Perceived difference in expertize and individual performance in cross-functional teams

Abstract

Previous studies examining diverse team knowledge resources and individual members' performance largely follow the information perspective and propose that team informational diversity may help individuals perform better. Unlike previous authors, we integrate arguments from subgroup theory and the social categorization perspective to argue that when a person works in a cross-functional team, perceiving differences in expertize with other teammates may decrease the person's social exchange relationship with colleagues, that is, team-member exchange/TMX. Thus, perceived differences in expertize with other teammates may reduce TMX and, in turn, weaken individual task performance. Moreover, team members' social exchange relationship with the leader/LMX may offset the individual's deficiency in TMX to complement the person's task performance. We examine dyadic data collected from Taiwanese worker-supervisor pairs and find support for our hypotheses.