The Effects of Diversity Faultlines and Team Task Autonomy on Decision Quality and Social Integration

Abstract

This study examines the effects of diversity faultlines stemming from educational background and conscientiousness on team decision quality and social integration and the moderating role of team task autonomy. Using a 2 × 2 (Weak/Strong Faultlines × Low/High Team Task Autonomy) factorial design, 52 four-person teams performed a decision-making task. Diverse weak-faultline teams performed better and reported higher levels of social integration than did strong-faultline teams. Team task autonomy moderated these effects, showing that the differences become significant only under high autonomy conditions. Implications for team diversity research and design and management of work teams are discussed.

Why helping coworkers does not always make you poor: The contingent role of common and unique position within the sales team

“…Third, dispersion of job experience in the work group appears to have a significant positive relationship with autonomy (see Table 3: ρ = .182: p < .05). This result demonstrates the construct validity of our dispersion measure, as it is consistent with the theoretical notion of diversity faultlines (Lau & Murnighan, 1998) that indicates that if important resources are unequally distributed in a work group (i.e., subgroups emerge), feelings of autonomy would increase (e.g., Rico, Molleman, Sánchez-Manzanares, & Van der Vegt, 2007). Fourth, common method bias also is not a concern, as our focal constructs draw from multiple independent data sources.…”

The challenge of leading on unstable ground: Triggers that activate social identity faultlines

“…Li and Hambrick (2005) empirically demonstrated that faultline size was negatively associated with emotional conflict, which subsequently had a negative relationship with work team performance (as two factions grew more distinct in their demographic characteristics, emotional conflict increased and work performance ultimately declined as a result). Rico et al (2007) demonstrated that strong-faultline groups (highly homogeneous work groups) made lower quality decisions and had lower social integration (i.e. team member satisfaction and commitment) than weak-faultline groups.…”

Healthy Divide or Detrimental Division? Subgroups in Virtual Teams

“…So, perceptions of subgroup formation in virtual teams high in racial and gender diversity are likely to be associated with a more divisive team environment [5]. This makes for cold and potentially unpleasant interaction that can leave virtual team members feeling less satisfied and less engaged with the team [37,44].…”