Publications
Publications
  • August 2006
  • Article
  • Academy of Management Journal

Extending the Faultline Concept to Geographically Dispersed Teams: How Colocated Subgroups Can Impair Group Functioning

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Brad Crisp, Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa and Jerry W. Kim
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Abstract

We theorize that in geographically dispersed teams, members' geographic locations are likely to activate "faultlines" (hypothetical dividing lines that split a group into subgroups) that impair team functioning. In a study of 45 teams comprised of graduate students from 14 schools in ten countries, we found that geographic faultlines heightened conflict and reduced trust. These faultlines were stronger when a team was divided into two equally sized subgroups of colocated members and when these subgroups were homogeneous in nationality.

Keywords

Geographic Location; Nationality; Groups and Teams; Trust; Conflict and Resolution

Citation

Polzer, Jeffrey T., Brad Crisp, Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa, and Jerry W. Kim. "Extending the Faultline Concept to Geographically Dispersed Teams: How Colocated Subgroups Can Impair Group Functioning." Academy of Management Journal 49, no. 4 (August 2006). (This article was subject of a Recent Research of Note in the Organization Management Journal, Vol. 3, no. 3 (2006): 157-159.)

About The Author

Jeffrey T. Polzer

Organizational Behavior
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