In the last 22 years, research on diversity in teams has been propelled by information processing and social categorization theories, and more recently, by theories of disparity/(in)justice and access to external networks. These theories stress different diversity processes, treating team diversity respectively as variety of information, as separation, as disparity, and as variety of access. We appraise this literature by identifying major problems in the way these four foundational theories are used either alone or in combination, arguing that the related theoretical models are inherently incomplete and static. In an attempt to resolve these problems, we introduce a metatheoretical framework that relates these four foundational theories according to the metadimensions of group boundary and diversity mindset. We also propose a metatheoretical model that identifies interactions among the four diversity processes and specifies diversity response patterns to team success or failure over time. Our metatheoretical approach resolves significant omissions in the literature and penetrates into the dynamic nature of team diversity in more complex, temporally sensitive and synthetic ways.
AbramsDHoggMA (2004) Metatheory: Lessons from social identity research. Personality and Social Psychology Review8(2): 98–106.
2.
AnconaDGCaldwellDF (1992a) Bridging the boundary: External activity and performance in organizational teams. Administrative Science Quarterly37(4): 634–665.
3.
AnconaDGCaldwellDF (1992b) Demography and design: Predictors of new product team performance. Organization Science3(3): 321–341.
4.
AnchinJC (2008) Pursuing a unifying paradigm for psychotherapy: Tasks, dialectical considerations, and biopsychosocial systems metatheory. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration18(3): 310–349.
5.
BaerMOldhamGRJacobsohnGC. (2008) The personality composition of teams and creativity: The moderating role of team creative confidence. Journal of Creative Behavior42(4): 255–282.
6.
BalkundiPKilduffMBarsnessZI. (2007) Demographic antecedents and performance consequences of structural holes in work teams. Journal of Organizational Behavior28(2): 241–260.
7.
BantelKAJacksonSE (1989) Top management and innovations in banking: Does the composition of the top team make a difference?Strategic Management Journal10(S1): 107–124.
8.
BarinagaE (2007) ‘Cultural diversity’ at work: ‘National culture’ as a discourse organizing an international project group. Human Relations60(2): 315–340.
9.
BarkemaHGShvyrkovO (2007) Does top management team diversity promote or hamper foreign expansion?Strategic Management Journal28(7): 663–680.
10.
BellSTVilladoAJLukasikMA. (2011) Getting specific about demographic diversity variable and team performance relationships: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management37(3): 709–743.
11.
BergerJMFisekHNormanRZ. (1977) Status Characteristics and Social Interaction: An Expectation-States Approach. New York: Elsevier.
12.
BrewerMB (1979) Ingroup bias in the minimal intergroup situation: A cognitive–motivational analysis. Psychological Bulletin86(2): 307–324.
13.
BrodbeckFCGuillaumeYFLeeN (2011) Ethnic diversity as a multilevel construct: The combined effects of dissimilarity, group diversity, and societal status on learning performance in work groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology42(7): 1198–1218.
14.
BundersonJSSutcliffeKM (2002) Comparing alternative conceptualizations of functional diversity in management teams: Process and performance effects. Academy of Management Journal45(5): 875–893.
15.
BurtRS (1992) Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
16.
BuylTBooneCHendriksW. (2011) Top management team functional diversity and firm performance: The moderating role of CEO characteristics. Journal of Management Studies48(1): 151–177.
17.
ChaoGTMoonH (2005) The cultural mosaic: A metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture. Journal of Applied Psychology90(6): 1128–1140.
18.
ChattopadhyayP (1999) Beyond direct and symmetrical effects: The influence of demographic dissimilarity on organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal42(3): 273–287.
19.
ChattopadhyayPFinnCPAshkanasyNM (2010) Affective responses to professional dissimilarity: A matter of status. Academy of Management Journal53(4): 808–826.
20.
ChattopadhyayPTluchowskaMGeorgeE (2004) Identifying the ingroup: A closer look at the influence of demographic dissimilarity on employee social identity. Academy of Management Review29(2): 180–202.
21.
CrossanMMApaydinM (2010) A multi-dimensional framework of organizational innovation: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Management Studies47(6): 1154–1191.
22.
De DreuCKWWestMA (2001) Minority dissent and team innovation: The importance of participation in decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology86(6): 1191–1201.
23.
DeutschM (1985) Distributive Justice, a Social Psychological Perspective. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
24.
