High performers and team performance in NBA teams

What is it about?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the conditions under which high performers increase team performance. It is hypothesized that the proportion of high performers in a team increases team performance but only up to a certain point, after which the marginal benefit decreases. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the negative effects on team performance of having too high a proportion of high performers are weaker in teams where there is greater age diversity among the high performers and stronger in those where there is less age diversity. These hypotheses are tested by analyzing panel data on National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and the analyses provide support for both hypotheses.

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Why is it important?

The study’s most important contribution is that it sheds light on how the interplay between multiple status hierarchies may facilitate collaboration between high performers in teams and organizations, allowing them to exhibit very high performance.