دانلود رایگان مقاله تنوع موثر و هوش هیجانی در تیم های منبع یابی میان کارکردی

abstract

In cross-functional sourcing teams, differences in goals and personality traits can lead to tensions and reduced effectiveness. Diversity in teams can be conceptualized as surface-level diversity (e.g., gender, nationality) or as deep-level diversity (e.g., personality, attitudes). This study investigates the potentially negative effects of one category of deep-level diversity – namely, affective trait diversity – on sourcing team performance and how such negative effects might be mitigated through team members' emotional intelligence. The study analyzes a sample of 88 sourcing teams (234 team members) using moderated regression analyses. Sourcing team cohesion is found to fully mediate the relationship between affective diversity and team performance, while the collective emotional intelligence of the sourcing team positively moderates the diversity-cohesion relationship (moderated mediation). Thus, this study provides insights into both the mechanics of team diversity and the critical role of collective emotional intelligence in sourcing teams and thereby enables supply managers to better understand cross-functional team setups and effectiveness.

6. Discussion

Our findings suggest that aggregated emotional intelligence of team members is a critical factor in cross-functional sourcing teams in that it positively moderates the link between affective diversity and team cohesion and subsequently has a positive influence on sourcing team performance. Especially in cross-functional sourcing teams – where members from different functions with different knowledge and functional goals need to make joint decisions for or against a supplier – diversity research seems warranted. Not surprisingly, one of the biggest challenges supply managers face every day is relationship management among team members who represent different functions and who try to adhere to a democratic, transparent decision-making process (Schneider and Wallenburg, 2013). In cross-functional sourcing team settings, team members’ expectations and personalities need to be managed, with the goal of fostering a productive team culture in which the team can handle ambiguities. When differences cannot be reconciled, unproductive team debate and conflicts might lead to performance gaps. In contrast, when sourcing team members possess adequate levels of emotional intelligence – the ability to perceive and manage their own and others’ emotions – the negative consequences resulting from diverse goals and traits can be mitigated.