IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-03873741.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Diversity and Team Performance in a Kenyan Organization

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin Marx

    (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Vincent Pons

    (Harvard Business School - Harvard University)

  • Tavneet Suri

    (MIT Sloan - Sloan School of Management - MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

We present the results from a field experiment on team diversity. Individuals working as door-to-door canvassers for a non-profit organization were randomly assigned a teammate, a supervisor, and a list of individuals to canvass. This created random variation within teams in the degree of horizontal diversity (between teammates), vertical diversity (between teammates and their supervisor) and external diversity (between teams and the individuals they canvassed). We observe team-level measures of performance and find that horizontal ethnic diversity decreases performance, while vertical diversity often improves performance, and external diversity has no effect. The data on time use suggests that horizontally homogeneous teams organized tasks in a more efficient way, while vertically homogeneous teams exerted lower effort.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Marx & Vincent Pons & Tavneet Suri, 2021. "Diversity and Team Performance in a Kenyan Organization," Post-Print hal-03873741, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03873741
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104332
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03873741
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03873741/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104332?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elizabeth Lyons, 2017. "Team Production in International Labor Markets: Experimental Evidence from the Field," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 70-104, July.
    2. Kevin Lang, 1986. "A Language Theory of Discrimination," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(2), pages 363-382.
    3. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen, 2007. "Measuring and Explaining Management Practices Across Firms and Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1351-1408.
    4. Oriana Bandiera & Iwan Barankay & Imran Rasul, 2009. "Social Connections and Incentives in the Workplace: Evidence From Personnel Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(4), pages 1047-1094, July.
    5. Roland G. Fryer, Jr., 2014. "Injecting Charter School Best Practices into Traditional Public Schools: Evidence from Field Experiments," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(3), pages 1355-1407.
    6. Jenny C. Aker & Paul Collier & Pedro C. Vicente, 2017. "Is Information Power? Using Mobile Phones and Free Newspapers during an Election in Mozambique," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(2), pages 185-200, May.
    7. Barr, Abigail & Oduro, Abena, 2002. "Ethnic fractionalization in an African labour market," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 355-379, August.
    8. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo, 2016. "Field Experiments on Discrimination," NBER Working Papers 22014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Hoogendoorn, Sander M. & van Praag, Mirjam C., 2012. "Ethnic Diversity and Team Performance: A Field Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 6731, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Lazear, Edward P, 1999. "Globalisation and the Market for Team-Mates," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(454), pages 15-40, March.
    11. Prat, Andrea, 2002. "Should a team be homogeneous?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1187-1207, July.
    12. Barton H. Hamilton & Jack A. Nickerson & Hideo Owan, 2003. "Team Incentives and Worker Heterogeneity: An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Teams on Productivity and Participation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 465-497, June.
    13. Kandel, Eugene & Lazear, Edward P, 1992. "Peer Pressure and Partnerships," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(4), pages 801-817, August.
    14. Fafchamps, Marcel, 2000. "Ethnicity and credit in African manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 205-235, February.
    15. Jessica Cohen & Pascaline Dupas, 2010. "Free Distribution or Cost-Sharing? Evidence from a Randomized Malaria Prevention Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 1-45.
    16. Miguel, Edward & Gugerty, Mary Kay, 2005. "Ethnic diversity, social sanctions, and public goods in Kenya," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(11-12), pages 2325-2368, December.
    17. Thomas Fujiwara, 2015. "Voting Technology, Political Responsiveness, and Infant Health: Evidence From Brazil," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 423-464, March.
    18. Benjamin Marx & Thomas M. Stoker & Tavneet Suri, 2019. "There Is No Free House: Ethnic Patronage in a Kenyan Slum," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 36-70, October.
    19. David W. Nickerson, 2007. "Quality Is Job One: Professional and Volunteer Voter Mobilization Calls," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(2), pages 269-282, April.
    20. Moses Shayo & Asaf Zussman, 2011. "Judicial Ingroup Bias in the Shadow of Terrorism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(3), pages 1447-1484.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ashraf, Nava & Bandiera, Oriana & Minni, Virginia & Quintas-Martínez, Víctor, 2024. "Gender Gaps across the Spectrum of Development: Local Talent and Firm Productivity," IZA Discussion Papers 17103, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Hémet, Camille & Wren-Lewis, Liam & Mahoney, Jessica, 2023. "Decentralization, Ethnic Fractionalization, and Public Services: Evidence from Kenyan Healthcare," CEPR Discussion Papers 18059, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Bajzíková, Stanislava & Cingl, Lubomír, 2023. "Measuring stereotypes in effort tasks: A multiple-price list approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    4. Enzo Brox & Michael Lechner, 2024. "Teamwork and Spillover Effects in Performance Evaluations," Papers 2403.15200, arXiv.org.
