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Group power structure, inter-subgroup cross-dependency, and work group performance

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Abstract

In this paper, we examine group power structure and intragroup process with a focus on demographic faultline and subgroups. Specifically, we investigate the effects of group faultline, power imbalance, and cross-dependency between subgroups on overall group performance. Drawing on mutual dependence theory, we develop a new construct of cross-dependency, which refers to dependence between subgroups across different resources. We also examine the moderating effect of LMX differentiation. Using data from 50 work teams from a manufacturing company in Korea, we found that group faultline itself did not have a significant impact on group performance. Instead, perceived power imbalance between subgroups was negatively associated with group performance. Consistent with our expectation, cross-dependency between subgroups in task-advice and friendship networks had a positive effect. Lastly, LMX differentiation exacerbated the negative effect of power imbalance and mitigated the positive effect of cross-dependency. We discuss implications of our findings for group faultline and subgroup theory to better understand the positive potential of subgroups and inter-subgroup process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea

    Myung-Ho Chung, Yumi Ko & Jee-Young Kim

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  1. Myung-Ho Chung
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  2. Yumi Ko
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Correspondence to Myung-Ho Chung.

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This paper was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2016S1A5A2A01024748).

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Chung, MH., Ko, Y. & Kim, JY. Group power structure, inter-subgroup cross-dependency, and work group performance. Asia Pac J Manag 37, 297–323 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-018-9627-3

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