Team Racial Composition, Member Attitudes, and Performance: A Field Study

Abstract

Attitudinal, performance, and demographic data from 1200 workers on self‐directed teams are examined to determine if racial composition affects team performance, if African‐Americans and whites have different attitudes toward their teams and team performance, and whether any differences explain performance differences associated with different racial composition. Results indicate that racial composition affects team performance and racial differences in team and performance‐related attitudes. Differences in attitudes reduce, but do not eliminate, racial composition effects on team performance.