The nexus between diversity management (DM) and organizational performance (OP): mediating role of cognitive and affective diversity

Abstract

Purpose Present day organizations are considering workforce diversity as one of the main challenges in the human resource management. This study aims to find out the relationship between diversity management (DM) in the context of strategic human resource management (SHRM) and organizational performance (OP). An attempt is made to find out the mediation effect of cognitive diversity (CD) and affective diversity (AD) in the relationship between DM and OP. Design/methodology/approach The constructs investigated in the present study include DM, OP, CD and AD. Structural equation modeling has been used to test the model fit. The data was collected from 50 human resource professionals working in different organizations in the information technology (IT) sector in Bangalore, India. Confirmatory factor analysis has been used for establishing the reliability. Findings The results show that there exists a significant relationship between DM and OP. This significant positive relationship can be attributed to the mediating role of CD and significant negative relationship is because of the AD. Research limitations/implications This study has several limitations. In this study, only three DM practices have been considered. The generalization of the results is another limitation as the study has been conducted in the IT sector in Bangalore, India. Similarly, sample size also affects the implications of an empirical study and sample size in this study is small. This study has investigated only the impact of two aspects of diversity, cognitive and affective, while neglecting the effect of communicational and symbolic processes. Practical implications The results indicate that organizations must consider that by providing intercultural trainings (ICTs), work–life balance (WLB) and work-time flexibility options, the negative aspects of diversity can be minimized. Moreover, organizations should encourage the task conflict which leads to better decision-making as well as creates a sense of group identification, which may help in the avoidance of negative consequences of AD. Originality/value This study is undertaken to find out the effect of certain diversity-oriented SHRM practices such as flexible working times, WLB, ICT and its impact on the OP in the Indian IT industry. This study has investigated the mediating role of CD and AD on the relationship between diversity-oriented SHRM practices and OP, which is the novelty of this study. Third, the study has been undertaken considering that there is a dearth of research on the impact of AD and CD on OP in the Indian context.

The relation between project team conflict and user resistance in software projects

“…Nevertheless, matters internal to the project team may affect the user resistance in the implementing organization even if the project is fully outsourced as it may affect antecedents of user resistance, such as communication and user involvement [ 3 , 17 , 21 , 22 ]. Since all three types of conflicts can affect team performance [ 24 , 30 , 35 ], including the performance of the interaction with users of developed software, we posit the following hypotheses:…”

“…Like resistance to change, studies show that conflict can contribute to better project outcomes [ 28 ]. While relationship conflict is generally associated with negative consequences [ 29 ], task and process conflicts may be associated with both negative and positive outcomes depending on how they are handled [ 28 – 30 ]. Task and process conflicts are also commonly referred to as constructive conflict [ 28 , 29 ].…”

“…Team conflict has been well-researched in information systems research. For example, conflict has been studied in the context of software development process and software projects [ 26 , 27 , 29 , 31 – 33 ], employee well-being [ 23 , 25 ], creativity and innovation [ 28 , 34 ], organizational and team performance [ 30 , 35 ]. Literature on resistance and team conflict has been however developed separately with few studies attempting to merge knowledge from both streams of research [ 36 ].…”

Beyond the three monkeys of workforce diversity: Who hears, sees, and speaks up?

“…According to some studies, organizations that became aware of this situation started to change their HRM practices by the end of the 1990s ( Kemper et al, 2016 ) and diversity management has become an increasingly important part of HRM in organizations ( Davis et al, 2016 ). Indeed, workforce diversity is one of the main challenges in HRM ( Showkat and Misra, 2022 ).…”

“…There are findings that diversity reduces job satisfaction (e.g., Choi, 2013 ) and employee satisfaction, which refers to the extent to which employees are satisfied with their job in general or the specific facets of the job within the organization ( Dineen et al, 2007 ), and hurts the psychology of employees in general ( Taras et al, 2019 ). However, as highlighted in studies examining the positive relationship between diversity climate, diversity training, trust, and turnover (e.g., Ward et al, 2022 , Zhang and McGuire, 2022 ), the adverse effects of diversity can be compensated for if managed ( Stazyk et al, 2012 ; Showkat and Misra, 2022 ) and employee satisfaction levels can increase ( Pitts, 2009 ); minority employees may accrue benefits from diversity management activities ( Pitts, 2009 ; Ward et al, 2022 ). Some studies (e.g., Memon et al, 2021 ) indicate that the level of employee satisfaction with the HRM practices has a significant effect on the overall satisfaction level of employees.…”