Top Management Team Demography and Process: The Role of Social Integration and Communication

Composition of the top management team and firm international diversification

“…This finding is consistent with previous research that indicates that higher levels of team tenure diversity are associated with more insightful discussion of strategic options including international diversification (Bantel & Jackson, 1989;Smith et al, 1994). We did not, however, find a significant association between top management team diversity with respect to age, education or functional background and international diversification of the firm.…”

“…Smith et al (1994), for example, found that top management team demography was indirectly related to performance through intervening process variables including social integration and communication. Pelled, Eisenhardt, and Xin (1999) found that team demographic diversity influenced conflict, which in turn, influenced group performance.…”

Ethnic and gender diversity, process and performance in groups of business students in Sweden

“…Making an assumption that students can be their own observers and interpreters is very optimistic, but questionable. Thirdly, the problem may originate in our assumption based on previous research (Smith et al, 1994) that diversity has a direct influence on processes. Several authors (e.g.…”

“…Generally, many researchers have come to the conclusion that cultural diversity has a negative effect on processes taking place within the team such as communication (Triandis, 1960) and result in emotional (Pelled, 1996) and competitive conflicts (Kirchmeyer and Cohen, 1992). These conditions in turn lead to lower performance when compared to the ethnically homogeneous learning teams (Watson et al 1993), since ethnically diverse team members are likely to have fewer shared experiences, less in common, and more difference of opinion, usually leading to conflict within the team (Pfeffer, 1983) However, several authors have claimed that ethnically diverse teams will be superior to ethnically homogeneous teams in their effectiveness in complex problem solving (Shaw, 1983).Hence, this leads us to the following three propositions: It is argued that efficiency of communication as well as effectiveness in complex problem solving will have a positive influence on team performance (Smith et al, 1994). Eisenhardt and Bourgeois (1988) found that teams that experience internal strife or conflict decline in performance.…”

Workplace Diversity and Group Relations: An Overview

“…On the other hand, this is balanced against evidence that there is a Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 9(4) 460 negative relationship between diversity, cohesion, and performance, meaning that group cohesion, and performance increase as diversity decreases (Harrison, Price, & Bell, 1998;Simons, Pelled, & Smith, 1999;Wiersema & Bantel, 1992). And, finally, Ancona and Caldwell (1992) and Smith et al (1994) report a null relationship-that diversity and group cohesion have no relationship with performance.…”