Collaboration And Creativity: When Competition Enters In, Women Check Out
Monday, August 11, 2014 - 16:31
in Psychology & Sociology
Recent papers have suggested that women improve small working groups and so adding women to a group is a surefire way to boost team collaboration and creativity. A new study from Washington University in St. Louis says that is only true when women there is no competition. Force teams to go head to head and the benefits of a female approach evaporate. "Intergroup competition is a double-edged sword that ultimately provides an advantage to groups and units composed predominantly or exclusively of men, while hurting the creativity of groups composed of women," said Markus Baer, PhD, lead author of the study and associate professor of organizational behavior at Olin Business School. read more