Are distrust relationships beneficial for group performance? The influence of the scope of distrust on the emergence of collective intelligence

Collective intelligence is a powerful concept explaining why some groups perform better than others in solving different tasks. How collective intelligence can be improved so as to reach higher group performance? In this paper we contribute to answer this research question by focusing on a new process leading to the emergence of collective intelligence in decision-making groups, i.e. consensus reaching, and by investigating the influence of the scope of distrust on group performance. We develop a simulation model of the group decision-making process, where the collective dynamics are governed by a continuous-time Markov process, whose transition rates are properly defined to take into account the influence of social relationships and the search of high performing solutions. A simulation analysis is carried out for increasing values of scope of control in groups characterized by varying strength and density of social relationships. Results show that the scope of distrust can be beneficial or not for group performance, depending on the strength and the density of social relationships. When the strength (density) of social relationships is too low, any scope of distrust is detrimental for group performance. However, when the strength (density) of social relationships is high, we find an optimal value of scope of distrust maximizing group performance. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are finally discussed.