Skip to main content
Log in

The Impact of Diversity Promise Fulfillment on Professionals of Color Outcomes in the USA

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between psychological contract violations (PCVs) related to diversity climate and professional employee outcomes. We found that for our sample of US professionals of color including US-born African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans, employee perceptions of breach in diversity promise fulfillment (DPF), after controlling for more general organizational promise fulfillment (OPF), led to lower reported organizational commitment (OC) and higher turnover intentions (TI). Interactional justice partially mediated the relationship between DPF and outcomes. Procedural justice and DPF interacted to influence OC of employees of color. For respondents who perceived a lack of DPF, moderate racial awareness was associated with greater PCV. We discuss the implications of the findings and provide directions for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  • Aiken, L.S., & West, S.G.1991, Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions, (Sage, Newbury Park, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Aryee, S., Chen, Z.X., Sun, L., & Debrah, Y.A. (2007). Antecedents and Outcomes of Abusive Supervision: Test of a Trickle-Down Model. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 191–201. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International: 2005, Pocket Guide to Business Schools (Tampa, FL)

  • Baron, R.M., & Kenny, D.A. (1986). The Moderator-Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychology Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal, M.E., Knight, G.P., Ocampo, K.A., Garza, C.A., & Cota, M.K. (1990). The Development of Ethnic Identity in Mexican-American Children. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 12, 3–24. doi:10.1177/07399863900121001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bies, R., & Moag, J.S.1986, ‹Interactional Justice: Communication Criteria for Fairness’, in B. Sheppard (Ed.), Research on Negotiation in Organizations, Vol. 1 (JAI Press, Greenwich, CT), 43-55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P.M. 1964, Exchange and Power in Social Life, (Wiley, New York, NY).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cammann, C., M. Fichman, D. Jenkins and J. Klesh: 1979, The Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire, Unpublished manuscript (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

  • Chrobot-Mason, D.L. (2003). Keeping the Promise: Psychological Contract Violations for Minority Employees. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18, 22–45. doi:10.1108/02683940310459574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J.A. (2001). On the Dimensionality of Organizational Justice: A Construct Validation Measure. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 386–400. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, S.D., Hepworth, S.J., Wall, T.D., & Warr, P.B.1981, The Experience of Work: A Compendium and Review of 249 Measures and Their Uses, (Academic Press, New York, NY).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T. 1994, Cultural Diversity in Organizations: Theory, Research, and Practice, (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Flood, P., Turner, T., Ramamoorthy, N., & Pearson, J. (2001). Causes and Consequences of Psychological Contracts among Knowledge Workers in the High Technology and Financial Services Industries. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12, 1152–1165. doi:10.1080/09585190110068368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R., & Konovsky, M.A. (1989). Procedural Justice: Effects of Procedural and Distributive Justice on Reactions to Pay Raise Decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 32, 115–130. doi:10.2307/256422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffeth, R.W., Hom, P.W., & Gaertner, S. (2000). A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents and Correlates of Employee Turnover: Update, Moderator Tests, and Research Implications for the Next Millennium. Journal of Management, 26, 463–488. doi:10.1177/014920630002600305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grubb, W.L., III. (2006). ‹Procedural Justice and Layoff Survivors’ Commitment: A Quantitative Review’. Psychological Reports, 99, 515–530. doi:10.2466/PR0.99.6.515-530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hemdi, M.A., & Aizzat Mohd, N. (2008). ‹Investigating the Influence of Organizational Justice on Hotel Employees’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior Intentions and Turnover Intentions’. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 7, 1–23. doi:10.1300/J171v07n01_01.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hicks-Clarke, D., & Iles, P. (2000). Climate for Diversity and its Effects on Career and Organisational Attitudes and Perceptions. Personnel Review, 29, 324–345. doi:10.1108/00483480010324689.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, L.: 2004, July, ‹Power Play’, Black Enterprise, http://www.blackenterprise.com/ArchiveOpen.asp?Source=ArchiveTab/2004/07/0704-24.htm. Accessed 5 Dec 2005

  • Jeanquart-Barone, S. (1996). Implications of Racial Diversity in the Supervisor-Subordinate Relationship. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2, 935–944. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1996.tb01118.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kickul, J. (2001). When Organizations Break their Promises: Employee Reactions to Unfair Promises and Treatment. Journal of Business Ethics, 29, 289–307. doi:10.1023/A:1010734616208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kickul, J., Lester, S.W., & Finkl, J. (2002). Promise Breaking during Radical Organizational Change: Do Justice Interventions Make a Difference? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 469–489. doi:10.1002/job.151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kickul, J., Newman, G., Parker, C., & Finkl, J. (2001). Settling the Score: The Role of Organizational Justice in the Relationship between Psychological Contract Breach and Anticitizenship Behavior. Employee Rights and Responsibilities Journal, 13, 77–93. doi:10.1023/A:1014586225406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kossek, E., & Zonia, S. (1993). Assessing Diversity Climate: A Field Study of Employer Efforts to Promote Diversity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14, 61–82. doi:10.1002/job.4030140107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kowka, J. E. and C. M. Snyder: 2003, Dynamic Adjustment in the Higher Education Industry, 1955-1997, http://www.economics.neu.edu/papers/documents/03-007.pdf. Accessed 21 Apr 2007.