    5. repec:pra:mprapa:120375 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Dahlstrand Rudin, Amanda, 2022. "Defying distance? The provision of services in the digital age," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118042, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Donald,Aletheia Amalia & Goldstein,Markus P. & Rouanet,Lea Marie, 2022. "Two Heads Are Better Than One : Agricultural Production and Investment in Côte d’Ivoire," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10047, The World Bank.
    8. Darova, Ornella & Duchene, Anne, 2024. "Diversity in Teams: Collaboration and Performance in Experiments with Different Tasks," MPRA Paper 121976, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. David Hardt & Lea Mayer & Johannes Rincke, 2023. "Who Does the Talking Here? The Impact of Gender Composition on Team Interactions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10550, CESifo.
    10. Lisa D. Cook & Linguère Mously Mbaye & Janet Gerson & Anthony Simpasa, 2021. "Working Paper 358 - The Colonial Origins of Banking Crisis in Africa," Working Paper Series 2484, African Development Bank.
    11. Darova, Ornella & Duchene, Anne, 2024. "Diversity in Teams: Collaboration and Performance in Experiments with Different Tasks," MPRA Paper 120519, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Amanda Dahlstrand, 2022. "Defying distance? The provision of services in the digital age," CEP Discussion Papers dp1889, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. Prithwiraj Choudhury & Kirk Doran & Astrid Marinoni & Chungeun Yoon, 2022. "Loss of Peers and Individual Worker Performance: Evidence from H-1B Visa Denials," CESifo Working Paper Series 10152, CESifo.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marx, Benjamin & Pons, Vincent & Suri, Tavneet, 2021. "Diversity and team performance in a Kenyan organization☆," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    2. Guido Friebel & Matthias Heinz & Miriam Krueger & Nikolay Zubanov, 2017. "Team Incentives and Performance: Evidence from a Retail Chain," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2168-2203, August.
    3. Edward P. Lazear, 1995. "Personnel Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262121883, April.
    4. Jonas Hjort, 2013. "Ethnic Divisions and Production in Firms," CESifo Working Paper Series 4449, CESifo.
    5. Brox, Enzo & Krieger, Tommy, 2022. "Birthplace diversity and team performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    6. Sander Hoogendoorn & Simon C. Parker & Mirjam van Praag, 2012. "Ability Dispersion and Team Performance: A Field Experiment," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 12-130/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    7. Josse Delfgaauw & Robert Dur & Oke Onemu & Joeri Sol, 2022. "Team Incentives, Social Cohesion, and Performance: A Natural Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(1), pages 230-256, January.
    8. Ruo SHANGGUAN & Jed DEVARO & OWAN Hideo, 2021. "Enhancing Team Productivity through Shorter Working Hours: Evidence from the Great Recession," Discussion papers 21040, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    9. Edward P. Lazear & Paul Oyer, 2012. "Personnel Economics [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
    10. Tom Fangyun Tan & Serguei Netessine, 2019. "When You Work with a Superman, Will You Also Fly? An Empirical Study of the Impact of Coworkers on Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(8), pages 3495-3517, August.
    11. Bernd Frick & Anica Rose, 2017. "Over the top: Team composition and performance in Himalayan expeditions," Working Papers Dissertations 24, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    12. Bassi, Vittorio & Nyshadham, Anant & Tamayo, Jorge & Adhvaryu, Achyuta, 2020. "No Line Left Behind: Assortative Matching Inside the Firm," CEPR Discussion Papers 14554, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Simon Burgess & Carol Propper & Marisa Ratto & Emma Tominey, 2017. "Incentives in the Public Sector: Evidence from a Government Agency," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 117-141, October.
    14. Arun Upadhyay, 2014. "Social Concentration on Boards, Corporate Information Environment and Cost of Capital," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(7-8), pages 974-1001, September.
    15. Peter Kuhn & Marie-Claire Villeval, 2011. "Do Women Prefer a Co-operative Work Environment?," Working Papers 1127, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    16. Derek C. Jones & Takao Kato, 2011. "The Impact of Teams on Output, Quality, and Downtime: An Empirical Analysis Using Individual Panel Data," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(2), pages 215-240, January.
    17. Bartoš, Vojtěch & Levely, Ian, 2021. "Sanctioning and trustworthiness across ethnic groups: Experimental evidence from Afghanistan," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    18. Levely, Ian & Bartos, Vojtech, 2018. "Sanctioning and Trustworthiness Across Ethnic Groups," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 107, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    19. De Paola, Maria & Gioia, Francesca & Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2019. "Free-riding and knowledge spillovers in teams: The role of social ties," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 74-90.
    20. Gosnell, Greer & Metcalfe, Robert & List, John A, 2016. "A new approach to an age-old problem: solving externalities by incenting workers directly," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 84331, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ethnic diversity; Organizational behavior; Labor management; Performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03873741. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.