The Longitudinal Effects of Group Tenure Composition on Turnover

Demographic histories of top television station managers are examined to determine how they affect the rate of managerial turnover. Past research using cross-sectional data has found a positive association between contemporaneous levels of demographic heterogeneity and managerial turnover rates. However, by ignoring changes over time in group composition, such models implicitly assume that individuals “forget” their past demographic experiences. This analysis of the effect of group tenure heterogeneity over time on managers’ turnover rates suggests otherwise. The results indicate that individuals who have been members of heterogeneous groups throughout their tenure were more likely to exit the team; the current tenure composition of the group generally did not affect turnover rates. Sociologists interested in how groups affect individual behavior therefore should attend not only to contemporaneous social structures but also to the paths of change that generated those conditions.