The Impact of Group Diversity and Kunja Leadership on Group Performance

Abstract

This article studied the impact of group diversity and kunja leadership on group performance and studied the moderating effect of kunja leadership on the relationship between group diversity and group performance from a social capital perspective. Group diversity was evaluated in terms of demographic, job-related, and values-based measures. Demographic diversity was measured by the degree of variability in age and gender within a team. Job-related diversity was measured by the degree of variability within a team in education levels, positions, types of jobs and team members' tenure worked with current team leader. Value diversity was measured by the degree of separation in both Confucian values and in Western values found within a team. Specially, the Confucian values were measured in Ryu(2007)' Korean Confucian values, while the level of Western values using the Rokeach Value Survey. Kunja leadership refers to a team leader exhibiting moral virtues of a kunja-an ideal person in Confucian society. Group performance was evaluated by the company's executive directors. Data were collected from 288 team members, 66 team leaders and 12 executive directors in 66 teams of 10 Korean corporations. The results were as follows: Of the control variables, group size and the degree of group formalization were positively related to group performance, while a leader's tenure was negatively related to group performance. Of the independent variables, team members' tenure diversity, Western values diversity, and kunja leadership were positively related to group performance. In addition, the facets of kunja leadership of humanity, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trustworthiness were positively related to group performance, with courtesy having the most positive relationship. Kunja Leadership was found to positively moderate the relationship between diversity in educational levels and group performance, and to positively moderate the relationship between diversity in Confucian values and group performance. However, kunja leadership negatively moderated the relationship between diversity in Western values and group performance.