A study on diversity in school majors and process conflict: Focusing on the moderating effect of group efficacy in IT industry

Workgroup diversity may positively or negatively affect workgroup performance. In this paper, we choose diversity in school majors (DIM) as a basis of workgroup diversity and process conflict as an organizational outcome. And we examine the relationship between workgroup diversity and process conflict as moderated by group efficacy. We introduce the categorization-elaboration model (CEM) as the theoretical underpinning. Based on CEM theory, the present study examines the possibility that both high and low levels of diversity in school majors (DIM) enhance process conflict. In contrast, intermediate diversity in school majors (DIM) restricts it, resulting in a curvilinear U-shaped function. Data were collected from employees and their immediate supervisors of a Korean firm in the IT industry. We obtained a sample 48 teams with 294 members. This study reports a curvilinear relationship between workgroup DIM and process conflict. And it exhibits that group efficacy moderated the relationship between workgroup DIM and process conflict This study contributes to both the diversity and the conflict literature. And we suggest a practical strategy for managing diversity in the workplace, highlighting group efficacy. Through a scenario, we provided a more practical understanding of the impact of workgroup diversity on process conflict as workgroup performance.