Search results

The purpose of this paper is to use an institutional theory (IT) approach to analyse the institutional context for diversity management (DM) in Chile, El Salvador and Guatemala, the influence of such a context on the DM issues that organisations’ face, and the DM practices that firms implement.

Focus groups and a survey are used to assess managers and workers’ perceptions about DM in their countries, while an analysis of the content of firms’ web pages is used to assess the formal public information about DM provided by firms.

Results suggest prevalence of perceptions, among both managers and employees, of discrimination at the workplace, facilitated by cultural forces that undervalue human diversity. Firms’ DM responses seem to be led by multinational companies, and focussed on fighting discrimination, facilitating inclusion and pursuing external legitimacy.

This study is among the first to analyse DM in Latin American organisations. Furthermore, three studies, with different methodologies, support several IT propositions that emphasise the role of institutional forces in explaining organisations’ implementation of DM practices. The relevance and challenges of developing DM programmes in Latin America are discussed.

Este artículo utiliza la Teoría Institucional para analizar el contexto que rodea la Gestión de la Diversidad (GD) en empresas operando en Chile, El Salvador y Guatemala, y la influencia de este contexto en los temas de GD que enfrentan las organizaciones, y en las prácticas de GD que éstas implementan.

Se utilizan grupos focales y una encuesta para evaluar la percepción de administradores y trabajadores sobre la GD en sus países, y se utiliza un análisis del contenido de las páginas web de las empresas para evaluar la información pública y formal proporcionada por las empresas sobre la GD.

Los resultados sugieren la prevalencia, tanto entre los directivos como empleados, de percepciones de discriminación en el lugar de trabajo, facilitadas por fuerzas culturales que desvalorizan la diversidad humana. Las intervenciones de las empresas en GD aparecen lideradas por compañías multinacionales, y se enfocan en combatir la discriminación, facilitar la inclusión y buscar legitimidad externa.

Este artículo es uno de los primeros en analizar la GD en organizaciones latinoamericanas. Además, se presentan tres estudios que, con diferentes metodologías, apoyan varias proposiciones de la Teoría Institucional, las que enfatizan el rol de las fuerzas institucionales en explicar la implementación de prácticas de GD por parte de las organizaciones. Se discute la relevancia y desafíos del desarrollo de programas de GD en América Latina.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE) of managers and the constructs of the theory of planned behavior: perceived behavioral control (PBC) and attitude toward the environment. The current study also aims to explore the magnitude of this relationship with subjective norms as a moderating variable.

Data were sourced from a total number of 140 respondents (managers) from different firms in The Netherlands through an online questionnaire by using a mixture of structured, semi-structured and open-ended questions. Having used the correlation test, the study first conducts the exploratory factor analysis and then the reliability test. Finally, it estimates the coefficients by applying the hierarchical regression model to find the relationship between dependent and explanatory variables.

Diagnostic test results revealed that data are highly reliable. The coefficient results indicate that PBC and environmental attitude have positive and significant relationships with OCBE. Additionally, subjective norms have a significant and positive effect on strengthening the relationship between PBC and OCBE; however, it has no impact on the relationship between environmental attitude and OCBE.

This study has some caveats. First, the results presented in the research are derived from a single moment in time. The second limitation has to do with the insignificant results for the construct of environmental attitude. Third, this study comprises a data set obtained from different companies in The Netherlands.

Organizations that want to increase their environmental performance could look at the PBC, environmental attitude and subjective norms of the managers in regard to OCBE.

The results of the study contribute to the understanding of the way PBC, environmental attitude and subjective norms positively affect OCBE. Future research should investigate organizational citizenship within business firms by considering corporate social responsibility as a key variable.