| This dissertation examines relationships between cognitive diversity and innovation quality in diverse workgroup settings. A review of the literature reveals conflicting views on this subject. Diversity research in recent decades has primarily focused on surface-level diversity (e.g., race, gender) versus recent research agendas exploring deep-level diversity (e.g., cognitive, socio-cultural). Certain researchers promote models of innovation that value cognitive diversity, while others suggest that cognitive diversity acts as a disruptive force in the innovation process. Recognizing the polarity of these views, the present study uses a quantitative research design to determine if a statistically significant relationship exists between cognitive diversity and innovation. The study employs a workgroup task design involving nine four-member teams comprising three different control groups: homogenous, heterogeneous, and mixed workgroups. The research findings indicate that a U-shaped curvilinear relation exists between cognitive diversity and quality of innovation, revealing that workgroups stand to increase innovation performance when either higher levels of homogeneity or heterogeneity exist. These findings are supported by the diversity literatures that reflect similar bipolar views. The results of this research offer a third-way that recognizes the importance of unity and diversity in the innovation process and not one over the other.;Key Words: Diversity, Cognitive Diversity, Creativity, Innovation, Multinational Corporations, Workgroups. |
