National diversity and team performance in low interdependence tasks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between national diversity and team performance. Research on US teams involved in a task of low interdependence (baseball) is replicated with a Japanese sample to investigate possible cross‐national differences. The paper also presents a new quantitative measure of diversity. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses quantitative research based on archival data. Regression modeling is applied to professional sports data from Japan. National diversity of teams is operationalized using a new approach to Blau's Index. Findings – A negative relationship was found between national diversity and team performance in Japan. No significant results were found for age diversity. The results for national diversity are in contrast to research conducted on similar teams in the USA. Practical implications – The findings provide evidence of cross‐national differences between US and Japanese teams. Findings are also directly applicable to managers in the growing field of international sports management and sports business. Originality/value – Globalization has resulted in the internationalization of the professional sports industry. This paper is one of the first international studies of professional sports teams that span the East‐West divide, to provide insights on international team performances. Findings from this cross‐national comparison of US and Japanese teams contribute to organizational research by reinforcing the need to consider national context in diversity research. Educators will find that use of professional sports allows students to easily relate to the findings of the study. Managers are offered direct evidence that team dynamics related to diversity are different between US and Japanese teams.