Jacks-of-All-Trades? The Effect of Balanced Skills on Team Performance

31 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2014

See all articles by Laura Rosendahl Huber

Laura Rosendahl Huber

University of Amsterdam

Randolph Sloof

University of Amsterdam - Faculty of Economics & Business (FEB); Tinbergen Institute

Mirjam van Praag

University of Amsterdam - Department of Economics; Copenhagen Business School; Tinbergen Institute; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

Previous empirical studies have shown that solo entrepreneurs benefit from having balanced skills: Jacks-of-All-Trades (JATs) are better entrepreneurs than specialists are. Nowadays however, the majority of entrepreneurs start up and run ventures together in teams.In this paper we test whether the effect of more balanced skills is also positive in a team of entrepreneurs. We also explore whether (a lack of) individual balanced skills can be substituted by combining the skills of various specialists within one team. Our field experiment studies teams of children participating in an entrepreneurship education program.Based on pupils' precisely measured level of verbal and mathematical ability, we exogenously compose 179 teams separated into four different types: JAT teams, math-specialist teams, verbal-specialist teams and mixed specialist teams. Our results show that balanced skills are beneficial to team performance, and that it is hard to substitute individual balanced skills by combining different specialists within one team.

Keywords: skill balance, team diversity, team performance, entrepreneurship, field experiment

JEL Classification: C93, D83, J24, L25, L26, M13

Suggested Citation

Rosendahl Huber, Laura and Sloof, Randolph and van Praag, Mirjam and van Praag, Mirjam, Jacks-of-All-Trades? The Effect of Balanced Skills on Team Performance. IZA Discussion Paper No. 8237, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2450428 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2450428

Laura Rosendahl Huber (Contact Author)

University of Amsterdam ( email )

Spui 21
Amsterdam, 1018 WB
Netherlands

Randolph Sloof

University of Amsterdam - Faculty of Economics & Business (FEB) ( email )

Roetersstraat 11
Amsterdam, 1018 WB
Netherlands
+31 20 525 5241 (Phone)
+31 20 525 4310 (Fax)

Tinbergen Institute ( email )

Gustav Mahlerplein 117
Amsterdam, 1082 MS
Netherlands

Mirjam Van Praag

Copenhagen Business School ( email )

Kilevej 14A
Frederiksberg, 2000
Denmark

University of Amsterdam - Department of Economics ( email )

Roetersstraat 11
Amsterdam, 1018 WB
Netherlands
+31 20 525 4096 (Phone)
+31 20 525 4182 (Fax)

Tinbergen Institute

Gustav Mahlerlaan
Amsterdam
Netherlands

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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