You are here

UCF Digital Collections ยป ETD Collection

Examining the impact of leader social distance on a multicultural team

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
2011
Abstract/Description:
Leading multicultural teams is one of the main challenges faced by today's leaders. The advantages often associated with multicultural teams (e.g., collaboration and integration of different knowledge, ideas, and approaches to a task) are often the major challenges in leading these teams. The literature on effective multicultural teams has identified leadership as an important factor for team effectiveness. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the effect of leader social distance in multicultural teams. A lab study was designed to test the impact of experimentally-manipulated leader social distance (socially close or socially distant) on the relationship between team member diversity and team affect, processes, and performance. Results varied for female and for male teams. Specifically, the nature of the interactions between leadership and team diversity depended on the specific cultural dimension measured and the gender of the team. In the end, the impact of diversity on culture in female teams was improved by close leaders (the relationships were positive), and worsened by distant leaders (the relationships were negative) for team affect, processes and viability. For male teams, the impact of diversity was always negative in both leader conditions; however, in distant leader conditions the relationship was more negative. Implications for theory and practice are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
Title: Examining the impact of leader social distance on a multicultural team.
50 views
24 downloads
Name(s): DiazGranados, Deborah, Author
Salas, Eduardo, Committee Chair
Jentsch, Kimberly, Committee CoChair
Pritchard, Robert, Committee Member
Piccolo, Ronald, Committee Member
Burke, Shawn, Committee Member
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2011
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Leading multicultural teams is one of the main challenges faced by today's leaders. The advantages often associated with multicultural teams (e.g., collaboration and integration of different knowledge, ideas, and approaches to a task) are often the major challenges in leading these teams. The literature on effective multicultural teams has identified leadership as an important factor for team effectiveness. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the effect of leader social distance in multicultural teams. A lab study was designed to test the impact of experimentally-manipulated leader social distance (socially close or socially distant) on the relationship between team member diversity and team affect, processes, and performance. Results varied for female and for male teams. Specifically, the nature of the interactions between leadership and team diversity depended on the specific cultural dimension measured and the gender of the team. In the end, the impact of diversity on culture in female teams was improved by close leaders (the relationships were positive), and worsened by distant leaders (the relationships were negative) for team affect, processes and viability. For male teams, the impact of diversity was always negative in both leader conditions; however, in distant leader conditions the relationship was more negative. Implications for theory and practice are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
Identifier: CFE0004100 (IID), ucf:49114 (fedora)
Note(s): 2011-12-01
Ph.D.
Sciences, Psychology
Doctoral
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): leadership -- multicultural teams -- teamwork -- social distance -- power distance
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004100
Restrictions on Access: public 2011-12-15
Host Institution: UCF

In Collections