A status perspective on the consequences of work group diversity

In accounting for the positive and negative consequences of work group diversity, researchers have generally relied on the information/decision-making (i.e., diversity as variety) and the social categorization (i.e., diversity as separation) perspective, respectively. In this conceptual paper we argue that there is a need to integrate status-related processes (i.e., diversity as disparity) as key to understanding the outcomes of work group diversity. Based on expectation states theory, we argue that status differences between group members automatically emerge when group members differ in their characteristics and/or associated (informational) resources. These within-group status differences lead to the formation of a status configuration, an informal social order that serves a coordination function. We propose that the effect of a status configuration on group performance depends on the interplay between the veridicality, the legitimacy and the stability of a status configuration. We discuss how our propositions can be tested and how our status perspective relates to the information/decision-making and the social categorization perspective. We close with a discussion on the implications of our status perspective for practitioners.