TY - JOUR
T1 - Linking Ethnic Composition and Performance
T2 - Information Integration Between Majority and Minority Members
AU - Zheng, Wei
AU - Wei, Jun
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © The Author(s) 2018.
PY - 2018/6/1
Y1 - 2018/6/1
N2 - Often labeled a double-edged sword, diversity can not only trigger social categorization that dampens group cohesion and performance, but it can also increase available information resources and enhance group performance. The ways in which a group integrates information from diverse members play a central role in determining whether and how it can reap benefits from diversity. Guided by research in team diversity and relational demography, we take a diversity-as-disparity approach and focus on the extent of information integration between majority- and minority-status members in a group. Specifically, drawing from social network research, we examine whether majority–minority information brokerage equality mediates the impact of ethnic composition on group performance. Based on data from 540 employees in 34 work groups from a Chinese organization, we find that majority–minority information brokerage equality mediates the impact of ethnic composition on performance but only when group climate is high. We also discuss theoretical and practical implications.
AB - Often labeled a double-edged sword, diversity can not only trigger social categorization that dampens group cohesion and performance, but it can also increase available information resources and enhance group performance. The ways in which a group integrates information from diverse members play a central role in determining whether and how it can reap benefits from diversity. Guided by research in team diversity and relational demography, we take a diversity-as-disparity approach and focus on the extent of information integration between majority- and minority-status members in a group. Specifically, drawing from social network research, we examine whether majority–minority information brokerage equality mediates the impact of ethnic composition on group performance. Based on data from 540 employees in 34 work groups from a Chinese organization, we find that majority–minority information brokerage equality mediates the impact of ethnic composition on performance but only when group climate is high. We also discuss theoretical and practical implications.
KW - diversity
KW - ethnicity
KW - group performance
KW - social network
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U2 - 10.1177/1046496417749727
DO - 10.1177/1046496417749727
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85041304772
SN - 1046-4964
VL - 49
SP - 357
EP - 387
JO - Small Group Research
JF - Small Group Research
IS - 3
ER -