Premium
The Ins and Outs of Diversity Management: The Effect of Authenticity on Outsider Perceptions and Insider Behaviors
Author(s) -
Smith Alexis Nicole,
Morgan Whitney Botsford,
King Eden B.,
Hebl Michelle R.,
Peddie Chad I.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2012.01021.x
Subject(s) - diversity (politics) , insider , diversity management , perception , reputation , psychology , social psychology , interpersonal communication , cultural diversity , sociology , political science , social science , neuroscience , law , anthropology
We extend prior work by disentangling the effects of 2 aspects of diversity management—numerical diversity and authenticity of efforts—that may contribute to people's perceptions and behavior. Using a 2 (Demographic Heterogeneity) × 2 (Projected Diversity Image) factorial design, Studies 1 and 2 revealed significant interactions suggesting that both demographic diversity and authentic attention to diversity management are necessary to create a reputation for genuine commitment to diversity that may protect organizations from perceptions of discrimination. The third study examined the effect of diversity management authenticity on insider employee interpersonal behaviors. Study 3 revealed that individuals enacted more interpersonal helping behaviors toward newcomers in more authentic organizations. Together, these studies examine authenticity from both inside and outside the company.