Diversity in team composition, relationship conflict and team leader support on globally distributed virtual software development team performance

Purpose – This study aims to investigate whether diversity in team composition leads to relationship conflict, and, consequently, relationship conflict leads to team performance, and whether team leader support moderates the negative effects of relationship conflict on team performance. Design/methodology/approach – For the study, 216 team members working in globally distributed virtual software development projects responded. To examine the hypothesized relationships, structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation was performed. Findings – It was found that diversity in team composition leads to relationship conflict, relationship conflict leads to team performance and team leader support moderates the latter relationship. Practical implications – The findings suggest the role of team leaders in reducing the harmful effect of relationship conflict on team performance. The findings imply the need of providing training to team leaders to create cohesive teams that deliver on project goals. Originality/value – Empirical studies on globally distributed virtual teams could provide new insights into challenges and issues associated with team composition, relationship conflict and team leader support in achieving higher levels of team performance.