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11 – 20 of 796Faultline literature has been extensively examined for its effect on various outcomes. Barring a few exceptions, this research has primarily inferred the adverse impact of such…
Abstract
Purpose
Faultline literature has been extensively examined for its effect on various outcomes. Barring a few exceptions, this research has primarily inferred the adverse impact of such splits. The purpose of this theoretical paper is to assert that these divisions can also be formed based on positive psychological capacities, which will cause a divide, but eventually help increase performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper offers a conceptual model that links employee psychological capital with the faultline literature and suggests its impact on team performance. It also explores the positive moderating effect of time and team goal orientation.
Findings
The study asserts that there will be an initial divide, but the positive faultlines will improve team performance. Several propositions are formulated that provide the opportunity for further examination.
Originality
This paper makes a contemporary and important conceptual contribution to the faultline literature by proposing a new notion: “positive faultlines.” To view the effect of faultlines from a positive perspective, a pioneering endeavor is made to explore the impact of employees’ psychological capital in teams. By integrating the faultline literature with positive organizational behavior, this study offers an alternative line of thinking on team compositional dynamics.
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This study aims to explore whether top management team (TMT) faultlines affect corporate digitalization and what the impact mechanism is, thus effectively promoting the digital…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore whether top management team (TMT) faultlines affect corporate digitalization and what the impact mechanism is, thus effectively promoting the digital transformation of enterprises from the perspective of optimizing TMT structure.
Design/methodology/approach
This study sampled companies that were listed in China between 2011 and 2020. Using the two-way fixed effect model, it empirically tests the impact of TMT faultlines on the digital transformation of enterprises.
Findings
TMT task-related faultline significantly positively impacts enterprise digital transformation, while the bio-demographic faultline has a significant negative effect. The regulatory role played by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) power intensity in the relationship between the bio-demographic faultline and digital transformation is a negative one. The above relationship is strongly influenced by industry technical sophistication, corporate location and listing board.
Research limitations/implications
The research has promoted the development of the upper echelons theory in the context of digitalization. Moreover, it enlightens the research of digital transformation’s influencing factors and mechanisms. However, no suitable mediating variable was found.
Practical implications
This research has significant implications for managers to optimize the internal structure of the TMT according to different enterprises’ business strategies in order to establish an efficient management team.
Originality/value
This study provides a new theoretical framework for TMT’s role in enterprise digital transformation. Further, it makes a beneficial exploration of the boundary and situational conditions of their relationship.
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Yue Zhang, Qiaozhuan Liang and Peihua Fan
Combining the punctuated equilibrium theory with the faultline theory, the purpose of this paper is to focus on member change of strategic core role holders in teams.
Abstract
Purpose
Combining the punctuated equilibrium theory with the faultline theory, the purpose of this paper is to focus on member change of strategic core role holders in teams.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors test the model using data from 30 National Basketball Association teams covering 11 regular seasons, carrying out regression analyses.
Findings
This research illustrates how different types of job-related skills of core role holders that involved in member change might influence the team performance loss, and how team demographic faultlines would serve as a moderator.
Practical implications
This research demonstrates that punctuational change in a team is not always bad, flux in coordination and team performance loss could be avoided by staffing strategic core role based on specific job-related skill levels and manipulating team composition based on demographic attributes.
Originality/value
The research model initially provides an integrated perspective of member change, core role and faultline theory to explain the team process for punctuational change.
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Jing Zhang, Qiaozhuan Liang, Yue Zhang and Yuanmei (Elly) Qu
This study aims to focus on three types of team faultlines (separation-based faultlines, variety-based faultlines and disparity-based faultlines) and discuss the different ways…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on three types of team faultlines (separation-based faultlines, variety-based faultlines and disparity-based faultlines) and discuss the different ways through which their configurational properties (faultline strength and faultline distance) affect team performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted panel data regression analysis to test the model. Panel data of Chinese provincial party-government top cadres teams that covers 30 provincial areas from 2007 to 2012 were collected for data analyses.
Findings
The results revealed that separation-based faultline strength was negatively related to team performance, variety-based faultline strength had a U-shape relationship with team performance and disparity-based faultline strength had an inversed U-shape relationship with team performance. In addition, separation-based and disparity-based faultline distances served as moderators enhancing the curvilinear relationship between faultline strength and team performance. Notably, variety-based faultline distance failed to exaggerate the U-shape relationship between variety-based faultline strength and team performance; however, the relationship changed based on different levels of variety-based faultline distance.
