If you’re putting together a team for a project, you might be inclined to pick people with cheerful, optimistic dispositions and flexible thinking. But a new management study indicates your team might also benefit from people who are exactly the opposite, according to experts at Rice University, the University of Western Australia, Bond University and the University of Queensland.

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The study, co-authored by Jing Zhou, the Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Management and Psychology at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, investigates the effects of “team affective diversity” on team creativity. The paper published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior is among the first research to reveal how, why and under what condition teams’ “affective diversity” promotes team creativity.

Team members with what researchers call “negative affect” exhibit critical and persistent thinking that allows them to identify problems needing solutions, as well as to search out and critically evaluate relevant information. On the other hand, team members with “positive affect” engage in broad and flexible thinking that expands their range of information and helps them see unusual and creative connections, the researchers say.

“At any given point in time, some team members may experience positive affect such as joy and inspiration, whereas others may experience negative affect such as frustration and worry,” Zhou said. “Instead of trying to homogenize team members’ affect, teams should embrace affective heterogeneity.”

When a team experiences a high level of this “affective heterogeneity,” what Zhou describes as “dual-tuning” leads to greater creativity.

The researchers tested their hypotheses among 59 teams working on a semesterlong project in an undergraduate management course at a university in Hong Kong. Each team developed a business plan, which involved designing a new product and differentiating it from potential competitors in the market.

Zhou stresses that a team’s “affective heterogeneity” can serve as a resource for team creativity. This unique type of diversity facilitates team creativity, provided the teams have a strong so-called “transactive memory system.”
 

“Our study suggests that teams may be aided in using their affect heterogeneity via interventions that focus on building the team’s transactive memory system, which can be accelerated when team members spend time together, share goals, receive information about member specializations and train on the task together,” Zhou said.

Zhou co-authored the paper with March To of the University of Western Australia, Cynthia Fisher of Bond University and Neal Ashkanasy of the University of Queensland.

For a copy of the study, “Feeling differently, creating together: Affect heterogeneity and creativity in project teams,” email jfalk@rice.edu.

For more information about and insights from Rice Business faculty research, visit the Rice Business Wisdom website, https://business.rice.edu/wisdom.

Updated from original post that was published on 07/28/2021.

Few resume items command instant respect like the word "veteran." At Rice Business, this respect translates to a major investment in attracting military veterans as students. The most concrete evidence: our participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program at the highest level possible for all our MBA programs. This means veterans in our programs who meet the length of service requirement are able to obtain funding for up to 100 percent of tuition and fees, a monthly housing allowance, and an annual book stipend. 

Unlike some schools, Rice Business doesn't limit the number of military MBA students who can use the program or the dollar amount it pays. Why this commitment? Rice Business values veterans both for their social contribution and because their skills predict success in business, Bethany Denton, Director of Student Financial Services, told me. 

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Casey Sherrod, Full-Time MBA, embodies these traits. "I decided to pursue my MBA because I want to bring the knowledge and skills I attain in business school to the fight as a strategic leader in the Army," she said. "My goal is to ultimately retire from the Army and return to Houston as a leader in the business community." 

After joining Army ROTC at the University of Houston, Sherrod deployed to Afghanistan as a platoon leader a year after graduating. Now a captain, she commands the largest Army recruiting company on the West Coast. But, she said, she always wanted to come back home to Houston, so she took advantage of the chance to study at Rice Business while still on active duty, with the Army covering her tuition.   

"The main thing I'd want to get across to veterans is just how good our benefits are," Denton said. GI Bill benefits at private schools are typically limited to an annual cap which seldom covers the full cost of graduate degrees, he explained, but in some cases, veterans who are eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program at Rice Business are able to have tuition and fees covered entirely. A supplement to the GI Bill, the program helps veterans cover out-of-state private and graduate education expenses that may not otherwise be covered with their standard GI Bill benefits. Business schools such as Rice choose how much they wish to pay of the tuition that remains.

To reflect its high priority in attracting veterans, Rice Business has opted into the highest level possible of the program, paying 50 percent of a veteran's remaining balance. In turn, Veterans Affairs (VA) matches this commitment dollar for dollar. As a result, eligible veterans can have their entire Rice MBA tuition covered. 

A Range of Academic Options

Our veteran students can select from an array of top-flight programs: Full-Time MBA, Professional MBA, Hybrid MBA, Executive MBA programs and the Master of Accounting (MAcc). Our acclaimed online MBA, MBA@Rice, has skyrocketed in popularity among active military students. 

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On campus, meanwhile, Rice Business offers its veteran scholars an environment full of specifically-tailored opportunities. "People at Rice legitimately care about each other, from the administration to the faculty and staff to the students and alumni," said Matthew Manriquez, Full-Time MBA. 

A former Combat Engineer Officer in the US Army, Manriquez is a shining example of the drive that veteran scholars typically bring to Rice Business. A fifth-generation Houstonian, Manriquez graduated from West Point and gained a global perspective by serving in Texas, South Korea, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. The first-generation college graduate in his family, he interned with Morgan Stanley, and now works in Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division. 

Knowledge, Experience, Energy

Reflecting on his education at Rice Business, Manriquez told Poets and Quants magazine, "There are so many incredible professors at Rice Business. One who stands out is Al Danto. Al teaches in our #1-ranked entrepreneurship department and I recently had the opportunity to take his enterprise acquisition class. I was impressed by his knowledge, experience and energy." 

Other veterans who've earned Rice MBAs praised Danto's special commitment to his students with military roots. An entrepreneur and managing partner of Exit Advisors, a mergers and acquisitions consulting firm, Danto is also an active equity investor with Beachhead Investment, committed to focusing on veteran-owned businesses. At Rice Business, where is a professor, Danto co-founded the Veterans Business Battle, the country's largest veteran-focused business plan competition. 

The annual competition gives invited veterans an arena for pitching business ideas to investors and lenders. In the final phase, the competitors get the chance to attend workshops in startup development and other skills, and to network with potential funders. Launched in 2015, the competition has provided more than $3.4 million in investment offers. 

A Powerful Networking Resource

The Business Battle was founded as a partnership between the Entrepreneurs' Organization of Houston and the Rice Business Veterans Association, now one of our school's most powerful networking resources. Launched to support veterans' transition to graduate school life, the club also offers leadership guidance, resume help and networking opportunities to all veterans at Rice. It's a hub for the entire Rice veteran community, and, Denton said, a constant source of referrals for prospective Rice Business students. 

The club is just one where our veteran scholars are leaders. Matthew Wilson, Full-Time MBA, was previously a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. At Rice Business, he not only was co-president of hte veterans' association, but he was also a member of the Energy Association, the Finance Association and Rice Business Gives Back, in which student leaders launch projects to help the Houston community. 

That high level of contribution is a key reason why we go to such lengths to welcome veterans, Denton told me. 

"Veterans come in with a unique experience level, often with a background in leadership of large groups of other military, and they transition to the business world with the skills they have received from their service," he said. "What I have seen with other military students is that they are immediately leaders in student clubs and organizations. A lot of them also come from backgrounds like West Point, which are equally or more selective than we are. So they tend to be self-selecting and well-positioned to transition into the business world." 

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