Can dissimilarity lead to positive outcomes? The influence of open versus closed minds

Social identity theory and self-categorization theory have usually been interpreted to suggest that demographic dissimilarity will negatively influence employee outcomes. However, inconsistent with this interpretation, positive and neutral relationships between demographic dissimilarity and employee outcomes have also been documented in some instances for women and minority employees. It is argued here that the influence of demographic dissimilarity on the attitudes of women and minority employees is moderated by their level of dogmatism, which influences whether they view sex- and race-based status hierarchies in organizations as legitimate. Data from a survey shows that the influence of demographic dissimilarity on the organization-based self-esteem of employees, their level of trust in their peers and their attraction towards their peers is positive for individuals with higher level of dogmatism and negative for individuals With lower level of dogmatism. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Beyond direct and symmetrical effects: The influence of demographic dissimilarity on organizational citizenship behavior

It is argued that employees' attraction to and trust in their peers, and their organization-based self-esteem mediate the effect of demographic dissimilarity on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Data from a held study support a model in which the relationship between demographic dissimilarity and OCB is contingent on demographic characteristics and work group composition and mediated to an extent by the proposed mediators. The influence of race dissimilarity varied in strength for white and minority employees, but the influence of age dissimilarity varied in direction for older and younger employees

Examining the effects of work externalization through the lens of social identity theory

This study examines whether dissimilarity among employees that is based on their work status (i.e., whether they are temporary or internal workers) influences their organization-based self-esteem, their trust in and attraction toward their peers, and their altruism. A model that is based on social identity theory posits that work-status dissimilarity negatively influences each outcome variable and that the strength of this relationship varies depending on whether employees have temporary or internal status and the composition of their work groups. Results that are based on a survey of 326 employees (189 internal and 137 temporary) from 34 work groups, belonging to 2 organizations, indicate that work-status dissimilarity has a systematic negative effect only on outcomes related to internal workers when they work in temporary-worker-dominated groups

One foot in each camp: The dual identification of contract workers

We examine the organizational identification of contract workers who are associated with two organizations, their primary employer and their client. We conducted a study of contract workers in the information technology industry to address three questions: (1) What are the antecedents of contract workers' identification with the work organizations with which they are associated? (2) Do these antecedents differentially predict identification with each of the target organizations? and (3) What is the relationship between contract workers' identification with their employing organization and their identification with their client organization? Results indicate that contract workers identify with both the employing and client organizations based on perceived characteristics of the organization as well as social relations within the organization. Perceived characteristics of the organization are more closely related with identification with the employer, and social relations variables are more closely related with identification with the client. Contract workers are more likely to identify with both their client and their employing organization when the two are perceived to be similar on key attributes. © 2005 by Johnson Graduate School, Cornell University

Group Composition and Decision Making

How might the composition of a group affect its decision-making processes? The objective of this article is to examine the role of diversity in three key aspects of decision making in groups: access to information; information processing; and building commitment to group decisions. It begins by briefly reviewing the diversity literature. The review does not attempt to be comprehensive (several such reviews have already been published), but rather, it attempts to highlight how diversity can influence group decision making. It then discusses how diversity might shape the group's access to information eld by its members, the cognitive biases that come in the way of information processing, and finally commitment to the group's decision. © Oxford University Press 2008. All rights reserved

Helping Hand or Competition? The Moderating Influence of Perceived Upward Mobility on the Relationship Between Blended Workgroups and Employee Attitudes and Behaviors

This study attempts to reconcile previous findings that show both positive and negative outcomes associated with blended workgroups (i.e., workgroups consisting of both temporary and standard workers). Specifically, we conceptualize temporary and standard work as part of a naturally occurring status hierarchy in organizations and propose that blended workgroups have opposing effects on employees depending on employees' perceptions of their potential for upward mobility in that organization. We combine research on the blended workforce with theorizing from social identity and self-categorization theories to propose that when employees perceive the potential for upward mobility to be high, the proportion of temporary workers in the group will be negatively related to employee attitudes and behaviors, and the relationship will be positive when perceived mobility is low. Furthermore, we hypothesize that this relationship will be mediated by the valence of employees' perceptions of their workgroup's prototype. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 124 temporary and standard research scientists in an Australian organization. The results show that workgroup composition and perceived mobility jointly influence workgroup identification and organization-based self-esteem, mediated by the valence of workgroup prototype; however, workgroup composition and perceived mobility directly influence organizational citizenship behavior unmediated by prototype valence. © 2012 INFORMS

Identifying the Ingroup: A Closer Look at the Influence of Demographic Dissimilarity on Employee Social Identity

Relational demography researchers have constructed models based on social identity theory and self-categorization theory, without fully incorporating their theoretical and empirical richness. We rectify this omission by constructing a model that includes key concepts from these theories and that predicts whether employees will identify with a particular demographic category or with their workgroup, or both. Propositions derived examine whether demographic dissimilarity will positively or negatively influence employee social identity

An Uncertainty Reduction Model of Relational Demography

In this chapter, we review relational demography literature underpinned by the similarity-attraction paradigm and status characteristics and social identity theories. We then develop an uncertainty reduction model of relational demography, which describes a two-stage process of uncertainty emergence and reduction in a workgroup setting. The first stage depicts how structural features of the workgroup (workgroup composition) and occupation (the legitimacy of its status hierarchy) induce two forms of uncertainty: uncertainty about group norms and uncertainty about instrumental outcomes. The second part of the model illustrates employees' choice of uncertainty reduction strategies, depending on the type of uncertainty they experience, and the status of their demographic categories. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. © 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited