Factional groups: A new vantage on demographic faultlines, conflict, and disintegration in work teams

Jiatao Li, Donald C. Hambrick

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

594 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We develop the concept of factional groups, or those in which members are representatives from a small number of (often just two) social entities. Such groups include many merger integration teams, bilateral task forces, and joint venture teams. We extend theory about group demography by arguing that factional groups possess preexisting faultlines that require a new conception of demographic dissimilarity. We propose that large demographic faultlines between factions engender task conflict, emotional conflict, and behavioral disintegration - which in turn lead to poor performance. We tested our model using data from 71 joint venture management groups. Data gathered in two waves strongly supported our propositions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)794-813
Number of pages20
JournalAcademy of Management Journal
Volume48
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2005
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Business and International Management
  • General Business,Management and Accounting
  • Strategy and Management
  • Management of Technology and Innovation

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