Formation, diversity, and performance of student teams of two: Some experimental evidence

Team Selection And Performance: The Role Of Migratory Background And Social Class

“…This research project is motived by a number of aspects. The ongoing European refugee crisis has added considerable interest regarding migratory background, with earlier research showing that migratory status can have a significant impact on student performance (Schmucker & Häseler 2017). The present study aims to validate those prior results.…”

“…By contrast, a negative association between team diversity and performance would be expected under the perspective of social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner 1986, Tziner 1985: homogeneous teams work together well because of the shared characteristics of their members; a high degree of similarity promotes team cohesion and thus performance. In terms of empirical research, the present study complements our earlier work (Schmucker & Häseler, 2017) but introduces additional explanatory variables and features better data quality and a refined methodology. In a setting not dissimilar to ours, Chapman, Meuter, Toy, & Wright, (2006) likewise examine the performance differential between randomly and voluntarily assembled teams, but they do not focus on diversity as a potential transmission mechanism.…”