Diverse effects of diversity: Disaggregating effects of diversity in global virtual teams

Vas Taras, Daniel Baack, Dan Caprar, Douglas Dow, Fabian Froese, Alfredo Jimenez, Peter Magnusson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

78 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Global Virtual Team (GVT) member diversity provides many advantages but also poses many challenges. Diversity comes in different forms that each has different effects on GVT dynamics and performance. Past research typically explored the effect of only one type of diversity at a time. Using multi-source, multi-wave data from 5728 individuals working in 804 consulting project GVTs, the present study is unique in that it explores and compares the effects of different forms of team member diversity on different aspects of GVT effectiveness in a single sample. It proposes a refined theoretical model that differentiates between the effects of personal versus contextual diversity and articulates how these distinct forms of diversity affect different aspects of GVT effectiveness (i.e., task outcomes versus psychological outcomes). The results reveal that (1) team member diversity in general has a substantial effect on GVT effectiveness; (2) contextual diversity has a positive effect on task outcomes; and (3) personal diversity has a negative effect on psychological outcomes. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100689
JournalJournal of International Management
Volume25
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019 Dec

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Business and International Management
  • Finance
  • Strategy and Management

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Diverse effects of diversity: Disaggregating effects of diversity in global virtual teams'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this