As the diversity among personnel has increased considerably, implementers indicate that it is important to have a diverse workforce. This contributes to competitive advantages by increasing creativity and innovation. Yet there is little scientific research that supports this. There are more studies that find the opposite. That diversity leads to negative consequences, such as more conflicts or a decrease in group cohesion.
This study will first provide an overview of the studies that have been conducted into diversity and performance. The authors attempt to bring together this inconsistency of results from previous research by presenting a conceptual multi-level model. This model wants to answer the following question: “when and how does diversity lead to positive, rather than negative, outcomes of group performance?”. In general, the authors think that there are moderators for the relationship between diversity and the multi-level model. And that the multi-level model has a mediating role in the relationship between diversity and group performance.
The model is different from previous studies because it emphasizes social psychological constructs and uses the social identity theory to answer the "when and how" questions, rather than focusing on pure cognitive constructs, such as reducing stereotypes. The model identifies psychological mechanisms at the individual and group level of the analysis. These are indicated as concept of mediators between the relationship of group composition and group performance. This allows them to explain how diversity leads to more positive outcomes.
There are several definitions for diversity. The most common definition of diversity is the perceptible difference between individuals for characteristics that they can see different from each other. Examples of this assumption are given as; different characters, personality traits, personal values and norms, but also other types of belief, sexual preference or mental/physical health. This first definition refers to the difference between individuals.
A different definition focuses on the group. Diversity is a mix of people with different group identities in the same social system. This definition is therefore more based on the group identity. This research focuses on the second definition.
Various groups consist of individuals who identify themselves with different subgroups. There are different ways in which people can differ from each other. Surface-level diversity are differences between group members based on biological traits and that can be seen physically. Such as age, gender, race/ethnicity. Deep-level diversity are differences between group members that are not immediately visible. Like personalities, attitudes, norms and values. However, the authors say that the separation between these two levels is not as clear as it seems and that it is very dependent on the context under which level something must be placed.
Research shows that a diverse group leads to an improvement in decision-making capacity through the increase in creativity and innovation. Because people with different backgrounds think differently and therefore have multiple perspectives to come to a solution. Nevertheless, studies with hard evidence for this statement are hard to find.
There are also studies that indicate that groups with differences are less attracted to their group mates, have less confidence, communicate less and feel less united, compared to groups with the same people. This therefore leads to more conflicts and misunderstandings within the group with differences.
To explain these differences, studies have been using the social identity theory and the self-categorization theory. This showed that people who are different from each other are less willing to work together than people without differences, because they do not place themselves in the same social category (in-group) and therefore they do not share the same social identity.
Social categorization has been used to investigate the negative outcomes of group performance. Social categorization involves the following; people tend to have a preference for their own group (in-group) and to dislike other groups (out-group). This could therefore counteract the cooperation in groups with differences. Yet there are also researchers who think that it is not the social categorization itself, but the prejudices of the in-group. Because of this people from a lower group would like to work together with someone from a higher group, although this is an out-group. This could explain the difference in outcomes of the studies into diversity in groups.
It is important to be clear when diversity improves group performance to promote the potential benefits of a diverse workplace. Various studies have been conducted into moderators that ensure that various groups perform better. In general, it emerged that the positive effects of diversity and group contact are determined by four circumstances; equal group status within a situation, the same goals, cooperation and support of the authorities, and the law.
Research in the field of organizational behavior shows that improving group performance is influenced by; task independence, task difficulty, organization structure, collective vs. individual values, the climate of the organization and openness to diversity.
There have also been recent studies into individual differences in attitudes towards group diversity. People who are open to new experiences have a better group performance than a group that consisted of people with superior identities.
Research into team reflexivity revealed that reflexivity mediates the relationship between the interaction effect on demographic diversity and the dependence on the team outcome (if the interaction effect on demographic diversity and lifetime of satisfaction with the measures, dedication and performance of the group).
Research suggests that diversity leads to more conflicts within a group, which can have advantages or disadvantages, depending on the type of conflict. Different types of conflicts are: task conflicts, social-emotional conflicts and values conflicts. It appears that more task conflicts arise with functional/informational diversity. Social-emotional conflicts are predominant in groups with demographic differences. In the case of cultural differences within a group, value conflicts are more often present. These conflicts can lead to a positive outcome, because people put forward their ideas and opinions, the team comes to a nuanced solution.
