through complementary theoretical perspectives, including Social Exchange Theory, Social Identity Theory, the Input–Mediator–Output–Input framework, Transactive Memory System, and Complexity Leadership Theory. The findings further indicate that effectiveness depends on organizational, team, task, and environmental configurations, particularly collaborative culture, task interdependence, competency diversity, task complexity, digitalization, virtuality, and environmental uncertainty. Based on these findings, an Integrative Framework is proposed that repositions shared leadership as an organizational capability enabler that transforms distributed knowledge into collective capability and coordinated action, thereby enhancing team performance.