Boundary conditions of a curvilinear relationship between decision comprehensiveness and performance: The role of functional and national diversity

Rebecca Mitchell, Brendan Boyle, Stephen Nicholas, Elizabeth Maitland and Shuming Zhao

Journal of Business Research, 2016, vol. 69, issue 8, 2801-2811

Abstract: This research examines top management team (TMT) functional and national diversity as moderators of a curvilinear relationship between decision comprehensiveness and organizational performance. Drawing on resource allocation theory, we argue that, despite the information-related benefits associated with decision comprehensiveness, the misallocation of limited TMT cognitive resources can generate an inverted U-shaped effect on performance. We hypothesize that functional and national diversity moderate this non-linear relationship, such that the impact of decision comprehensiveness in diverse teams will be significantly weaker than in their homogenous counterparts. Results from a sample of subsidiary TMTs of multinational companies (N=107) in China support the study hypotheses. We find evidence that decision comprehensiveness has no significant effect on performance for diverse TMTs. However, as hypothesized, we find support for a positive effect of decision comprehensiveness on organizational performance in relatively homogeneous TMTs up to an inflection point, beyond which the relationship becomes negative.

Keywords: Decision comprehensiveness; Team dynamics; Top management team; National diversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:69:y:2016:i:8:p:2801-2811

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.12.049

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