Other mechanisms also positively influence the relationship between diversity and group performance. Such as the learning behavior of the team and the confirmation of identity. Only a really clear answer to the question “how does diversity improve group performance?” stays off. With the following model, the authors try to provide an answer to this.
Each part of the model is explained in a separate piece. The model can be used to understand the effects of diversity. The model uses social psychological mechanisms from previous research to explain a multi-level process of learning each other's identity within a group.
The most important variable in this model is the outcome variable: group performance. This concept can be applied to the performance of an entire organization or to smaller groups. Work performance is defined as the total expected value for an organization, through the behavior of an individual, within a standard time period. This definition is aimed at the individual and therefore includes the contribution of each individual member of a group. These individual performances together is the performance of the group.
Another study explained work performance by in-role behavior (IRB) and extra-role behavior (ERB). IRB contains of the behavior that ensures that the tasks are performed. ERB refers to contextual behavior that contributes to the overall effectiveness of the group through the effect on psychological and social characteristics of work. The proposed model involves both IRB and ERB.
According to some researchers, explaining this process goes through the learning process. This is very difficult because a learning process consists of several underlying, independent mechanisms. However, some researchers have tried this and described it as activities in which team members try to gain, share, improve or combine task relevant knowledge by interacting with each other. This behavior is specifically aimed at performing their duties, not at getting to know each other better.
In this paper they go beyond what has already been investigated. The learning behavior of a team is seen as knowledge of each other's identities and obtaining the necessary knowledge that is necessary for a heterogeneous group to function effectively. Learning each other's identities is accompanied by a number of psychological mechanisms: embed the identities of the others in your own identity, respect the correspondence of someone's personal and social identity and respect each other's identity.
Two levels are needed to analyze this, at individual level and at group level. On an individual level, empathy and self-disclosure are considered. At group level, the greatest focus is on communication, involvement with the group and trust in the group. This study does not want to say that all of these variables must be present to a certain extent to ensure that diversity improves group performance. The activation of a variable can be enough to improve performance.
Empathy is seen as an individual process in which people identify with others and show understanding for someone's situation, feelings and motives. This can be very important to learn things from each other, to incorporate each other's identities and as a result there can be more understanding, tolerance and cooperation with each other. Empathy ensures that people are more willing to help each other, which can contribute to the creation of a team (self-other merger). This can occur in the following situations: if someone else's prosperity promotes your own prosperity, if you and the other are connected by parable, and if you and the other share the same relationship in a social category or group.
According to the social identity theory and the self-categorization theory, people in a different groups are more likely to separate themselves from the whole and therefore there is less empathy. Yet people must be able to have empathy for people who differ from themselves according to the theory of empathy. Empathy is present in every person, regardless of the relationship with others.
Some studies show that empathy is important for the proper functioning of groups with diversity. It causes the stereotypes to decrease, because there is more understanding for the other and improves the representation of someone. This leads to social behavior.
Empathy will mediate in the relationship between diversity and group performance.
Advantages can arise if people are willing to give themselves up by sharing information about themselves with others. If this occurs within a group with many differences, the part-level diversity changes to surface-level diversity. Because the atmosphere is very open, this improves the functioning of the individual.
By exposing someone's identity, group members understand each other better, which in turn ensures better performance. That is why self-disclosure is an important psychological mechanism that better develops interpersonal relationships. Which is especially important for groups with diversity, because there is already a standard sense of distrust.
Self-disclosure mediates in the relationship between diversity and group performance.
Studies show that much communication in a heterogeneous group can lead to conflicts. Avoiding different opinions and having open communication leads to fewer conflicts, but it does reduce the performance of employees.
It is suggested not to look at the amount of conflicts, but to analyze the reason for the conflicts and how they are resolved. To investigate this, research does not look at the frequency of communication, but at reflexibility. This shows that it is not bad to have conflicts, but how they are handled and how the group generally communicates.
The quality of communication within a group mediates in the relationship between diversity and group performance.
Commitment to the group is the extent to which an individual is involved in the execution of tasks, such as the exchange of information, joint decisions and the extent to which he feels respected. Commitment to the group is seen as the perception of inclusion and exclusion with regard to employee interaction or involvement within work teams. Research shows that visible differences within a team cause a negative relationship with involvement within the group.
