Establishing a Diversity Program is Not Enough: Exploring the Determinants of Diversity Climate

Abstract

This study provides an organizational level investigation of the determinants of perceptions of diversity climate among employees. In total, 3,578 employees across 163 hotels provided data. Measures of diversity programs, managerial values and diversity climate were drawn from independent groups of employees. Support was found for the relationship between the deployment of diversity programs and diversity climate. This relationship was moderated by the actual diversity and the collective relational values of the management teams. Further, collective managerial relational values were found to be predictive of the adoption of diversity initiatives. This study provides evidence that though the presence of diversity initiatives was associated with higher levels of diversity climate, this relationship is not straightforward. Organizational attention to contextual factors, including managerial values and levels of minority representation in management, is necessary to enhance the efficacy of these programs. In spite of growth in practitioner and scientific attention, few conclusions are possible regarding the influence of organizational diversity on organizational level outcomes (Jackson et al., J Manage 29:801–830, 2003). This study responds to recent evidence that diversity climate moderates the relationship between diversity and organizational performance and answers calls for empirical attention to understanding how diversity climates are created and managed (Gonzalez and DeNisi, J Organ Behav 30(1):21–40, 2009).