Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, United States
The similarity attraction effect, where people generally like and are attracted to similar others, is a well-established social phenomenon. In this research, we provide one of the first direct cross-cultural comparisons of this effect in work settings. Utilizing diverse workplace contexts including hiring, workplace conflict and dispute, and workplace helping, we demonstrate that compared to Americans, East Asians exhibit higher levels of perceived threat from and aversion toward institutionally and functionally similar others at work. We find that East Asians’ higher levels of aversion toward similar others at work is driven by higher levels of perceived interpersonal competition compared to Americans. Further, we find that the ingroup membership status of similar others is a critical moderating factor for East Asians’ similarity aversion such that East Asians exhibit significantly less aversion toward ingroup similar others compared to non-ingroup similar others, whereas Americans exhibit similar judgments toward similar others regardless of the ingroup membership status of similar others. Theoretical implications on culture, similarity-attraction, ingroup formation and conflict management, as well as practical implications are discussed.