To Your Heart's Content: A Model of Affective Diversity in Top Management Teams

Abstract

In this study we develop a model of how diversity in positive affect (PA) among group members influences individual attitudes, group processes, and group performance. We test the model on a sample of 62 U.S. top management teams. Greater affective fit between a team member and his or her group is related to more positive attitudes about group relations and perceptions of greater influence within the group. Results also suggest there is a negative relationship between a team's diversity in trait positive affect and both the chief executive officers' use of participatory decision making and financial performance. Exploratory analyses reveal that affectively diverse, low mean trait PA groups experienced the greatest task and emotional conflict and the least cooperation. Analyses of diversity in trait negative affect produced no significant results. We discuss the implications of our study for the group emotion, team composition, group performance, and top management team literatures.