Political Heterogeneity and Societal Polarization Impair Individual Performance: Evidence from Random Assignment in Professional Golf

We examine how political heterogeneity in groups affects individual performance in settings where people work alongside others. Leveraging the random assignment of golfers to groups in Professional Golfers’ Association Tour tournaments, we find that golfers score 0.2 strokes better per round when playing in politically homogeneous versus heterogeneous groups. This corresponds to a five-rank improvement before the tournament cut and an additional $13,000–$23,400 in tournament earnings. The effect intensifies during periods of high societal political polarization and diminishes when polarization is low. We propose that politically heterogeneous groups create a more stressful and less psychologically safe environment, reducing focus and leading to reduced performance. Consistent with this mechanism, analyses of shot-level data reveal that this effect is strongest during driving and putting shots when players are in close physical proximity. Our study contributes to the understanding of how political heterogeneity in groups affects individual performance in competitive settings, with implications for managing ideological differences in organizations. This paper was accepted by Sameer Srivastava, organizations. Funding: The authors appreciate financial help from Yale University and Fox International [fellowship]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.01798 .