Publications

SSRN

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May – June 2011
Article

Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth: How High Status Individuals Decrease Group Effectiveness

By: Boris Groysberg, Jeffrey T. Polzer and Hillary Anger Elfenbein

Can groups become effective simply by assembling high status individual performers? Though an affirmative answer may seem straightforward on the surface, this answer becomes more complicated when group members benefit from collaborating on interdependent tasks.... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Equity; Theory; Human Resources; Integration; Body of Literature; Performance Effectiveness; Status and Position; Experience and Expertise

2011
Article

Group Size and Incentives to Contribute: A Natural Experiment at Chinese Wikipedia

By: Michael Zhang and Feng Zhu

In this paper, we examine the causal relationship between group size and incentives to contribute in the setting of Chinese Wikipedia, the Chinese language version of an online encyclopedia that relies entirely on voluntary contributions. The group at Chinese Wikipedia... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Groups and Teams; Knowledge Sharing; Behavior; Satisfaction; Size; Government and Politics; Economics; Information Technology Industry; Hong Kong; Taiwan; Singapore

February 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Big Spaceship: Ready to Go Big?

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Big Spaceship, a digital marketing agency, faced a rather big challenge: How to scale the distinctive culture that was essential to its competitive strategy? Renowned for the cutting-edge websites that it developed to market major Hollywood movies and leading consumer... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Management; Human Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation

Educators

August 2006
Article

Extending the Faultline Concept to Geographically Dispersed Teams: How Colocated Subgroups Can Impair Group Functioning

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Brad Crisp, Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa and Jerry W. Kim

We theorize that in geographically dispersed teams, members' geographic locations are likely to activate "faultlines" (hypothetical dividing lines that split a group into subgroups) that impair team functioning. In a study of 45 teams comprised of graduate students... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Nationality; Groups and Teams; Trust; Conflict and Resolution

Read Now

April 2005
Article

Strength in Numbers: Group Size and Political Mobilization

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Joel Waldfogel

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Government and Politics

November 2004 (Revised March 2007)
Case

10 Uncommon Values®: Optimizing the Stock-Selection Process

By: Paul M. Healy and Boris Groysberg

In 2003, Steve Hash, research director at Lehman Brothers, prepared to initiate the firm's "Ten Uncommon Values" stock-picking process for the year. An investment committee had to pick the 10 best stocks from about 100 stock ideas presented by the firm's analysts. The... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Investment; Financial Strategy; Decision Making; Groups and Teams; Financial Services Industry; United States

Educators

December 1999 (Revised April 2000)
Case

Franco Bernabe: Reflections on Telecom Italia (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

In November 1998, Franco Bernabe left ENI to become CEO of Telecom Italia, Italy's primary telecommunications provider. Three months later, Roberto Colaninno, CEO of Olivetti SpA, an Italian computer and telecom company one fifth the size of Telecom Italia, launched a... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Mergers and Acquisitions; Planning; Telecommunications Industry; Italy

November 1999 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Financing the Mozal Project

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Fuaad Qureshi

It is June 1997, and a team from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) is recommending that the board approve a $120 million investment in a $1.4 billion aluminum smelter in Mozambique, known as the Mozal project. Four factors make the investment controversial: it... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Capital Markets; Emerging Markets; Projects; Financial Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Developing Countries and Economies; Metals and Minerals; Financial Strategy; Government and Politics; International Finance; Infrastructure; Mozambique

Educators

1980
Article

The Effect of Group Size and Communication Availability on Coalition Bargaining in a Veto Game

By: J. K. Murnighan and A. E. Roth

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Negotiation; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Communication

Forthcoming
Article

Group Size and Its Impact on Diversity-Related Perceptions and Hiring Decisions in Homogeneous Groups

By: Aneesh Rai, Edward H. Chang, Erika Kirgios and Katherine L. Milkman

Why do some homogeneous groups face backlash for lacking diversity, whereas others escape censure? We show that a homogeneous group’s size changes how it is perceived and whether decision makers pursue greater diversity in its ranks. We theorize that people make... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Perception; Decision Making; Groups and Teams; Selection and Staffing; Size