Team heterogeneity and its relationship with team support and team effectiveness

Explores the origins of school-staff team effectiveness by focusing on team characteristics, especially on team heterogeneity and team support. Based on educational and organizational theory, we derived propositions about how heterogeneity may affect team support and team effectiveness. More specifically, we hypothesized that task-related attributes of heterogeneity (functional, educational, and team tenure) would relate positively to team support and team effectiveness, whereas relations-related attributes would relate negatively to team support and team effectiveness. With a sample of 48 teams, identified as intact work teams, we found results partially confirming our propositions. Specifically, high heterogeneous teams in gender and functions were more supportive and effective than low heterogeneous teams in those attributes. By contrast, high heterogeneous teams in tenure were less supportive and effective than low heterogeneous teams in that attribute. The results are discussed in light of the specific context of schools, and several theoretical and managerial implications are drawn.