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.
Adams, J.S. ( 1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267-299). New York: Academic Press.
2.
Aiken, L.S., & West, S.G. ( 1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions . Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
3.
Amason, A.C., & Sapienza, H.J. (1997). The effects of top management team size and interaction norms on cognitive and affective conflict. Journal of Management, 23, 495-516.
4.
Bauer, T.N., & Green, S.G. ( 1996). Development of leader-member exchange: A longitudinal test. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1538-1567.
5.
Bernerth, J.B., Armenakis, A.A., Field, H.S., Giles, W.F., & Walker, H.J. ( 2008). The influence of personality differences between subordinates and supervisors on perceptions of LMX: An empirical investigation. Group & Organization Management, 33, 216-240.
6.
Bhal, K.T., & Ansari, M.A. ( 2007). Leader-member exchange-subordinate outcomes relationship: Role of voice and justice. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 28, 20-35.
7.
Blau, P.M. ( 1977). Inequality and heterogeneity. New York: Free Press.
8.
Bleise, P.D. ( 2000). Within-group agreement, non-interdependence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregations and analysis. In K. J. Klein & S. W. J. Kozlowski (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations: Foundations, extensions, and new directions (pp. 349-381). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
9.
Boies, K., & Howell, J.M. ( 2006). Leader-member exchange in teams: An examination of the interaction between relationship differentiation and mean LMX in explaining team-level outcomes. Leadership Quarterly, 17, 246-257.
10.
Byrne, D. ( 1971). The attraction paradigm. New York : Academic Press.
11.
Chatman, J.A., & Flynn, F.J. ( 2001). The influence of demographic heterogeneity on the emergence and consequences of cooperative norms in work teams. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 956-974.
12.
Chen, G., Kirkman, B.L., Kanfer, R., Allen, D., & Rosen, B. ( 2007). A multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 331-346.
13.
Colella, A., & Varma, A. ( 2001). The impact of subordinate disability on leader-member exchange relationships. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 304-315.
14.
Cox, T., Jr. ( 1994). Cultural diversity in organizations: Theory, research and practice. San Francisco: Berrett-Kohler .
15.
Cummings, T.G. ( 1978). Self-regulating work groups: A socio-technical analysis . Academy of Management Review, 3, 625-634.
16.
Ehrhart, M.G. ( 2004). Leadership and procedural justice climate as antecedents of unit-level organizational citizenship behavior. Personnel Psychology, 57, 61-94.
17.
Ely, R.J., & Thomas, D.A. ( 2001). Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on workgroup processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 229-273.
18.
Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. ( 1999). The impact of relational demography on the quality of leader-member exchanges and employees’ work attitudes and well-being . Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72, 237-240.
19.
Ford, L.R., & Seers, A. ( 2006). Relational leadership and team climates: Pitting differentiation versus agreement. Leadership Quarterly, 17, 258-270.
20.
Forschi, M. ( 2000). Double standards for competence: Theory and research . Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 21-42.
21.
Garcia-Prieto, P., Bellard, E., & Schneider, S.C. (2003). Experiencing diversity, conflict, and emotions in teams. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 52, 413-440.
22.
Gibson, C., & Vermeulen, F. ( 2003). A healthy divide: Subgroups as a stimulus for team learning behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48, 202-239.
23.
Graen, G.B. ( 1976). Role-making processes within complex organizations. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1201-1245). Chicago: Rand McNally.
24.
Graen, G.B., & Uhl-Bien, M. ( 1995). Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective . Leadership Quarterly, 6, 219-247.
25.
Green, S.G., Anderson, S.E., & Shivers, S.L. ( 1996). Demographic and organizational influences on leader-member exchange and related work attitudes. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 66, 203-214.
26.
Harris, K.J., Harris, R.B., & Eplion, D.M. ( 2007). Personality, leader-member exchanges, and work outcomes . Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 8, 92-107.
27.
Harrison, D., Price, K., & Bell, M. ( 1998). Beyond relational demography: Time and the effects of surface- and deep-level diversity on work group cohesion. Academy of Management Journal, 41, 96-107.
28.
Harrison, D.A., Price, K.H., Gavin, J.H., & Florey, A.T. ( 2002). Time, teams, and task performance: Changing effects of surface- and deep-level diversity on group functioning. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 1029-1045.
29.
Harrison, D.A., & Sin, H.-P. (2006). What is diversity and how should it be measured? In A. M. Konrad , P. Prasad, & J. K. Pringle (Eds.), Handbook of workplace diversity (pp. 191-216). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
30.
Hirschfeld, R.R., Jordan, M.H., Feild, H.S., Giles, W.F., & Armenakis, A.A. (2005). Team’s female representation and perceived potency as inputs to team outcomes in a predominantly male field setting. Personnel Psychology, 58, 893-924.
31.
Hogg, M.A., & Terry, D.J. ( 2000). Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25, 121-140.
32.
Homan, A.C., van Knippenberg, D., Van Kleef, G.A., & De Dreu, C.K.W. (2007). Bridging faultlines by valuing diversity: Diversity beliefs, information elaboration, and performance in diverse work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1189-1199.
33.
Humphrey, R. ( 1985). How work roles influence perception: Structural cognitive processes and organizational behavior. American Sociological Review, 50, 242-252.
34.
Jackson, S.E., Joshi, A., & Erhardt, N.L. ( 2003). Recent research on team and organizational diversity: SWOT analysis and implications. Journal of Management, 29, 801-830.
