When Both Similarities and Dissimilarities Matter: Extending the Concept of Relational Demography

The current study extends the concept of relational demography by considering both demographic similarities and demographic dissimilarities in supervisor-subordinate dyads. We further examined the effects of relational demography on both basic task performance and extra-role behaviors of the subordinates. We propose that demographic similarity, which engenders attraction, will be associated with extra-role behavior but not with basic task performance. We further propose that demographic dissimilarities that are consistent with relational norms will be associated with both types of performance. We tested these ideas on 335 supervisor-subordinate dyads in 10 US companies and found reasonable support for both hypotheses. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research on organizational demography and management of demographic differences that are inconsistent with social cultural norms.