EdmondsonA (1999) Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly44(2): 350–383.
25.
EisenhardtKMBourgeoisLJ (1988) Politics of strategic decision making in high-velocity environments: Toward a midrange theory. Academy of Management Journal31(4): 737–770.
26.
ElyRJ (1994) The effects of organizational demographics and social identity on relationships among professional women. Administrative Science Quarterly39(2): 203–238.
27.
ElyRJ (2004) A field study of group diversity, participation in diversity education programs, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior25(6): 755–780.
28.
ElyRJThomasDA (2001) Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly46(2): 229–273.
29.
GreenbergJ (1987) A taxonomy of organizational justice theories. Academy of Management Review12(1): 9–22.
30.
GroysbergBPolzerJTElfenbeinHA (2011) Too many cooks spoil the broth: How high-status individuals decrease group effectiveness. Organization Science22(3): 722–737.
31.
HackmanJR (1990) Groups that Work and those that Don’t. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
32.
HackmanJRWagemanR (2005) A theory of team coaching. Academy of Management Review30(2): 269–287.
33.
HarrisonDAKleinKJ (2007) What’s the difference? Diversity constructs as separation, variety, or disparity in organizations. Academy of Management Review32(4): 1199–1228.
34.
HarveyS (2013) A different perspective: The multiple effects of deep level diversity on group creativity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology49(5): 822–832.
35.
HarveyS (2014) Creative synthesis: Exploring the process of extraordinary group creativity. Academy of Management Review39(3): 324–343.
36.
HorwitzSKHorwitzIB (2007) The effects of team diversity on team outcomes: A meta-analytic review of team demography. Journal of Management33(6): 987–1015.
37.
HomanACVan KnippenbergDVan KleefGA. (2007) Bridging faultlines by valuing diversity: Diversity beliefs, information elaboration, and performance in diverse work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology92(5): 1189–1199.
38.
JacksonSE (1992) Diversity in the Workplace: Human Resources Initiatives. New York: Guilford Press.
39.
JacksonSEJoshiA (2004) Diversity in social context: A multi-attribute, multi-level analysis of team diversity and performance in a sales organization. Journal of Organizational Behavior25(6): 675–702.
40.
JacksonSEBrettJRSessaVI. (1991) Some differences make a difference: Individual dissimilarity and group heterogeneity as correlates of recruitment, promotions, and turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology76(5): 675–689.
41.
JehnKABezrukovaK (2004) A field study of group diversity, workgroup context, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior25(6): 703–729.
42.
JehnKANorthcraftGBNealeMA (1999) Why differences make a difference: A field study of diversity, conflict, and performance in workgroups. Administrative Science Quarterly44(4): 741–763.
43.
JoshiARohH (2009) The role of context in work team diversity research: A meta-analytic review. Academy of Management Journal52(3): 599–627.
44.
KearneyEGebertD (2009) Managing diversity and enhancing team outcomes: The promise of transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology94(1): 77–89.
45.
KearneyEGebertDVoelpelSC (2009) When and how diversity benefits teams: The importance of team members’ need for cognition. Academy of Management Journal52(3): 581–598.
46.
KellerRT (2001) Cross-functional project groups in research and new product development: Diversity, communications, job stress, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal44(3): 547–555.
47.
KilduffMAngelmarRMehraA (2000) Top management-team diversity and firm performance: Examining the role of cognitions. Organization Science11(1): 21–34.
48.
KingBGFelinTWhettenDA (2010) Finding the organization in organizational theory: A meta-theory of the organization as a social actor. Organization Science21(1): 290–305.
49.
KirkmanBLCorderyJLMathiueJ. (2013) Global organizations communities of practice: The effects of nationality diversity, psychological safety, and media richness on community performance. Human Relations66(3): 333–362.
50.
KozlowskiSWBellBS (2003) Work groups and teams in organizations. Handbook of Psychology. Chichester: John Wiley.
51.
KozlowskiSWJGullySMMcHughPP. (1996) A dynamic theory of leadership and team effectiveness: Developmental and task contingency leader roles. In: FerrisGR (ed.) Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management, Vol. 14. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 253–305.
52.
LiD (2013) Multilateral R&D alliances by new ventures. Journal of Business Venturing28(2): 241–260.
53.
LindsleyDHBrassDJThomasJB (1995) Efficacy-performance spirals: A multilevel perspective. Academy of Management Review20(3): 645–678.