  • Lambert, L., Edwards, J., & Cable, D. (2003). Breach and Fulfillment of the Psychological Contract: A Comparison of Traditional and Expanded Views. Personnel Psychology, 56, 895–934. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2003.tb00244.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, S., & Aryee, S. (2003). Psychological Contract Breach in a Chinese Context: An Integrative Approach. Journal of Management Studies, 40, 1005–1020. doi:10.1111/1467-6486.00368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKay, P., & Avery, D. (2005). Warning! Diversity Recruitment Could Backfire. Journal of Management Inquiry, 14, 330–336. doi:10.1177/1056492605280239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, E.W., & Robinson, S.L. (1997). When Employees Feel Betrayed: A Model of How Psychological Contract Violation Develops. Academy of Management Review, 22, 226–256. doi:10.2307/259230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mowday, R.T., Porter, L.M., & Steers, R.M. (1979). The Measurement of Organizational Commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 224–247. doi:10.1016/0001-8791(79)90072-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neville, H., Lilly, R., Duran, G., Lee, R., & Browne, L. (2000). Construction and Initial Validation of the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47, 59–70. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.47.1.59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pare, G., & Tremblay, M. (2007). ‹The Influence of High-Involvement Human Resource Practices, Procedural Justice, Organizational Commitment, and Citizenship Behaviors on Information Technology Professionals’ Turnover Intentions’. Group & Organization Management, 32, 326–357. doi:10.1177/1059601106286875.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pate, J., Martin, G., & McGoldrick, J. (2003). The Impact of Psychological Contract Violation on Employee Attitudes and Behavior. Employee Relations, 25, 557–573. doi:10.1108/01425450310501306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J.S. (1992). The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure: A New Scale for Use with Diverse Groups. Journal of Adolescent Research, 7, 156–176. doi:10.1177/074355489272003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J.S. 1993, ‹A Three-Stage Model of Ethnic Identity Development’, In M. E. Bernal and G. P. Knights (Eds.), Ethnic Identity: Formation and Transmission Among Hispanics and other Minorities, (State University of New York Press, Albany, NY), 61-79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pless, N.M., & Maak, T. (2004). Building an Inclusive Diversity Culture: Principles, Processes, and Practice. Journal of Business Ethics, 54, 129–157. doi:10.1007/s10551-004-9465-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ployhart, R.E. (2006). Staffing in the 21st Century: New Challenges and Strategic Opportunities. Journal of Management, 32, 868–897. doi:10.1177/0149206306293625.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, G., & Dechant, K. (1997). Building a Business Case for Diversity. Academy of Management Executive, 11(3), 21–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S.L., & Morrison, E.W. (2000). The Development of Psychological Contract Breach and Violation: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 525–547. doi:10.1002/1099-1379(200008)21:5<525::AID-JOB40>3.0.CO;2-T.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S.L., & Rousseau, D.M. (1994). Violating the Psychological Contract: Not the Exception but the Norm. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 245–259. doi:10.1002/job.4030150306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D.M. (1989). Psychological and Implied Contracts in Organizations. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2, 131–139. doi:10.1007/BF01384942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shurn-Hannah, P. (2000). Solving the Minority Retention Mystery. Human Resource Professional, 13, 22–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, T., Friedman, R., Liu, L.A., & McLean Parks, J. (2007). Racial Differences in Sensitivity to Behavioral Integrity: Attitudinal Consequences, In-Group Effects and “Trickle Down” among Black and Non-Black Employees. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 650–665. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skarlicki, D.P., & Folger, R. (1997). Retaliation in the Workplace: The Roles of Distributive, Procedural and Interactional Justice. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 434–443. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.82.3.434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobel, M.E. 1982, ‹Asymptotic Confidence Intervals for Indirect Effects in Structural Equation Models’, in S. Leinhart (Ed.), Sociological Methodology 1982, (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA), 290-312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C.1986, ‹The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior’, in S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of Intergroup Relations, (2nd ed.) (Nelson-Hall, Chicago, IL), 7-24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tekleab, A., Takeuchi, R., & Taylor, M.S. (2005). Extending the Chain of Relationships among Organizational Justice, Social Exchange and Employee Reactions: The Role of Contract Violations. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 146–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. (2000). Consequences of Abusive Supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 178–190. doi:10.2307/1556375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, K., & Wise, P. (1999). Organizational Attractiveness and Individual Differences: Are Diverse Applicants Attracted by Different Factors? Journal of Business and Psychology, 13, 375–390. doi:10.1023/A:1022978400698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, M., & Heron, P. (2005). The Difference a Manager Can Make: Organizational Justice and Knowledge Worker Commitment. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 383–404.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turnley, W.H. (1999). A Discrepancy Model of Psychological Contract Violations. Human Resource Management Review, 9, 367–387. doi:10.1016/S1053-4822(99)00025-X.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turnley, W., & Feldman, D. (1999). The Impact of Psychological Contract Violations on Exit, Voice, Loyalty and Neglect. Human Relations, 52, 895–922.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T.R., & Lind, E.A.1992, ‹A Relational Model of Authority in Groups’, in M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 25, (Academic Press, New York, NY), 115-192.

    Google Scholar 

  • U. S. Census Bureau.2002, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2002, (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC).

    Google Scholar 

  • Utsey, S.O., Chae, M.H., Brown, C.F., & Kelly, D. (2002). Effect of Ethnic Group Membership on Ethnic Identity, Race-Related Stress and Quality of Life. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8, 366–377. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.8.4.367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viswesvaran, C., & Ones, D. (2002). Examining the Construct of Organizational Justice: A Meta-Analytic Evaluation of Relations with Work Attitudes and Behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 38, 193–203. doi:10.1023/A:1015820708345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. Holly Buttner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Buttner, E.H., Lowe, K.B. & Billings-Harris, L. The Impact of Diversity Promise Fulfillment on Professionals of Color Outcomes in the USA. J Bus Ethics 91, 501–518 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0096-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0096-y

Keywords

Navigation