New publication for Prof. Gruber in the Strategic Management Journal
© Strategic Management Journal
Marc Gruber’s recent paper (with K. Hoisl, A. Conti) titled “R&D Team Diversity and Performance in Hypercompetitive Environments" has been accepted for publication in Strategic Management Journal (SMJ). This journal ranks among the best management journal worldwide.
Abstract
This paper examines the effects of an R&D team’s composition on its performance outcomes in hypercompetition. The fundamental feature of firms in hypercompetition is that they are constantly challenged to improve their competitiveness to outperform one another and it is not clear whether firm R&D teams in these settings follow the same paradigms as teams in more stable environments. Analyzing a unique data set from Formula 1 motorsport racing, we find an inverse U-shaped relationship between a team’s diversity in task-related experience and its performance – an important result that diverges from well-established theories developed in more stable environments. Fundamentally, we also show that the role of R&D team diversity in experience varies depending on the size of the organizations in which R&D teams operate.