54.
McGrathJE (1991) Time, interaction, and performance (TIP): A theory of groups. Small Group Research22(2): 147–174.
55.
MainemelisCKarkREpitropakiO (2015) Creative leadership: A multi-context conceptualization. Academy of Management Annals9(1): 393–482.
56.
MarchJG (1991) Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science2(1): 71–87.
57.
MarroneJA (2010) Team boundary spanning: A multilevel review of past research and proposals for the future. Journal of Management36(4): 911–940.
58.
MayoMVan KnippenbergDGuillénL. (2016) Team diversity and categorization salience: Capturing diversity-blind, intergroup-biased, and multicultural perceptions. Organizational Research Methods19(3): 433–474.
59.
MillerTdel Carmen TrianaM (2009) Demographic diversity in the boardroom: Mediators of the board diversity–firm performance relationship. Journal of Management Studies46(5): 755–786.
60.
MillikenFJMartinsL (1996) Searching for common threads: Understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review31(2): 402–433.
61.
MitchellRJParkerVGilesM (2011) When do interprofessional teams succeed? Investigating the moderating roles of team and professional identity in interprofessional effectiveness. Human Relations64(10): 1321–1343.
62.
MohammedSAngellLC (2004) Surface- and deep-level diversity in workgroups: Examining the moderating effects of team orientation and team process on relationship conflict. Journal of Organizational Behavior25(8): 1015–1039.
63.
MollemanEBroekhuisMStoffelsR. (2010) Complexity of health-care needs and interactions in multidisciplinary medical teams. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology83(1): 55–76.
64.
NahapietJGhoshalS (1998) Social capital, intellectual capital and organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review23(2): 242–266.
65.
NishiiLHMayerDM (2009) Do inclusive leaders help to reduce turnover in diverse groups? The moderating role of leader-member exchange in the diversity to turnover relationship. Journal of Applied Psychology94(6): 1412–1426.
66.
OhHChungM-HLabiancaG (2004) Group social capital and group effectiveness: The role of informal socializing ties. Academy of Management Journal47(6): 860–875.
67.
OlsonBJParayitamSBaoY (2007) Strategic decision making: The effects of cognitive diversity, conflict, and trust on decision outcomes. Journal of Management33(2): 196–222.
68.
PearsallMJEllisAPJEvansJM (2008) Unlocking the effects of gender faultlines on team creativity: Is activation the key?Journal of Applied Psychology93(1): 225–234.
69.
PelledLHEisenhardtKMXinKR (1999) Exploring the black box: An analysis of work group diversity, conflict and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly44(1): 1–28.
70.
Perry-SmithJMannucciP (2015) Social networks, creativity, and entrepreneurship. In: ShalleyCHittMAZhouJ (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. New York: Oxford University Press, 205–224.
71.
PolzerJTMiltonLPSwannWBJr (2002) Capitalizing on diversity: Interpersonal congruence in small work groups. Administrative Science Quarterly47(2): 296–324.
72.
RandelAE (2002) Identity salience: A moderator of the relationship between group gender composition and work group conflict. Journal of Organizational Behavior23(6): 749–766.
73.
ReagansRZuckermanEW (2001) Networks, diversity, and productivity: The social capital of corporate R&D teams. Organization Science12(4): 502–517.
74.
ReagansREZuckermanEWMcEvilyB (2004) How to make the team: Social networks vs. demography as criteria for designing effective teams. Administrative Science Quarterly49(1): 101–133.
75.
RicoRMollemanESánchez-ManzanaresM. (2007) The effects of diversity faultlines and team task autonomy on decision quality and social integration. Journal of Management33(1): 111–132.
76.
RicoRNSanchez-ManzanaresMAntinoM. (2012) Bridging team faultlines by combining task role assignment and goal structure strategies. Journal of Applied Psychology97(2): 407–420.
77.
SchippersMCDen HartogDNKoopmanPL. (2003) Diversity and team outcomes: The moderating effects of outcome interdependence and group longevity and the mediating effect of reflexivity. Journal of Organizational Behavior24(6): 779–802.
78.
SiegelPAHambrickDC (2005) Pay disparities within top management groups: Evidence of harmful effects on performance of high-technology firms. Organization Science16(3): 259–274.
79.
