Affirmative action and team performance: An agency theoretic perspective

Abstract

This study investigates how affirmative action affects team performance by taking an analytic approach. Given that affirmative action discerns two subgroups within a team, which are a group of beneficiaries (BA) and a group of non-beneficiaries (NA) from affirmative action, we formulate a formal model to specify how these subgroups respond to the affirmative action under an employment contract. With this formal model, we propose that the interaction between the BA's capacity and the NA's leveraging action is essential for team performance. This helps expand our knowledge as to how organizations can strategize affirmative action to enhance team performance. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.