Some differences make a difference: Individual dissimilarity and group heterogeneity as correlates of recruitment, promotions, and turnover.
Abstract
Schneider's (1987) attraction-selection-attrition model and Pfeffer's (1983) organization demography model were used to generate individual-level and group-level hypotheses relating interpersonal context to recruitment, promotion, and turnover patterns. Interpersonal context was operationalized as personal dissimilarity and group heterogeneity with respect to age, tenure, education level, curriculum, alma mater, military service, and career experiences. For 93 top management teams in bank holding companies examined over a 4-yr period, turnover rate was predicted by group heterogeneity. For individuals, turnover was predicted by dissimilarity to other group members, but promotion was not. Team heterogeneity was a relatively strong predictor of team turnover rates. Furthermore, reliance on internal recruitment predicted subsequent team homogeneity.
Cites (1)
- Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token WomenKanter, Rosabeth Moss · 1977 · American Journal of Sociology
Cited by (23)
- Knowledge Transfer: A Basis for Competitive Advantage in FirmsArgote, Linda, Ingram, Paul · 2000 · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
- E Pluribus Unum : Diversity and Community in the Twenty‐first Century The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize LecturePutnam, Robert D. · 2007 · Scandinavian Political Studies
- What Makes Teams Work: Group Effectiveness Research from the Shop Floor to the Executive SuiteCohen, Susan G., Bailey, Diane E. · 1997 · Journal of Management
- Searching for Common Threads: Understanding the Multiple Effects of Diversity in Organizational GroupsMilliken, Frances J., Martins, Luis L. · 1996 · The Academy of Management Review
- Exploring the Black Box: An Analysis of Work Group Diversity, Conflict and PerformancePelled, Lisa Hope, Eisenhardt, Kathleen M., Xin, Katherine R. · 1999 · Administrative Science Quarterly
How to cite
Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Some differences make a difference: Individual dissimilarity and group heterogeneity as correlates of recruitment, promotions, and turnover. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0021-9010.76.5.675
- The paper
- Jackson, S. E., Brett, J. F., Sessa, V. I., & Cooper, D. M. (1991). Some differences make a difference: Individual dissimilarity and group heterogeneity as correlates of recruitment, promotions, and turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.76.5.675
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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.