Originality/value
This study discussed team configurations based on three types of faultlines by comparing differences between team configurations reflected by diversity and faultline strength. Settled in Chinese political context, this study empirically tested the interaction effects between faultline strength and distance on team performance.
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Jin Yao, Xinmei Liu and Wenxin He
The purpose of this paper is to examine the curvilinear relationship between team informational faultlines and team creativity and the moderating effects of team humble leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the curvilinear relationship between team informational faultlines and team creativity and the moderating effects of team humble leadership on the relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The multisource and longitudinal survey data were collected from 85 teams. The authors conducted linear regression analyses to analyze the data.
Findings
The results indicate that the relationship between team informational faultlines and team creativity is inverted U-shaped and such relationship is stronger in teams with low levels of humble leadership.
Research limitations/implications
The research reconciles the mixed findings in prior research and enhances our understanding of the functionality of informational faultlines.
Practical implications
Team managers should seek optimal levels of informational faultlines and make diversity coexist with similarity when assembling a new working group so as to utilize the benefits of team composition diversity and fuel collective creativity. Team leaders should learn humble leadership skills to encourage open communication.
Originality/value
The research is the first to adopt and build on the social information processing (SIP) perspective to explain the curvilinear relationship between team informational faultlines and team creativity.
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Hui Chen, Qiao-zhuan Liang and Yue Zhang
The current research studies are inconclusive about the positive or negative effects of group faultlines, especially in the Chinese context. To address this issue, this study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
The current research studies are inconclusive about the positive or negative effects of group faultlines, especially in the Chinese context. To address this issue, this study aims to adopt an interactive perspective to explore the group interaction process. Specifically, this study proposes a new construct “interactive faultlines” to integrate overall faultlines and separate faultlines, and based on categorization-elaboration model (CEM), develops an integrated moderated mediation model to examine when and how interactive faultlines facilitate or inhibit group creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study tests the model with the samples of 405 employees from 95 groups in China, carrying out confirmatory factor analysis, regression analysis and process.
Findings
This study finds that the indirect effect of informational faultlines on group creativity through information elaboration is positive when social faultlines are low, but negative when social faultlines are high.
Practical implications
This research provides some practical implications on how to manage group compositions and coordinate group interaction process to make full use of the potential benefits of diverse information and avoid the possible detriment from social categorization.
Originality/value
This study adopts an interactive perspective to consider informational faultlines and social faultlines simultaneously, and constructs a focal concept “interactive faultlines.” Based on CEM, it also offers a fine-grained picture of the double-edged relationship between informational faultlines and group creativity by identifying social faultlines as a moderator and information elaboration as a mediator, which advances knowledge about the linkages between interactive faultlines and group creativity. Particularly, this study is rooted in the Chinese context and brings in indigenous attributes derived from an analysis of Eastern cultures to elucidate the particular effect of informal social connections.
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Qing Xie, Wuwei Li and Yuanyuan Zhang
This study empirically examines the curvilinear relationship between top management team task-related demographic faultlines and over-investment, as well as how biodemographic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study empirically examines the curvilinear relationship between top management team task-related demographic faultlines and over-investment, as well as how biodemographic faultlines and industrial environment moderate the curvilinear relationship between task-related demographic faultlines and over-investment.
Design/methodology/approach
The study designs the panel data from the listed companies of China's growth enterprises board (GEB) (set up by Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2009) in the period 2011–2016 and uses hierarchical regression analysis and grouping regression analysis in exploring the curvilinear relationship with the variables involved.
Findings
The study provides empirical insights into the relationship on top management team (TMT) task-related demographic faultlines and over-investment, as well as how biodemographic faultlines and industrial environment moderate the relationship between task-related demographic faultlines and over-investment. It suggests that the relationship between task-related demographic faultlines and over-investment is significantly inverted-U. Furthermore, biodemographic faultlines and industrial environment can strengthen the inverted-U relationship between TMT task-related demographic faultlines and over-investment.
Research limitations/implications
The study investigates the influence of task-related demographic faultlines on firm over-investment. The sample is restricted to the listed companies on GEM in China and limited in size. It is also not concerned with the cross-culture contrastive analysis between the Chinese- and Western-listed companies.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that strong/weak TMT task-related demographic faultlines is beneficial in promoting rational investment, but medium TMT task-related demographic faultlines may lead to over-investment.
