To Your Heart's Content: An Affective Diversity Model In Top Management Teams

Abstract

This study examines positive affective diversity, differences in positive affective personality among group members, to understand how this diversity influences individual attitudes, group processes, and group performance. We develop a Positive Affective Diversity Model, and test it on a sample of 62 U.S. CEOs and their top management teams (TMTs). Greater affective fit between a TMT member and their group is related to more positive attitudes about group relations, and self-perceptions of greater influence within the group. There is a marginally significant negative relationship between team trait positive affective diversity and the CEOs' use of participator decision making, as well as between TMT trait positive affective diversity and financial performance. Exploratory analyses of the interaction of trait positive affective diversity and mean level trait positive affect revealed that affectively diverse, low mean trait PA groups, suffered from the greater task and emotional conflict and least cooperation. There were no effects found for trait negative affective diversity or mean level of group trait negative affect on any of the dependent variables. We discuss the overall implications of our study, and the specific implications for the group emotion, team composition, group performance, and top management team literatures.