Socio‐demographic factors and shared leadership behaviors in dispersed teams: Implications for human resource management

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21488
• Published date: 01 July 2012
• Date: 01 July 2012
• Author: Sarah Gehrlein,Martin Hoegl,Miriam Muethel

S OCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS

AND SHARED LEADERSHIP

BEHAVIORS IN DISPERSED TEAMS:

IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

MIRIAM MUETHEL, SARAH GEHRLEIN,

AND MARTIN HOEGL

Companies increasingly make use of geographically dispersed teams to

capture knowledge residing at different locations. In this context, shared

leadership is considered a key enabler of team performance. Taking a func-

tional perspective on shared leadership, we thus investigate the relationship

between shared leadership behaviors and team performance in disper sed

teams. Furthermore, we analyze how socio-demographic factors that are

characteristic for dispersed teams (i.e., high female-to-male ratio, high mean

age, and high levels of national diversity) affect shared leadership behaviors.

Based on data from 96 dispersed teams, we show that shared leadership

behavior fosters team performance. Further, we fi nd the socio-demographic

characteristics typical for dispersed teams to foster shared leadership. The-

oretical and managerial implications for human resource management are

discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: shared leadership, dispersed teams, team composition, socio-

demographic factors, age, national diversity, female-to-male ratio

Introduction

T he strategic flexibility organizations

need in order to gain competitive ad-

vantage in an increasingly dynamic

and complex environment brings

along challenges for the work organi-

zation as well as the HR function (Harvey,

Novicevic, & Garrison, 2004). Globally dis-

tributed projects potentially offer such a de-

gree of strategic flexibility (Monalisa et al.,

2008; Siebdrat, Hoegl, & Ernst, 2009). How-

ever, dispersed teams demonstrate difficulties

in capturing this advantage, as 50 percent of

all dispersed teams have been shown to fail

Correspondence to: Miriam Muethel, WHU—Otto Beisheim School of Management, Chair of Organizational

Behavior, Burgplatz 2, 56179 Vallendar, Germany, Phone: 49 (0) 261 6509 310, Fax: 49 (0) 261 6509 319,

E-mail: miriam.muethel@whu.edu

Human Resource Management,

Human Resource Management, July–August 2012, Vol. 51, No. 4. Pp. 525–548

© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI:10.1002/hrm.21488

526 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, JULY–AUGUST 2012

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

Extant research

indicates that

shared leadership is

particularly effective

in task contexts

that are knowledge-

intensive, highly

interdependent,

complex, and

dynamic.

teams. As such, computer-mediated commu-

nication, which is a central element of dis-

persed collaboration, allows tele-working,

which, in turn, offers women the chance to

flexibly coordinate their job activities and thus

to participate in the labor market (Bailey &

Kurland, 2002). In this vein, companies such

as BMW make strategic use of tele-working to

integrate women into their workforce (BMW

Group, 2002). Furthermore, due to the tech-

nical sophistication needed for computer-

mediated collaboration, it is particularly young

people who are attracted by the opportunity

to collaborate in dispersed teams (Kearney &

Gebert, 2009). Finally, computer-mediated

communication allows for crossing physical

boundaries, so that they are often used for

cross-cultural collaboration (O’Leary &

Mortensen, 2010). In sum, specific socio-

demographic characteristics of dispersed teams

capture high levels of female-to-male ratio,

low mean age, and high levels of national di-

versity. These characteristics, in turn, influ-

ence leadership processes. Research on these

topics, however, is quite contradictory. While

some researchers point to the specific leader-

ship skills of women (Fenwick & Neal, 2001),

others remain reliant on gender stereotypes

(i.e., women are passive and less confident in

leading others), despite empirical analyses

that contradict such stereotypes (Northouse,

2001). Furthermore, there is a lack of studies

on the effects of age cohorts in leadership

(Verworn, Schwarz, & Herstatt, 2009), while

research on national diversity and leadership

is highly inconsistent ( Joshi & Roh, 2009).

We address these research gaps by specify-

ing shared leadership behaviors and their

positive relationship with team performance

in dispersed teams. Even further, we elaborate

how socio-demographic characteristics spe-

cific for dispersed teams (i.e., high female-to-

male ratio, low mean age, and high national

diversity) are likely to influence shared lead-

ership behaviors in dispersed teams. As such,

we offer several contributions.

First, this article contributes to research

on shared leadership. Elaborating on shared

leadership behaviors, we point to certain

team behaviors as the foundation of shared

leadership in dispersed teams. Highlighting

meeting their objectives due to their inability to

coordinate their activities (Kanawattanachai &

Yoo, 2002).

However, coordination problems in geo-

graphically dispersed teams can be overcome

if team members share leadership responsi-

bilities (Cox, Pearce, & Perry, 2003). Shared

leadership is defined as a “dynamic, interac-

tive influence process among individuals of a

group for which the objective is to lead one

another to the achievement of group or orga-

nizational goals or both” (Pearce & Conger,

2003a, p. 1). It comprises team members’

identification of action needs and the subse-

quent initiation of action flows to revise and

adapt work strategies for team goal achieve-

ment (Hoegl & Muethel, 2007).

Extant research indicates that

shared leadership is particularly

effective in task contexts that are

knowledge-intensive, highly in-

terdependent, complex, and dy-

namic (Avolio, Jung, Murr y, &

Sivasubramaniam, 1996; Ensley,

Hmieleski, & Pearce, 2006;

Pearce, Yoo, & Alavi, 2004;

Sivasubramaniam, Murry, Avolio, &

Jung, 2002)—precisely the types

of tasks most often accomplished

by dispersed teams (Bell &

Kozlowski, 2002). Empirical evi-

dence for this positive relationship

in the context of geographic dis-

persion, however, has not yet been

found, and behaviors that are

likely to form shared leadership in

dispersed teams have not yet been identified.

Even further, geographically dispersed

teams differ from co-located teams with regard

to spacio-temporal and socio-demographic

aspects (O’Leary & Mortensen, 2010), which

are likely to influence leadership processes in

these teams. While concepts of e-leadership

have largely contributed to the spacio-

temporal side of leadership in dispersed teams

(see Avolio, Kahai, & Dodge, 2001; Cascio &

Shurygailo, 2003; Zaccaro & Bader, 2003),

socio-demographic aspects have been ne-

glected. However, dispersed teams also obtain

specific socio-demographic characteristics

that affect leadership processes in these