Extending the Faultline Model to Geographically Dispersed Teams: How Colocated Subgroups can Impair Group Functioning

We theorize that in geographically dispersed teams, members' geographic locations are likely to activate "faultlines" (hypothetical dividing lines that split a group in subgroups) that impair team functioning. In a study of 45 teams comprised of graduate students from 14 schools in te...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Academy of Management journal 2006-08, Vol.49 (4), p.679-692
Main Authors: Polzer, Jeffrey T, Crisp, C Brad, Jarvenpaa, Sirkka L, Kim, Jerry W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business management
Case studies
Group decision making
Group dynamics
Human resources
Management science
Management theory
Manycountries
Mathematical models
Nationality
Personnel management
Studies
Teams
Teamwork
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We theorize that in geographically dispersed teams, members' geographic locations are likely to activate "faultlines" (hypothetical dividing lines that split a group in subgroups) that impair team functioning. In a study of 45 teams comprised of graduate students from 14 schools in ten countries, we found that geographic faultlines heightened conflict and reduced trust. These faultlines were stronger when a team was divided into two equally sized subgroups of colocated members and when these subgroups were homogeneous in nationality. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0001-4273
1948-0989
DOI:10.5465/amj.2006.22083024