Exploring the Black Box in Brazilian Work Groups: a Study of Diversity, Conflict and Performance
Journal Title: BAR: Brazilian Administration Review - Year 2012, Vol 9, Issue 2
Abstract
Over the last few decades, several studies have been conducted to examine the complex relationships between team diversity and individual and organizational outcomes. Although, in theory, team diversity can foster positive organizational synergies by increasing the variance of perspectives and approaches to work different members can bring, the same idiosyncratic characteristics can also engender significant difficulties resulting from problems in coordination, communication and conflict. This study used a sample of 44 work groups to examine the influence of five types of diversity on team outcomes and the mediating role of task and relational conflict on this relationship. A survey of 279 team members and interviews with the 44 team managers were used to examine these relationships. Findings suggest that different forms of diversity impact task conflict in different ways, which in turn is negatively associated with job satisfaction and team performance. Results further show that diversity is unrelated to relational conflict; however, this type of conflict seems to hinder both job satisfaction and team performance. Overall, these patterns suggest a complex link between team diversity and how work groups function.
Authors and Affiliations
Sobral, Filipe; Bisseling, Daan
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP40511
- DOI -
- Views 212
- Downloads 0
The Influence of Coordination Mechanisms on New Product Development in MNC Subsidiaries
This paper investigates the relationship between [MNC] coordination mechanisms and subsidiary new product development [NPD] activities. We focus on two essentially different coordination mechanisms, internal markets an...
A Critical Analysis of Measurement Models of Export Performance
Poor conceptualization of the export performance construct may undermine theory development efforts and may be one of the reasons behind the often conflicting findings in empirical research on the export performance ph...
Bibliographical Research Method for Business Administration Studies: a Model Based on Scientific Journal Ranking
This article proposes a three-stage method, with the use of multiple rankings as a starting point in the first stage to help carry out bibliographical research in a more effective and systematic fashion. The relevance o...
The Smart Cities MethodoLogy based on public value: The first evaluation cycle
Several smart cities initiativesare currently underway around the world, and thistrend is expected to grow in the coming years. Such initiatives should bedesigned according to the needs and conditionsof each...
The Regional Concentration of Industries and the Performance of Firms: a Multilevel Approach
This paper presents the results of a study whose objective was to understand how location within industrial concentrations, like clusters or industrial districts, affects the financial performance of firms. In its theor...