This paper examines the factors that shape status disagreement – differing perceptions among team members regarding who has how much status – in culturally diverse teams. We theorize that teams with greater diversity in collectivism are likely to experience higher levels of status disagreement (Hypothesis 1), and that greater status disagreement in turn harms team performance (Hypothesis 2). Importantly, however, we posit that the relationship between collectivism diversity and status disagreement can be mitigated if the team includes one or more multicultural members, who can help align team members’ status perceptions (Hypothesis 3). We find support for these hypotheses in two studies of 721 (Study 1) and 210 (Study 2) culturally diverse teams. Taken together, our theory and results advance emerging research on status disagreement and contribute to theories of social hierarchies and cultural diversity in teams, while also providing actionable insight for managers of culturally diverse teams.
