Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T18:43:07.222Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of Cultural Diversity and Emotional Regulation Strategies on Team Member Performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2017

Ki Ming Hui ,
Timothy C. Bednall ,
Lu Wang  and
Karin Sanders
Ki Ming Hui
Affiliation:
School of Management, UNSW Business School, The University of New South Wales, Australia
Timothy C. Bednall*
Affiliation:
Department of Management and Marketing, Swinburne Business School, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Lu Wang
Affiliation:
Research School of Management, College of Business and Economics, Australian National University, Australia
Karin Sanders
Affiliation:
School of Management, UNSW Business School, The University of New South Wales, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Dr Timothy C. Bednall, Department of Management & Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box 218, Mail H23, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia. Email: [email protected].
Get access

Abstract

Research on the effects of cultural diversity on individual team member performance has typically assumed a linear relationship, but has yielded mixed findings. In the study, we address these inconsistencies by hypothesizing an optimal (mid-range) level of diversity that maximizes performance. Given the potential for negative emotions to arise within a diverse team, we also hypothesize that team members who employ emotional self-regulation strategies will demonstrate stronger performance. We adopt an individual-level perspective, assessing diversity as the cultural dissimilarity between each individual and their teammates. Using a sample of 103 postgraduate students (23 teams with 3–6 participants in each), we found evidence of a curvilinear relationship between cultural dissimilarity and individual team member performance. Contrary to our expectations, we found that individual performance is greatest at very low and very high levels of dissimilarity. In terms of emotional regulation strategies, we found that cognitive reappraisal was associated with higher performance, but there was no evidence for the effects of expressive suppression. Together, the present findings challenge the assumption that the diversity-performance relationship is linear. Our findings also indicate individual performance in culturally diverse teams is influenced by individuals’ use of cognitive reappraisal to regulate negative emotions.

