Constructing context: How extreme teams adapt and thrive in isolation and confinement

Description

Extreme teams operate in high-stakes, high-risk environments where failure carries severe consequences, such as space exploration and search-and-rescue missions. While existing research has advanced understanding of team performance and resilience, it often relies on static, variance-based models that fail to capture the dynamic, non-linear nature of teamwork in isolation and confinement (ICE) environments. This ethnographic study adopts a practice-based, process-focused perspective to explore how teams in ICE contexts collectively make sense of, negotiate, and adapt to their environment. Conducted during a two-week simulated space mission in a high-fidelity analog habitat, the research employs participant observation, interviews, diaries, and photo-documentation to examine how teams synchronize temporalities, socially construct emotions, and interact with their material environment. Findings will contribute to theory by modeling the dynamic interplay between team practices and context, with practical implications for training, support systems, and habitat design in mission-critical settings.

Period	19 Mar 2026
Event title	85. VHB-Tagung: Responsible Innovation – Betriebswirtschaftslehre gestaltet Zukunft
Event type	Conference
Location	Göttingen, GermanyShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International