Originality/value
The study within the crossed-categorization theory, the study provides a contemporary research path by moderating biodemographic faultlines and industrial environments to explain the long-ignored impact of TMT faultlines within a new perspective of firm investment efficiency with a recent significant sample of new emerging countries (e.g. China).
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Muhammad Ali and Oluremi B. Ayoko
Demographic faultlines are associated with negative group processes and low performance. Little is known about the formation of faultlines in boards and how they can be weakened…
Abstract
Purpose
Demographic faultlines are associated with negative group processes and low performance. Little is known about the formation of faultlines in boards and how they can be weakened to capitalize on the positive effects of diversity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on social identity theory and faultlines theory to provide insights into how gender and age faultlines are formed in a board. Subsequently, it proposes and tests a U-shaped board size–faultlines strength relationship. Archival data were collected on 288 organizations listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Findings
Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that small- and large-sized boards experience stronger faultlines than medium-sized boards.
Originality/value
This study provides pioneering evidence for a U-shaped relationship between board size and demographic faultlines strength. These findings inform practice by suggesting an optimal board size.
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Daniel Tidbury, Steven F. Cahan and Li Chen
Board faultlines, which reflect intrinsic divisions of board members into relatively homogeneous subgroups, are associated with poor firm performance. This paper aims to extend…
Abstract
Purpose
Board faultlines, which reflect intrinsic divisions of board members into relatively homogeneous subgroups, are associated with poor firm performance. This paper aims to extend the existing board faultline research by examining how acquisition deal size moderates the negative implications of board faultlines.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a sample of acquisitions and a quantitative research approach to conduct statistical analysis.
Findings
Using a sample of acquisitions announced between 2007 and 2016, this paper finds evidence suggesting that strong faultlines are associated with poorer acquisition outcomes in the long-term, but not in the short term. Further, this paper finds that the effect of faultline strength on long-term acquisition outcomes is weaker for larger acquisition deals than smaller acquisition deals. The findings are consistent with deal size moderating the relation between faultlines and acquisition outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
This paper addresses possible endogeneity through firm fixed effects and instrumental variable analysis. Although this paper provides evidence on the moderating role of deal size in the context of faultlines, future research could examine the role of additional moderators, such as pro-diversity, trust, board leadership and board and task characteristics.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that boards need to be aware of situations where the negative effects of faultlines are more likely to come to the fore. For example, faultlines are more likely to play a role in more routine, obscure monitoring than for high-profile strategic decisions.
Originality/value
The study is multidisciplinary as it draws on the management, organizational behaviour and psychology and finance literature. It contributes to the developing literature on faultlines in several important ways. First, this paper supports their view that faultlines have adverse effects on board performance by showing that faultlines negatively impact discrete strategic investment decisions. Second, this paper provides evidence that deals size moderates the faultline-acquisition performance relation, indicating that the role of faultlines is contextual. Third, this paper finds evidence that suggests investors do not factor in board faultlines when responding to acquisition announcements.
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Jingchen Ma and Xu Huang
The purpose of this study is to examine how the experience of the top management team (TMT), such as industrial experience and functional experience heterogeneity, affect…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine how the experience of the top management team (TMT), such as industrial experience and functional experience heterogeneity, affect corporate social performance (CSP) and whether TMT faultlines act as a moderator.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine the effect of TMT experience on CSP, this study uses upper echelons theory as theoretical background, and data are selected from 212 Chinese high-polluting companies with A-shares from 2012 to 2016. The dependent variable is lagged by one year from 2013 to 2017.
Findings
Industrial experience both positively influenced CSR and negatively influenced corporate social irresponsibility. Functional experience heterogeneity had an inverted U-shaped effect on responsible behaviors and a U-shaped effect on irresponsible behaviors. Meanwhile, TMT faultlines played a moderating roles in the relationship between TMT experience and CSP, in which faultlines reinforces the non-linear relationship between functional experience heterogeneity and CSP.
Research limitations/implications
The existence of impact paths between TMT experience and corporate social performances must still be examined. Other moderators need to be verified.
Practical implications
The important ways to promote more corporate responsible behavior and reduce irresponsible corporate behavior is to choose the right team members. During team formation, it is important to have experience in related industries and select team members with different functional experiences. Companies can consider hiring executives who tend to work together and have relevant experience, which can reduce the time cost of unnecessary conflicts.
Originality/value
This study combined the upper echelons theory with some attention perspectives to study the impacts of TMT experience on CSP.
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