Drawing from social categorization theory, we found that greater demographic heterogeneity led to group norms emphasizing lower cooperation among student teams and officers from ten business units of a financial services firm. This effect faded over time. Perceptions of team norms among those more demographically different from their work group changed more, becoming more cooperative, as a function of contact with other members. Finally, cooperative norms mediated the relationship between group composition and work outcomes. Increased demographic heterogeneity in organizations has been expected to generate important benefits, such as increasing the variance in perspectives and approaches to work brought by members of different identity groups. Given the purported advantages, managers might eagerly incorporate workforce diversity into organizational problem-solving processes. Yet attempts to capitalize on these advantages have met with mixed success (e.g., Heilman, 1994). Likewise, research on the effects of demographic heterogeneity in organizational settings has been characterized by mixed findings, leading researchers to conclude that, in spite of the recent popularity of demographic heterogeneity as a topic, there is little consensus about either what constitutes diversity or how it affects performance (Guzzo & Dickson, 1996: 331). We address these inconsistencies by suggesting that past researchers have neglected to consider whether demographic heterogeneity among work group members led to the emergence of certain norms that subsequently influenced work processes and outcomes. Drawing on self-categorization theory, we begin by exploring how demographic heterogeneity influences the emergence and stability of a group's emphasis on cooperative norms. We then consider the relative impacts of increased contact on cooperative norms for demographically similar and different people. Finally, we examine how inconsistencies in the relationship between group heterogeneity and work outcomes might be explained by considering the mediating role of norms. Thus, this study may explain the contradictory findings described above; the negative effects of demographic heterogeneity may diminish when norms that encourage a focus on interdependent objectives develop. THEORY AND HYPOTHESES Group norms, defined as legitimate, socially shared standards against which the appropriateness of behavior can be evaluated (Birenbaum & Sagarin, 1976), influence how a group's members perceive and interact with one another, approach decisions, and solve problems. Norms are regular behavior patterns that are relatively stable and expected by group members (Bettenhausen & Murnighan, 1991: 21). Cooperative group norms, in particular, reflect the degree of importance people place on their personal interests and shared pursuits (Wagner, 1995: 153), shared objectives, mutual interests, and commonalties among members. Emphasizing independence, rather than cooperation, causes people to differentiate themselves from others and focus on their own and others' unique interests, abilities, and characteristics. Group cooperation may be dictated by the characteristics of a group's task but, more typically, a work team's objectives are specified at its incep-
Drawing on this theory, Chatman and Flynn REF found that demographic heterogeneity among team members delayed the formation of cooperative norms among them, but this effect dissipated with time.
The Influence of Demographic Heterogeneity on the Emergence and Consequences of Cooperative Norms in Work Teams
Academy of Management Journal
Business