Diversity and Conflict in Boards of Directors

Abstract

This study seeks to contribute to the debate on board behavior by investigating how deeper-level diversity, specifically differences in personality, interacts with demographic diversity to explain board cognitive and affective conflict. Using survey data from a pilot study of 98 directors in 16 UK boards, we show that dissimilarities in personality traits are negatively related to cognitive conflict, but this relationship is moderated by gender and tenure diversity. Personality differences do not explain affective conflict. The study provides insights into how theories from psychology may help us understand antecedents to board behaviors