SimonsTPelledLHSmithKA (1999) Making use of difference: Diversity, debate, and decision comprehensiveness in top management teams. Academy of Management Journal42(6): 662–673.
80.
SomechADrach-ZahavyA (2013) Translating team creativity to innovation implementation: The role of team composition and climate for innovation. Journal of Management39(3): 684–708.
81.
SrikanthKHarveySPetersonR (2016) A dynamic perspective on diverse teams: Moving from the dual-process model to a dynamic coordination-based model of diverse team performance. Academy of Management Annals10(1): 453–493.
82.
StangorCLynchLDuanC. (1992) Categorization of individuals on the basis of multiple social features. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology62(2): 207–218.
83.
SwannWBJrJohnsonREBossonJ (2009) Identity negotiation at work. Research in Organizational Behavior29: 81–109.
84.
TadmorCTSatterstromPJangS. (2012) Beyond individual creativity. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology43(3): 384–392.
85.
TajfelH (1981) Human Groups and Social Categories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
86.
ThatcherSMBPatelPC (2011) Demographic faultlines: A meta-analysis of the literature. Journal of Applied Psychology96(6): 1119–1139.
87.
ThornburgTH (1991) Group size & member diversity influence on creative performance. The Journal of Creative Behavior25(4): 324–333.
88.
TsuiASEganTDO’ReillyCA (1992) Being different: Relational demography and organizational attachment. Administrative Science Quarterly37(4): 549–579.
89.
TsoukasH (1994) What is management? An outline of a metatheory. British Journal of Management5(4): 289–301.
90.
TurnerJC (1987) Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-categorization Theory. New York: Basil Blackwell.
91.
Van Der VegtGSBundersonJS (2005) Learning and performance in multidisciplinary teams: The importance of collective team identification. Academy of Management Journal48(3): 532–547.
92.
Van der ZeeKAtsmaNBrodbeckF (2004) The influence of social identity and personality on outcomes of cultural diversity in teams. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology35(3): 283–303.
93.
Van DickRVan KnippenbergDHägeleS. (2008) Group diversity and group identification: The moderating role of diversity beliefs. Human Relations61(10): 1463–1492.
94.
Van DijkHVan EngenMLVan KnippenbergD (2012) Defying conventional wisdom: A meta-analytical examination of the differences between demographic and job-related diversity relationships with performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes119(1): 38–53.
95.
Van GinkelWPVan KnippenbergD (2009) Knowledge about the distribution of information and group decision making: When and why does it work?Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes108(2): 218–229.
96.
Van KnippenbergDSchippersMC (2007) Work group diversity. Annual Review of Psychology58: 515–541.
97.
Van KnippenbergDDawsonJFWestMA. (2011) Diversity faultlines, shared objectives, and top management team performance. Human Relations64(3): 307–336.
98.
Van KnippenbergDDe DreuCKWHomanAC (2004) Work group diversity and group performance: An integrative model and research agenda. Journal of Applied Psychology89(6): 1008–1022.
99.
Van KnippenbergDVan GinkelWPHomanAC (2013) Diversity mindsets and the performance of diverse teams. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes121(2): 183–193.
100.
VenkataramaniVRichterAClarkeR (2014) Creative benefits from well-connected leaders? Leader social network ties as facilitators of employee radical creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology99(5): 966–975.
101.
WallisSE (2010) Toward a science of metatheory. Integral Review6(3): 73–120.
102.
WatsonWEKumarKMichaelsenLK (1993) Cultural diversity’s impact on interaction process and performance: Comparing homogeneous and diverse task groups. Academy of Management Journal36(3): 590–602.
103.
WeggeJRRothCNeubachB. (2008) Age and gender diversity as determinants of performance and health in a public organization: The role of task complexity and group size. Journal of Applied Psychology93(6): 1301–1313.
104.
WeinerB (1992) Human Motivation: Metaphors, Theories and Research. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
105.
WiersemaMFBantelKA (1992) Top management team demography and corporate strategic change. Academy of Management Journal35(1): 91–121.
106.
WilliamsKYO’ReillyCA (1998) Demography and diversity in organizations. In: StawBMSuttonRM (eds) Research in Organizational Behavior20. Stamford, CT: JAI Press, 77–140.
107.
ZengerTRLawrenceBS (1989) Organizational demography: The differential effects of age and tenure distributions on technical communication. Academy of Management Journal32(2): 353–376.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