Commitment to the group mediates in the relationship between diversity and group performance.
Research shows that people who belong to different social categories or people who see themselves differently from others feel much more anxious compared to people who don't. This can cause them to think paranoid, which makes them unreliable for others. Distrust spreads within the group, leading to "collective paranoia". This means that diversity leads to a poorer group performance.
Trust mediates in the relationship between diversity and group performance.
The model focuses on two psychological conditions, for which not much research has been done before. Yet these conditions, which activate the psychological mechanisms, are essential to explain when diversity can lead to better group performance. The two conditions are: the importance of a collective identity and a safe psychological climate. They are both seen group level variables that interact with each other. In general, this model suggests that the importance of a collective identity and a safe psychological climate is the relationship between diversity and the multi-level psychological mechanisms. And that these mechanisms mediate the relationship between diversity and group performance.
It is important to reduce the importance of in-group - out-group within a group. Research has shown that this has negative consequences for diversity in the group. Groups must ensure that they place both themselves and others in the same category, which in turn has positive consequences for diversity in a group. Organizations that focus more on the development of groups, rather than individuals, will therefore experience more benefits with diversity within a group. The importance of a collective identity moderates the relationship between diversity and group performance.
Someone with a personal identity asks the question: “who am I as a unique individual?” while someone with a collective identity wonders himself: “who are we as a group?”. The difference between a social identity and a collective identity is in the focus on the group. A social identity is focused on itself within a social group, a collective identity is only focused on group-level variables. The social identity theory and the self-categorization theory also indicate that the negative effects of diversity within a group are reduced if there is a collective identity within that group.
The effects of group composition on psychological processes (at individual and group level) are moderated by the importance of a collective identity.
According to the social identity theory and the self-categorization theory, different people are more willing to cooperate if the team identification is high than when it is low. Only if the group identification becomes too strong do people with a different opinion want to stay in line with the rest of the group and therefore tend not to give their opinion.
Therefore, group identification cannot indicate positive or negative effects of diversity. Because a certain degree of identification is important, a safe psychological climate cannot be missing. A safe psychological climate is defined as shared beliefs among the members of a group, as a result of mutual respect and trust. Some researchers say that pro-diversity beliefs are also essential for a safe climate. This means that different perspectives in a group are expected to be an advantage for solving a task. Research also shows that when employees consider their environment as safe enough for interpersonal risks, they are more likely to show who they are. Which leads to positive psychological processes, such as empathy, communication and trust. These processes are necessary elements for diversity to improve group performance.
It is also important to say that the interaction between the importance of a collective identity and a safe psychological climate (to a lesser extent) can also be found in homogeneous groups. A three-way interaction effect could therefore be found in an organization between group composition, group identification and a safe psychological climate. Research still needs to be done.
The effects of group composition on psychological processes (individual and group level) are moderated by a safe psychological climate.
The suggested model contributes to the understanding of the effects of diversity on group performance. It is different from other attempts to understand the effects of diversity because social psychological constructs and identity perspectives are included. The "when" and "how" questions for managers can be answered, instead of other studies that focus on cognitive constructs. The importance of a collective identity and a safe psychological climate are included in the model to determine the conditions under which diversity improves group performance. The model thus provides a comprehensive explanation of how diversity leads to group performance by looking at mechanisms at the individual and group level that underlie the learning of each other's identity within a group.
Until now, research has only looked at the conditions needed to create a diverse workplace and the underlying psychological mechanisms that explain how diversity can lead to better group performance. Most of the studies focused on describing a good climate for diversity, developing a mindset about diversity, and then studying it or testing the direct effects of diversity. The model from this study brings a new psychological perspective and shows the process how people can learn from each other's identity within a group. The model tests the influence of diversity on performance through a behavioral perspective, by seeing group performance as a meeting of the behavior of all group members.
In summary, the authors believe that this model contributes to explaining and predicting good results through diversity and provides a constructive framework for further research. This further research is theoretical, but is necessary for practical knowledge. So that the model or parts of it can be tested. It is important to state that the model should apply to all possible aspects of diversity, but it is also possible that some aspects are more important than others at certain stages of group work. This is interesting for theoretical and empirical testing with longitudinal research.
Add new contribution