Stratification or Polarization: a Qualitative Study of the Formation of Status-Based Subgroups in China

Researchers continue to debate about how high-status and low-status members will divide into subgroups. The purpose of this research is to enrich the faultline, subgroup, and status literature by specifying how and why status-based subgroups (i.e., subgroups based on status positions) are formed within a team. This research employed a grounded theory approach and conducted interviews with 111 individuals distributed over 21 work teams in Chinese highly competitive industries. The results identify two typical formation patterns of the status-based subgroup: vertical stratification that indicates team members vertically split into different subgroups along status hierarchies, and horizontal polarization that indicates team members at the same status horizontally divided into different subgroups. Furthermore, the results distinguish different sources for the formation of stratified and polarized status-based subgroups. This study expands faultline and subgroup literature by identifying multiple formation patterns and sources of status-based subgroup, and contributes to status literature by clarifying how high-status and low-status members will bound together or split within a work team. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10869-022-09865-5.