Chinese Validation of the Team Climate Inventory: A Measure of Team Climate for Innovation in R&D Teams

Innovation has long been an area of interest to social scientists and psychologists. The team climate inventory (TCI) is a facet-specific measure of team climate for innovation that provides a picture of the level and quality of teamwork using a series of Likert scales. The present study assessed the psychometric properties and the validity of the Chinese translation of TCI in 208 group members from 31 teams employed in R&D context. The data were evaluated by means of r(wg(j)) values, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, confirmatory factor analysis, and Pearson's product moment correlations. The acceptable r(wg(j)) values showed appropriate internal consistency of the scales, Cronbach's alpha revealed satisfactory reliabilities and exploratory factor analysis Successfully extracted a five-factor structure of the inventory, and Pearson's product moment correlation matrix indicated adequate levels of intra-scale correlation. Criterion validity was explored by correlating TCI scores with self-reported innovativeness scores, Significant positive relationships were found between five TCI scales and perceived innovativeness. Compared to the original TCI, Chinese version of the TCI is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring team climate for innovation also in R&D context.