Diversity management and OCB: the connection evidence from the Lebanese banking sector

• Published date: 16 April 2018
• Date: 16 April 2018
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-03-2017-0059
• Pages: 233-253
• Author: Rima Bizri
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity, equality, inclusion

Diversity management and OCB:

the connection evidence from the

Lebanese banking sector

Rima Bizri

College of Business Administration, Rafik Hariri University, Chouf, Lebanon

Abstract

Purpose –Research has shown that organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has a positive and significant

impact on organizational performance at a time when traditional monitoring and supervision practices are

showing a declining influence. This has triggered numerous research undertakings exploring the antecedents

of OCB, and how it can best be enhanced. Though many variables have been identified as predictors of OCB,

the purpose of this paper is to focus on the influence of diversity management on OCB and two of its

important antecedents: organizational commitment and work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach –The study used a survey instrument of pre-validated scales to measure

banking sector employees’perceptions of their affective and normative commitment (NC), OCB, and diversity

management practices at their organizations. Structural equation modeling was used with AMOS (20) to

empirically assess the relationships among constructs.

Findings –This study empirically confirmed the positive impact of diversity management on employees’

feelings of affective commitment tothe organization and engagement atwork, which in turn positively impact

employees’OCB.However, the findings negateany direct influence of diversitymanagement on NC or on OCB.

Originality/value –This study fills a gap in the literature by questioning the validity of applying the social

exchange theory to the concept of OCB.

Keywords Affective commitment, Organizational citizenship behavior, Normative commitment,

Engagement, Diversity management

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Organizations are constantly seeking ways to improve their performance, and are

increasingly considering organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) to be an important

means of enhancing productivity from within (Yang et al., 2016; Hart et al., 2016). Numerous

studies have investigated OCB and its antecedents, and many have been able to identify

significant predictors such as engagement (Geng et al., 2016; Hu et al., 2017) satisfaction

(Chan and Lai, 2017; Sabahi and Dashti, 2016; Somech, 2016), motivation ( Joo and Jo, 2017;

Somech and Khotaba, 2017; Grant, 2008), empowerment (Li et al., 2017; Akram et al., 2017)

and commitment (Devece et al., 2016) among others. An important predictor of OCB is

diversity management (Köllen, 2016; Kundu and Mor, 2016; Moon, 2016; Triana et al., 2015)

which ensures an organizational climate that promotes respect for diversity and inclusion.

However, very few studies have investigated the nature of the influence of diversity

management on OCB, and whether it affects OCB directly or indirectly through other

variables (Wombacher and Felfe, 2017), constituting a gap in the literature that this

paper aims to fill.

This paper proposes that an organization’s ability to effectively manage diversity would

likely increase its employees’feelings of organizational commitment and work engagement,

thereby promoting its members’citizenship behavior within the organization. The rationale

behind this expectation is that when the organizational climate supports diversity and

perceives it as an asset to be preserved and promoted, employees are likely to grow feelings Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 37 No. 3, 2018

pp. 233-253

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-03-2017-0059

Received 13 March 2017

Revised 14 August 2017

19 October 2017

Accepted 3 December 2017

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the reviewers whose valuable remarks and

insightful suggestions contributed significantly to the outcome of this paper.

233

Diversity

management

and OCB

of safety in and belongingness to their organization; feelings that could be translated into a

deep engagement in the work and commitment to the organization. In turn, those feelings

encourage employees to develop a desire to serve that organization which represents a safe

haven to them, where people are respected, consistently protected, and treated equitably.

This desire to serve is expected to grow as diversity management gets more ingrained in the

organization as one of the formal systems of management. Employees express the desire to

serve through behaviors that are valued by the organization and directed at the

organization itself, its environment, or its individual members (Robertson and Barling, 2017;

Organ, 1997), thus helping the organization boost its performance and achieve its objectives.

This study aims to investigate and measure the relationships among the constructs of

diversity management, work engagement, organizational commitment, and OCB. Though

previous studies have investigated the antecedents of OCB, none to the knowledge of the

author have linked it to diversity management through other variables like commitment and

engagement. The contributions of this study are twofold. First, it confirms the influence of

effective diversity management practices on affective commitment (AC) and work

engagement, and confirms the latter two attitudes’influence on OCB, suggesting an indirect

influence of diversity management on OCB. Second, the study disaffirms any direct

influence of diversity management on OCB and normative commitment (NC), suggesting

that employees’tendency to carry out citizenship behaviors are not subject to a reciprocal

exchange but rather a result of an attitudinal state. This study will fill a gap in the OCB

literature by confirming the influence of diversity management on the direct antecedents of

OCB, and not directly on OCB, which is important in guiding organizations in their efforts to

promote a culture of organizational citizenship.

This paper is organized in the following fashion: the next section will present a review of

the literature, followed by the context and research methodology. Findings are presented

and later discussed by relating the results to the literature and previous research. Finally, a

conclusion will summarize the study and its implications for practice and future research.

Literature review

Drawing on institutional theory, Yang and Konrad (2011) depicted how the antecedents and

implementation practices of diversity management will likely lead to enhanced external and

internal legitimacy. As a result, it is not uncommon that organizations within the same

environment would adopt those “legitimate”rules, norms, and practices that are similar, and

would therefore become similar themselves in a process termed institutional isomorphism

(DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), thereby leading to a common “legitimate”organizational

climate that supports diversity management. This is why it is pertinent to study the

influence of diversity management practices on relevant organization-science constructs

like commitment, engagement, and OCB in an entire industry (banking sector), where

organizations adopt similar “legitimate”HRM and operational practices.

The social exchange theory offers another perspective. It has its roots in the norm of

reciprocity which suggests that mutually beneficial exchange contributes to social stability

(Gouldner, 1960). Individuals feel obliged to respond, in kind, to favorable treatment by

others and reciprocate accordingly (Blau, 1964), engaging in social exchanges characterized

by long-term emotional attachments and commitment Masterson et al. (2000). Therefore,

when organizations use effective diversity management practices, creating an environment

of safety, equity, and inclusion; employees are likely to give back to that organization, by

way of reciprocity, in ways that are valued by the organization (Gouldner, 1960), such as

increased work engagement, commitment, and OCB. Given the above two theoretical

perspectives, the current paper proposes that OCB is positively influenced by diversity

management, work engagement, and organizational commitment, both normative and

affective. Please see conceptual model in Figures 1 and 2.

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