The Effects of Diversity Faultlines and Team Task Autonomy on Decision Quality and Social Integration

TLDR

Team diversity research explores how faultlines and task autonomy influence decision quality and social integration. The study investigates how educational background and conscientiousness faultlines affect team decision quality and social integration, and how task autonomy moderates these effects. A 2×2 factorial design with 52 four-person teams tested decision-making under weak/strong faultlines and low/high task autonomy. Weak-faultline teams outperformed strong-faultline teams in decision quality and social integration, but these advantages emerged only under high task autonomy.

Abstract

This study examines the effects of diversity faultlines stemming from educational background and conscientiousness on team decision quality and social integration and the moderating role of team task autonomy. Using a 2 × 2 (Weak/Strong Faultlines × Low/High Team Task Autonomy) factorial design, 52 four-person teams performed a decision-making task. Diverse weak-faultline teams performed better and reported higher levels of social integration than did strong-faultline teams. Team task autonomy moderated these effects, showing that the differences become significant only under high autonomy conditions. Implications for team diversity research and design and management of work teams are discussed.