When We Unite, Not Divide: Status Homophily, Status Group, and Group Pperformance in the Korean Film

Abstract

This study sheds light on status conflicts as a mechanism behind the negative effect of status homophily on group performance. In a short-term project group without a well-established local status hierarchy, status homophily among group members may cause status conflicts and reduce group performance. However, we argue that the intensity of status conflicts may vary by the average status of group members, that is, status group. A middle-status group, composed of middle-status members on average, focus on both global and local status attainments, so they may suffer less from status conflicts than high- and low-status groups whose members mainly focus on local status attainments. We test our hypotheses in the South Korean film industry from 2004 to 2017. The statistical results suggest that status homophily among actor/actress was negatively correlated with commercial performance, but this negative effect was the weakest for films with middle-status performers.