Keywords

cultural practicesemotionsgroups/teamsself-managementwork teams
Type
Articles
Information
The Australasian Journal of Organisational Psychology , Volume 10 , 2017 , e4
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ashkanasy, N.M., & Humphrey, R.H. (2011). Current emotion research in organizational behavior. Emotion Review, 3, 214–224.Google Scholar
Ayoko, O.B., Callan, V.J., & Härtel, C.E. (2008). The influence of team emotional intelligence climate on conflict and team members' reactions to conflict. Small Group Research, 39, 121–149.Google Scholar
Barsade, S.G. (2002). The ripple effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47, 644–675.Google Scholar
Becker, W.J., & Cropanzano, R. (2011). Display rules and emotional labor within work teams. Research on Emotion in Organizations, 7, 197–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blume, B.D., Rubin, R.S., & Baldwin, T.T. (2013). Who is attracted to an organisation using a forced distribution performance management system? Human Resource Management Journal, 23 (4), 360–378.Google Scholar
Burke, M.J., Finkelstein, L.M., & Dusig, M.S. (1999). On average deviation indices for estimating interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods, 2, 49–68.Google Scholar
Byrne, D. (1961). Interpersonal attraction and attitude similarity. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62, 713–715.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chattopadhyay, P., Tluchowska, M., & George, E. (2004). Identifying the ingroup: A closer look at the influence of demographic dissimilarity on employee social identity. Academy of Management Review, 29, 180–202.Google Scholar
Cheng, C.Y., Chua, R.Y., Morris, M.W., & Lee, L. (2012). Finding the right mix: How the composition of self‐managing multicultural teams’ cultural value orientation influences performance over time. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 389–411.Google Scholar
Cohen, J. (1978). Partialed products are interactions; partialed powers are curve components. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 858–866.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, M.S., Walter, F., & Bruch, H. (2008). Affective mechanisms linking dysfunctional behavior to performance in work teams: A moderated mediation study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 945–958.Google Scholar
Cook, D.A., & Beckman, T.J. (2006). Current concepts in validity and reliability for psychometric instruments: Theory and application. The American Journal of Medicine, 119, 166.e7–166.e16.Google Scholar
Coté, S. (2005). A social interaction model of the effects of emotion regulation on work strain. Academy of Management Review, 30, 509–530.Google Scholar
Curseu, P.L., Boros, S., & Oerlemans, L.A. (2012). Task and relationship conflict in short-term and long-term groups: The critical role of emotion regulation. International Journal of Conflict Management, 23, 97–107.Google Scholar
Eby, L.T., Meade, A.W., Parisi, A.G., & Douthitt, S.S. (1999). The development of an individual-level teamwork expectations measure and the application of a within-group agreement statistic to assess shared expectations for teamwork. Organizational Research Methods, 2, 366–394.Google Scholar
Elron, E. (1998). Top management teams within multinational corporations: Effects of cultural heterogeneity. The Leadership Quarterly, 8, 393–412.Google Scholar
Enders, C.K., & Bandalos, D.L. (2001). The relative performance of full information maximum likelihood estimation for missing data in structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling, 8, 430–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gamero, N., González‐Romá, V., & Peiró, J.M. (2008). The influence of intra‐team conflict on work teams' affective climate: A longitudinal study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 81, 47–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gigone, D., & Hastie, R. (1993). The common knowledge effect: Information sharing and group judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 959–974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grandey, A.A. (2000). Emotional regulation in the workplace: A new way to conceptualize emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 95–110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grandey, A.A., Fisk, G.M., Mattila, A.S., Jansen, K.J., & Sideman, L.A. (2005). Is “service with a smile” enough? Authenticity of positive displays during service encounters. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 96, 38–55.Google Scholar
Gross, J.J. (2001). Emotion regulation in adulthood: Timing is everything. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 214–219.Google Scholar
Gross, J.J. (2002). Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39, 281–291.Google Scholar
Gross, J.J. (2013). Emotion regulation: Taking stock and moving forward. Emotion, 13, 359–365.Google Scholar
Gross, J.J., & John, O.P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 348–362.Google Scholar
Gross, J.J., & Thompson, R.A. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. Handbook of Emotion Regulation, 3, 3–24.Google Scholar
Gruenfeld, D.H., Mannix, E.A., Williams, K.Y., & Neale, M.A. (1996). Group composition and decision making: How member familiarity and information distribution affect process and performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 67, 1–15.Google Scholar
Gunkel, M., Schlägel, C., & Engle, R.L. (2014). Culture's influence on emotional intelligence: An empirical study of nine countries. Journal of International Management, 20, 256–274.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Hoffman, C.C., Nathan, B.R., & Holden, L.M. (1991). A comparison of validation criteria: Objective versus subjective performance measures and self‐versus supervisor ratings. Personnel Psychology, 44, 601–618.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values (Vol. 5). Newberry Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2, 1–26.Google Scholar
Hogg, M.A., & Turner, J.C. (1985). Interpersonal attraction, social identification and psychological group formation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 15, 51–66.Google Scholar
Hsu, J.S., Chang, J.Y., Klein, G., & Jiang, J.J. (2011). Exploring the impact of team mental models on information utilization and project performance in system development. International Journal of Project Management, 29, 1–12.Google Scholar
Hülsheger, U.R., & Schewe, A.F. (2011). On the costs and benefits of emotional labor: A meta-analysis of three decades of research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16, 361–389.Google Scholar
Jackson, S.E., Stone, V.K., & Alvarez, E.B. (1992). Socialization amidst diversity – the impact of demographics on work team oldtimers and newcomers. Research in Organizational Behavior, 15, 45–109.Google Scholar
