Leader—Member Exchange as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Work Group Diversity and Team Performance

Abstract

This study tests a moderator of the association between diversity and work group performance: leader—member exchange (LMX). The authors theorized performance effects associated with the differentiation and aggregate level of the dyadic LMX relationships in work groups and that the nature of these LMX effects would vary qualitatively as a function of work group diversity. The model was tested with a U.S. military operational simulation, including 224 high-ranking officers in 65 temporary work groups. Results indicate that LMX interacted with work group gender diversity, such that in more gender diverse groups LMX differentiation was positively associated with work group performance when aggregate LMX was high (above the median); among less gender diverse groups, LMX differentiation was not associated with performance when aggregate LMX was high, consistent with prior research. No effects of gender diversity were found among work groups reporting low aggregate LMX or with regard to group member functional background diversity.

Is university internationalization bad for performance? Examining two different types of diversity

“…Moreover, having the different outcome of different types of diversity in mind may help managers to understand the extent to which the demographic differences may enhance performance. With the information provided in our study, managers could better decide how much to invest in addressing these issues (Stewart & Johnson, 2009). It may also aide organizations in determining how the focus of certain human resource management efforts could be directed.…”

Top Management Team Diversity

“…The systematic-search approach identifies a relevant selection of studies representing the current state of the literature. Due to the nature of the review, we excluded all studies investigating diversity in work groups below the TMT, such as work published by Stewart and Johnson (2009) and Kirkman, Tesluk, and Rosen (2004), that were identified by the search procedure. Additionally, the search procedure ensures that the estimates presented in the studies included in our work can be meaningfully compared to each other.…”

Virtual Team Performance in a Highly Competitive Environment

“…Group interactions crystallize the values, norms and shared mental models fostering strategic consensus (Rapert, Velliquette, & Garretson, 2002;Stewart & Johnson, 2009;Frazier et al 2010). The importance of communication has been repeatedly emphasized by prior virtual team research (e.g., DeSanctis & Monge, 1999;Hertel et al, 2005), as a facilitator of interpersonal relationships between team members and as a catalyst of virtual team development processes (Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000;Robey, Khoo, & Powers, 2000).…”