Publications

January 2011
Supplement

Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The (B) case describes the actions taken by Royal Dutch Shell's CEO and his management team to maintain their commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I), as introduced in the (A) case, during a major restructuring of the whole organization. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Human Resources; Diversity; Management Teams; Energy Industry; Netherlands

31 Aug 2020
What Do You Think?

Why Don’t More Organizations Understand the Power of Diversity and Inclusion?

same. This is in the face of research findings that organizations with significant minority representation are stronger than their peers. A McKinsey & Company study in May of top executive teams in more than a thousand organizations... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 2012
Article

Racial Diversity, Racial Asymmetries, and Team Learning Environment: Effects on Performance

By: Robin J. Ely, Irene Padavic and David A. Thomas

This paper argues that learning in cross-race interactions is critical for work teams to realize performance benefits from racial diversity but that diversity is a liability when society's negative stereotypes about racial minorities' competence inhibit such... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Performance; Learning; Diversity

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04 Nov 2015
What Do You Think?

Why Does Gender Diversity Improve Financial Performance?

Does Gender Diversity in Management Enhance Performance? Why? A variety of explanations for the positive correlation between gender diversity and better business performance found in a recent McKinsey study... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 2021
Case

Posse Foundation: Developing Strong Leaders from Diverse Backgrounds

By: John J-H Kim, Robin Mendelson and Julia Kelley

Founded in 1989, Posse Foundation was a nonprofit organization with a mission of developing future leaders who reflected the U.S.’s rich diversity. The organization ran a selective, localized admissions process in 10 U.S. cities to identify outstanding students with... View Details

2009
Chapter

Collaboration Across Knowledge Boundaries within Diverse Teams: Reciprocal Expertise Affirmation as an Enabling Condition

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Kate Roloff and Lucy H. MacPhail

We review research on expertise diversity, psychological safety, team collaboration, and role identity to propose a model in which reciprocal affirmations of expertise identity among team members—a feature of the team environment that we conceptualize as a dimension of... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Experience and Expertise; Learning; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Groups and Teams; Familiarity; Identity; Cooperation

11 Feb 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Gender Stereotypes in Deliberation and Team Decisions

Keywords: by Katherine B. Coffman, Clio Bryant Flikkema, and Olga Shurchkov

2009
Working Paper

Virtual Team Learning: Reflecting and Acting, Alone or With Others

By: Deborah L. Soule and Lynda M. Applegate

This paper examines virtual team learning in new product development situations. New product development activities manifest novelty, uncertainty and complexity, presenting an extreme need for learning in the course of the work. We present data from an exploratory... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Learning; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Product Development; Groups and Teams; Behavior

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11 Dec 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Three Perspectives on Team Learning: Outcome Improvement, Task Mastery, and Group Process

Keywords: by Amy C. Edmondson, James R. Dillon & Kathryn S. Roloff

20 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Gender-Diverse Companies Thrive Only Where Diversity is Embraced

where gender diversity is valued. This is presumably because this kind of context creates a safe environment for women to contribute their ideas freely and therefore encourage the flow and exchange of ideas, increasing View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Paul A. Gompers and Scott Duke Kominers

Silkroad—a cross-cultural music collaboration that world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma had spearheaded since 1998, was preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In parallel, Ma was stepping back from his role as the organization’s Artistic Director. Silkroad had come of... View Details

Keywords: Managing Diverse Teams; Leadership Transitions; Global Innovation; Music; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Music Entertainment; Leadership; Transition

12 Nov 2018
Research & Ideas

'Always On' Isn't Always Best for Team Decision-Making

gradyreese Always on, always connected isn’t always better when it comes to solving problems at work. In fact, teams get better results when they collaborate only intermittently, according to recent research. Insights on work... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

September 2019
Case

Teaming Up to Win the Rail Deal at GE (A)

By: Amy Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

In 2012, Nalin Jain, then head of GE aviation for South Asia, was given the added responsibility for GE’s transportation business in India, including bidding for a $2.5 billion contract to manufacture, service and maintain 1,000 diesel locomotives for state owned... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Groups and Teams; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; India

04 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

Want to Make Diversity Stick? Break the Cycle of Sameness

Change Unpacking That Icky Feeling of 'Shopping' for Diverse Job Candidates Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge team at hbswk@hbs.edu. Designer's Note: Image created using photos from... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

2003
Chapter

The Benefits of Verifying Diverse Identities for Group Performance

By: J. Polzer, W. Swann and L. Milton

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Identity; Performance Evaluation; Diversity

Article

When Is Traditionalism an Asset and When Is It a Liability for Team Innovation? A Two-Study Empirical Examination

By: Laura Huang, Cristina B. Gibson, Bradley L. Kirkman and Debra L. Shapiro

Team innovation requires idea generating and idea implementing. In two studies, we examine how these team activities are affected by the extent to which members value traditionalism – that is, placing importance on preserving old ways of doing things over breaking... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Innovation and Invention; Diversity; Values and Beliefs; Performance Effectiveness

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14 May 2007
Research & Ideas

The Key to Managing Stars? Think Team

bankers, programmers, creatives, and general managers often leave with a team of colleagues to join a competitor. This phenomenon is called a lift out. It is observed in industries as diverse as medicine,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Article

Diversity Thresholds: How Social Norms, Visibility, and Scrutiny Relate to Group Composition

By: Edward H. Chang, Katherine L. Milkman, Dolly Chugh and Modupe Akinola

Across a field study and four experiments, we examine how social norms and scrutiny affect decisions about adding members of underrepresented populations (e.g., women, racial minorities) to groups. When groups are scrutinized, we theorize that decision makers strive to... View Details

Keywords: Social Norms; Impression Management; Groups and Teams; Governing and Advisory Boards; Diversity; Gender; Decision Making