Diversity, Dissent and Innovation (WITHDRAWN)

Abstract

Multidisciplinary teams have the capacity to innovate and solve complex problems largely due to their breadth of knowledge. However, the diverse composition of such teams can lead to conflict and tension, which undermines productivity. This poses a challenge for organizations who want to realize the benefits of multidisciplinary teams without risking the potential for intra-team hostility. Such equivocal results, echoed in the broader diversity literature, have led researchers to explore the potential for diversity’s effect to be curvilinear and contingent. One surprising omission in this quest to understand the curvilinear effects of professional diversity is attention to writing on the sociology of the professions that highlights the influence of professional identity and the varying degrees of status ascribed to different professional groups. We draw on this literature, as well as diversity and social identity theories, to posit that professional diversity’s curvilinear effect on team innovation is mediated by minority dissent and dependent upon professional identity and perceived interprofessional equity. Our quantitative, survey-based study of 74 US healthcare teams supports the utility of our model and contributes to the evolving discussion on professional diversity. We address substantial gaps in our understanding of how profession influences the dynamics of diverse teams and attempt to account for ambiguities in the impact of professional diversity. We build on accumulating evidence that the influence of team diversity depends on social identity and status dynamics, and build understanding of how professional diversity and identity may together determine team innovation.