Triggering Faultline Effects in Teams: The Importance of Bridging Friendship Ties and Breaching Animosity Ties

Abstract

We examine the complex effects of faultlines and network ties on team performance. By using panel data from 672 individuals in 148 research teams at a major U.S. university, we find that informal networks serve as triggers and dampeners of faultline effects. Team performance improved when friendship ties bridged the subgroups that were cleaved by existing faultlines but deteriorated when animosity ties breached the same subgroups. Overall, the results highlight the conceptual and empirical importance of (the location of) team members’ network patterns when studying how member composition influences team outcomes.