Revisiting congruence effects in diversity research: views of diversity initiatives and experiences of belonging in a New Zealand healthcare organization

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-12-2021-0310
• Published date: 17 June 2022
• Date: 17 June 2022
• Pages: 1262-1288
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity,equality,inclusion
• Author: Joana R.C. Kuntz,Shalini Pandaram

Revisiting congruence effects

in diversity research: views of

diversity initiatives and

experiences of belonging in a New

Zealand healthcare organization

Joana R.C. Kuntz and Shalini Pandaram

University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Abstract

Purpose –This study drew on person-organization fit and ideological psychological contract theories to test

whether inclusiveness, operationalized as sense of belonging, could be explained by congruence/discrepancy

between employees’personal value of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and employees’viewsof

perceived organizational commitment to these initiatives. The study also examined whether sense of

belonging, and perspectives of DEI initiatives, differed between majority [New Zealand European (NZE)] and

minority [M

aori/Pasifika (MP)] workers.

Design/methodology/approach –A total of 771 employees from a New Zealand healthcare organization

completed an online survey. Further to mean difference tests to contrast majority and minority group

experiences, polynomial regressions with response surface methodology were conducted to examine

congruence effects on sense of belonging.

Findings –While MP workers attributed greater personal value to DEI initiatives and viewed the organization

as prioritizing these initiatives compared to NZ European (NZE) workers, MP workers experienced a lower

sense of belonging. Further, the authors’results show that congruence at higher levels of personal and

organizational importance ascribed to DEI initiatives was associated with greater sense of belonging. Contrary

to the deficiency-based discrepancy effect proposed, the lowest levels of belonging were experienced at low

levels of organizational commitment to DEI, regardless of personal diversity value. Additionally, MP were

more susceptible to ideological psychological contract breach than NZE workers.

Practical implications –The authors’study highlights that while positive diversity climate perceptions are

closely linked to perceptions of inclusion, organizations willdiscern the factors that contribute to or undermine

inclusiveness by also gaging personal value DEI initiatives and the unique experiences of minority and

majority groups.

Originality/value –This study is the first to examine the effect of diversity-related value congruence on

employees’sense of belonging, and to uncover racioethnic differences in these effects.

Keywords Belonging, Ethnicity, Diversity climate, Diversity initiatives

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

As a result of globalization and societal and labor market changes, contemporary workplaces

are characterized by an increasingly diverse workforce. In human service organizations,

workforce diversity has been linked to greater engagement and quality of care, and it ensures

that clients and the broader community see themselves represented in the service providers

(e.g. Baumann et al., 2021). Yet, from an employees’standpoint, diversity representation is not

sufficient to elicit a sense of inclusiveness (Ashikali et al.,2021). While diversity

representation signals that the organization is, in principle or by labor market necessity,

amenable to hiring people with different backgrounds and attributes, inclusiveness is

predicated on the degree to which organizational practices and systems promote the affective

EDI

41,8

1262

The authors would like to acknowledge Kumar Yogeeswaran's expert input, which greatly improved

the quality of the paper.

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

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 2 December 2021

Revised 25 March 2022

13 May 2022

Accepted 2 June 2022

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 41 No. 8, 2022

pp. 1262-1288

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-12-2021-0310

experience of fitting in at work (Miller, 2021;Rice et al., 2021). The evidence thus far indicates

that both the lack of a clear and well-communicated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

strategy and the misconception that diversity representation in itself fosters inclusiveness

result in the implementation of initiatives that fail to address the needs of, and mitigate

tensions among, different employee groups (Leslie, 2019;Mor Barak et al., 2021). This reflects

a vicious cycle wherein deficient DEI management has adverse effects on performance,

retention, innovation and organizational climate outcomes (e.g. Cho et al., 2017). These

negative outcomes reinforce the notion that diversity poses an obstacle to organizational

functioning, which in turn buttresses harmful stereotypes toward minority groups and

impedes the development of an inclusive environment (Galinsky et al., 2015;King et al., 2010).

The impact of discrimination on minority workers’experiences and performance is well

documentedand spans social exclusion, missed career opportunities,lack of identification with

the team, stress, feelings of isolation and decreased job satisfaction, organizational

commitment and well-being (Hennein et al.,2021;Miller, 2021;Mor Barak et al., 2003).

Moreover, both minority and majority groups are adversely affected by well-meaning DEI

strategies,as outlined in scholarly works that highlightthe unintended negative consequences

of DEI initiatives (e.g. Leslie, 2019).On the one hand, workers from minority or marginalized

groups may experience discrimination and a decreased sense of belonging, even when

organizationsensure their representation (Amarat et al., 2019). On the otherhand, not only can

majority groups view DEI initiatives as a threat to their work status and resources and feel

unfairlytreated, but workers from either group may construe the initiativesas disingenuous or

as attempts to counterbalance competency deficiencies among minorityworkers rather than

as measures to redress systemicinequities (Dover et al.,2016,2020;Leslie, 2019).

These unintended effects suggest that threat perceptions relative to DEI initiatives, along

with feelings of discrimination or inclusion, result from complex interactions among

perceived organizational espousal of DEI, personal stance on diversity in the workplace and

minority or majority group status. Beyond an objective account of diversity representation in

the workforce and of the availability of pro-diversity practices, sense of inclusion may be best

understood by attending to employee views of DEI initiatives (Dover et al., 2020;Wilton et al.,

2020). Yet, teasing out the boundary conditions that influence the relationship between DEI

initiatives and the experience of fitting in at work has proven challenging. For instance,

researchers posit that the relationship between employee views of the importance their

organization ascribes to diversity (i.e. psychological diversity climate) and diversity

outcomes is best understood through a multilevel approach that captures both individual and

collective perceptions of diversity climate (Holmes et al., 2021;Reinwald et al., 2019;Ward

et al., 2021). The same researchers recognize that employees who belong to different teams,

functional units or demographic groups have distinct experiences of the organization that

affect diversity outcomes but note that collective diversity climate perceptions are seldom

scrutinized considering these group differences. Other scholars have drawn on social identity

theory, psychological contract theory and other frameworks that describe psychological

mechanisms to investigate how workplace outcomes are influenced either by employee

expectations of organizational commitment to diversity or the personal value they ascribe to

diversity, while contrasting the experiences of minority and majority group members (e.g.

Lee et al., 2020;Newman et al., 2018;Yeung and Shen, 2020). Notwithstanding their

substantial contributions, there is a noticeable disjunction between these research streams

that, if addressed, might extend our knowledge of the mechanisms that underpin employee

experiences of DEI initiatives and their impact on diversity outcomes. In practice, the recent

diversity climate literature has offered important insights into the multilevel associations

between diversity climate diversity outcomes but concedes that these relationships may be

best interpreted by also attending employees’views of diversity (i.e. personal value of

diversity) (Holmes et al., 2021;Ward et al., 2021). Conversely, the research examining diversity

Congruence

effects in

diversity

research

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