The Costs and Benefits of Work Style Diversity and Informational Diversity on Work Process and Work Outcomes in Task Groups : A Multi-Method Study

An experimental study examined the combined influence of work style diversity and informational diversity within task groups (N=101 dyads) on work process and work outcome. During a ten minute discussion, dyads had to choose one out of three organizations for a joint internship. Work style diversity was manipulated by inducing differences between dyad members in their personal decision making styles. Informational diversity was manipulated by giving dyad members either identical or partially unique information about the three organizations. Commitment and conflict were assessed through post-discussion self reports of the dyad members. Observational data of the work process and work outcome were obtained by coding video tapes of the dyads' discussions. Results show that either when both diversity aspects were combined or when both aspects were not present, dyad members felt more committed, experienced less conflict, shared more information and stated more satisfaction with their joint decision compared to dyads where members were similar in one respect but different in the other