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The Impact of Gender Diversity on the Performance of Business Teams: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Sander Hoogendoorn

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Hessel Oosterbeek

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Mirjam van Praag

    (University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

This discussion paper resulted in an article in Management Science . Volume 59 issue 7, pages 1514-1528. This paper reports on a field experiment conducted to estimate the impact of the share of women in business teams on their performance. Teams consisting of undergraduate students in business studies start up a venture as part of their curriculum. We manipulated the gender composition of teams and assigned students randomly to teams, conditional on their gender. We find that teams with an equal gender mix perform better than male-dominated teams in terms of sales and profits. We explore various mechanisms suggested in the literature to explain this positive effect of gender diversity on performance (including complementarities, learning, monitoring, and conflicts) but find no support for them.

Suggested Citation

  • Sander Hoogendoorn & Hessel Oosterbeek & Mirjam van Praag, 2011. "The Impact of Gender Diversity on the Performance of Business Teams: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 11-074/3, Tinbergen Institute, revised 01 May 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20110074
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender diversity; team performance; entrepreneurship; field experiment; entrepreneurship education; board effectiveness;

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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