A study examined the relationship between participation and performance in groups to determine whether increased communicative activity brought about through participation in groups resulted in the acquisition of specific types of organizational knowledge and increased motivation which positively affected performance. Subjects for the study were 107 members of 8 semi-autonomous workgroups employed by a continuous processing plant in a large midwestern community. The results at the individual level suggest that worker knowledge and level of motivation are significantly related to supervisor assessment of individual performance and autonomy. At the group level, the data indicate that knowledge and motivation are related to actual team performance, but minimally or negatively associated with assessments of team performance. (Seven tables of data are included; 36 references are attached.) (Author/KEH)