35.
Jehn, K.A., Northcraft, G.B., & Neale, M.A. ( 1999). Why differences make a difference: A field study of diversity, conflict, and performance in workgroups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 741-763.
36.
Keller, R.T. ( 2001). Cross-functional project groups in research and new product development: Diversity, communications, job stress and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 547-555.
37.
Kirkman, B.L., Tesluk, P.E., & Rosen, B. ( 2004). The impact of demographic heterogeneity and team leader-team member demographic fit on team empowerment and effectiveness. Group & Organization Management, 29, 334-368.
38.
Larkey, L.K. ( 1996). Toward a theory of communicative interactions in culturally diverse workgroups. Academy of Management Review, 21, 463-491.
39.
Lau, D.C., & Murnighan, J.K. (2005). Demographic diversity and fault lines: The compositional dynamics of organizational groups. Academy of Management Journal, 23, 325-340.
40.
Lawrence, B. ( 1997). The black box of organizational demography. Organizational Science, 8, 1-22.
41.
Liden, R.C., Erdogan, B., Wayne, S.J., & Sparrowe, R.T. (2006). Leader-member exchange, differentiation, and task interdependence: Implications for individual and group performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 723-746.
42.
Lind, E.A., & Tyler, T.R. ( 1988). The social psychology of procedural justice. New York: Plenum.
43.
Lovelace, K., Shapiro, D.L., & Weingart, L.R. (2001). Maximizing cross-functional new product teams’ innovativeness and constraint adherence: A conflict communications perspective. Academy of Management Journal , 44, 779-793.
44.
Maitlis, S., & Lawrence, T.B. (2007). Triggers and enablers of sensegiving in organizations. Academy of Management Journal , 50, 57-84.
45.
Mayer, D., Nishi, L., Schneider, B., & Goldstein, H. ( 2007). The precursors and products of justice climates: Group leader antecedents and employee attitudinal consequences. Personnel Psychology, 60, 929-963.
46.
Millikens, F.J., & Martin, L.L. ( 1996). Searching for common threads: Understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 21, 402-433.
47.
Nkomo, S.M., & Stewart, M.M. ( 2006). Diverse identities in organizations. In S. R. Clegg, C. Hardy , & W. R. Nord, (Eds.), Handbook of organizational studies (pp. 338-356). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
48.
Pelled, L.H., Eisenhardt, K.M., & Xin, K.R. ( 1999). Exploring the black box: An analysis of workgroup diversity, conflict, and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly , 44, 1-28.
49.
Riordan, C.M. ( 2000). Relational demography within groups: Past developments, contradictions, new directions. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 19, 131-173.
Scandura, T.A., & Graen, G.B. ( 1984). Moderating effects of initial leader-member exchange status on the effects of a leadership intervention. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 428-436.
52.
Schyns, B. ( 2006). Are group consensus in LMX and shared work values related to organizational outcomes? Small Group Research, 37, 20-35.
53.
Sherony, K.M., & Green, S.G. ( 2002). Coworker exchange: Relationships between coworkers, leader-member exchange, work attitudes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 542-548.
54.
Simons, T., Pelled, L.H., & Smith, K.A. ( 1999). Making use of difference: Diversity, debate, and decision comprehensiveness in top management teams. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 662-673.
55.
Sparrowe, R.T., & Liden, R.C. ( 1997). Process and structure in leader-member exchange. Academy of Management Review, 22, 522-552.
56.
Stogdill, R.M. ( 1959). Individual behavior and group achievement. New York: Oxford University Press.
57.
Tyler, T.R. ( 1986). The psychology of leadership evaluation. In H. W. Bierhoff, R. L. Cohen, & J. Greenberg (Eds.), Justice in social relations (pp. 299-316). New York: Plenum.
58.
Uhl-Bien, M., & Maslyn, J.M. ( 2003). Reciprocity in manager-subordinate relationships: Components, configurations, and outcomes. Journal of Management, 29, 511-532.
59.
van Knippenberg, D., & Schippers, M.C. (2007). Work group diversity. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 515-541.
60.
Varma, A., & Stroh, L.K. ( 2001). The impact of same-sex LMX dyads on performance evaluations . Human Resource Management, 40, 309-320.
61.
Vecchio, R.P., & Brazil, D.M. ( 2007). Leadership and sex-similarity: A comparison in a military setting. Personnel Psychology, 60, 303-335.
62.
Wang, H., Law, K.S., Hackett, R.D., Wang, D., & Chen, Z.X. ( 2005). Leader-member exchange as a mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and followers’ performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 420-432.
63.
Watson, E.E., Kumar, K., & Michaelson, L.K. (1993). Cultural diversity’s impact on interaction processes and performance: Comparing homogeneous and diverse task groups. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 590-602.
64.
Wayne, S.J., Shore, L.M., Bommer, W.H., & Tetrick, L.E. ( 2002). The role of fair treatment and rewards in perceptions of organizational support and leader-member exchange. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 590-598.
65.
Webber, S.S., & Donahue, L.M. ( 2001). Impact of highly and less job-related diversity on work group cohesion and performance: Meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 27, 141-162.
66.
Williams, K.Y., & O’Reilly, C.A. (1998). Demography and diversity in organizations: A review of 40 years of research. Research in Organizational Behavior, 20, 77-140.
67.
Wong, L., Bliese, P., & McGurk, D. (2003). Military leadership: A context specific review. Leadership Quarterly, 14, 657-692.