Jiang, J.Y., Zhang, X., & Tjosvold, D. (2013). Emotion regulation as a boundary condition of the relationship between team conflict and performance: A multi‐level examination. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, 714–734.Google Scholar
Joshi, A., & Roh, H. (2009). The role of context in work team diversity research: A meta-analytic review. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 599–627.Google Scholar
Judge, T.A., & Ferris, G.R. (1993). Social context of performance evaluation decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 80–105.Google Scholar
Karau, S.J., & Williams, K.D. (1993). Social loafing: A meta-analytic review and theoretical integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 681–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, H.J. (2008). Hotel service providers’ emotional labor: The antecedents and effects on burnout. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27, 151–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkman, B.L., & Shapiro, D.L. (2005). The impact of cultural value diversity on multicultural team performance. Advances in International Management, 18, 33–67.Google Scholar
Kogut, B., & Singh, H. (1988). The effect of national culture on the choice of entry mode. Journal of International Business Studies, 19, 411–432.Google Scholar
Lam, C. F., Spreitzer, G., & Fritz, C. (2014). Too much of a good thing: Curvilinear effect of positive affect on proactive behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 530–546.Google Scholar
Lauring, J., & Selmer, J. (2012a). Knowledge sharing in diverse organisations. Human Resource Management Journal, 22, 89–105.Google Scholar
Lauring, J., & Selmer, J. (2012b). Openness to diversity, trust and conflict in multicultural organizations. Journal of Management & Organization, 18, 795–806.Google Scholar
Lauring, J., & Selmer, J. (2013). Diversity attitudes and group knowledge processing in multicultural organizations. European Management Journal, 31, 124–136.Google Scholar
Lopes, P.N., Salovey, P., Côté, S., Beers, M., & Petty, R.E. (2005). Emotion regulation abilities and the quality of social interaction. Emotion, 5, 113–118.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Markus, H.R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.Google Scholar
Matveev, A.V., & Nelson, P.E. (2004). Cross cultural communication competence and multicultural team performance: Perceptions of American and Russian managers. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 4 (2), 253–270.Google Scholar
Meyer, K.E. (2008). Motivating, testing, and publishing curvilinear effects in management research. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26, 187–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morosini, P., Shane, S., & Singh, H. (1998). National cultural distance and cross-border acquisition performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 29 (1), 137–158.Google Scholar
Muller, D., Judd, C.M., & Yzerbyt, V.Y. (2005). When moderation is mediated and mediation is moderated. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 852–863.Google Scholar
Muthén, L., & Muthén, B. (2012). Mplus user's guide (7th ed). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.Google Scholar
Northcraft, G.B., & Rockmann, K.W. (2012). Engaging groups and organizational decisions: A social dilemma perspective. Research on Managing Groups and Teams, 15, 279–304.Google Scholar
Offermann, L.R., & Hellmann, P.S. (1997). Culture's consequences for leadership behavior national values in action. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 28, 342–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Offermann, L.R., Bailey, J.R., Vasilopoulos, N.L., Seal, C., & Sass, M. (2004). The relative contribution of emotional competence and cognitive ability to individual and team performance. Human Performance, 17, 219–243.Google Scholar
Ohland, M.W., Loughry, M.L., Woehr, D.J., Bullard, L.G., Felder, R.M., Finelli, C.J., . . . Schmucker, D.G. (2012). The comprehensive assessment of team member effectiveness: Development of a behaviorally anchored rating scale for self- and peer evaluation. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11, 609–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, K.W. (2003). The effects of categorically based expectations on minority influence: The importance of congruence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 3–13.Google Scholar
Pieterse, A.N., van Knippenberg, D., & van Dierendonck, D. (2012). Cultural diversity and team performance: The role of team member goal orientation. Academy of Management Journal, 56, 782–804.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richard, O.C., Barnett, T., Dwyer, S., & Chadwick, K. (2004). Cultural diversity in management, firm performance, and the moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 255–266.Google Scholar
Schmidt, F.L., & Hunter, J.E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 262–274.Google Scholar
Shrout, P.E., & Fleiss, J.L. (1979). Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 420–428.Google Scholar
Stahl, G.K., Mäkelä, K., Zander, L., & Maznevski, M.L. (2010). A look at the bright side of multicultural team diversity. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26, 439–447.Google Scholar
Stahl, G.K., Maznevski, M.L., Voigt, A., & Jonsen, K. (2009). Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: A meta-analysis of research on multicultural work groups. Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 690–709.Google Scholar
Triandis, H.C. (1960). Cognitive similarity and communication in a dyad. Human Relations, 13, 175–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Triandis, H.C. (2004). The many dimensions of culture. The Academy of Management Executive, 18, 88–93.Google Scholar
Triandis, H.C., Hall, E.R., & Ewen, R.B. (1965). Member heterogeneity and dyadic creativity. Human Relations, 18, 33–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Knippenberg, D., & Schippers, M.C. (2007). Work group diversity. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 515–541.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wagner, J.A., Humphrey, S.E., Meyer, C.J., & Hollenbeck, J.R. (2012). Individualism–collectivism and team member performance: Another look. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 946–963.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Winterich, K.P., & Zhang, Y. (2014). Accepting inequality deters responsibility: How power distance decreases charitable behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 41, 274–293.Google Scholar
Yoo, B., Donthu, N., & Lenartowicz, T. (2011). Measuring Hofstede's five dimensions of cultural values at the individual level: Development and validation of CVSCALE. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 23, 193–210.Google Scholar