R&D team diversity and performance in hypercompetitive environments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hoisl, Karin; Gruber, Marc; Conti, Annamaria
• 署名单位: University of Mannheim; Copenhagen Business School; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne; University System of Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology
• 刊物名称: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0143-2095
• DOI: 10.1002/smj.2577
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 1455-1477
• 关键词: innovation; HYPERCOMPETITION; R&D; teams; experience diversity

摘要

Research summary: This article examines the effects of an R&D team's composition on its performance outcomes in hypercompetition. The fundamental feature of firms in hypercompetitive settings is that they are constantly challenged to improve their competitiveness in a relentless race to outperform one another. Analyzing a unique data set from the Formula 1 motorsport racing industry, we find an inverse U-shaped relationship between team diversity in task-related experience and performance an important result that diverges from well-established theories developed in more stable environments. Fundamentally, we show that the role of R&D team experience diversity varies depending on the size of the organizations in which R&D teams operate. While we find a moderating effect for firm age, this effect is not as robust as that of firm size. Managerial summary: This article examines the relationship between R&D team composition and performance in fast-moving environments. Firms in these environments are constantly challenged to improve their competitiveness by outperforming one another. Analyzing a unique data set from the Formula 1 motorsport racing industry, we find that a team's diversity in job-related experience increases its performance up to a certain extent. Once R&D teams become too diverse, performance decreases because communication and coordination become more difficult. We also show that the role of R&D team diversity varies depending on the size of the organizations in which R&D teams operate. Overall, our findings provide several novel implications for the strategy, innovation, and team literatures. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.