Keywords

Cultural Values, Organizational Attraction, Individualism, Collectivism

Abstract

The United States' (U.S.) workforce is more diverse than in previous decades in terms of race, gender, and native language (Fay, 2001). Such demographic shifts have changed how organizations attract applicants and how they motivate, reward, and retain employees (McAdams, 2001). Furthermore, organizations benefit from diversity by: (a) attracting the best talent available in the workforce (Cox, 1993), (b) increasing their product marketability to customers (Deshpande, Hoyer, & Donthu, 1986; Redding, 1982), and (c) fostering creativity, innovation, problem solving, and decision making in employees (Thomas, 1999; Thomas, Ravlin, & Wallace, 1996; Watson, Kumar, & Michaelsen, 1993). Given such benefits, organizations should attend to initiatives that facilitate the attraction of applicants from diverse backgrounds. Research has demonstrated that applicants use information about human resource systems, such as rewards, to form judgments about the perceived fit between them and the organization (Bretz & Judge, 1994; Schneider, 1987). For instance, organizations with policies accommodating work and family issues attract applicants preferring such benefits. Because reward systems influence applicants' opinions about the relative attractiveness of organizations (Lawler, 2000), it is important to determine the factors that influence such preferences. Motivation theories, such as the Theory of Reasoned Action, suggest that preferences toward reward systems are guided by individuals' values (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Vroom, 1964). Such values, in turn, cause differences in reward preferences and organizational attraction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation of individuals' cultural values to the attraction of organizations offering different kinds of reward systems. More specifically, it sought to test three hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 predicted that there would be a two-way interaction between collectivism and the type of organization on organizational attraction. Hypothesis 2 predicted that there would be a two-way interaction between individualism and the type of organization on organizational attraction. Hypothesis 3 predicted that there would be a positive relation between collectivism and subjective norms used in organizational attraction. To test the three hypotheses, data from 228 participants were analyzed to evaluate their level of attractiveness to two different types of organizations (i.e., career-oriented vs. family-oriented). Findings for the test of Hypothesis 1 indicated that there was a joint effect between collectivism and the type of organization on organizational attraction. The slopes of the regression lines for each type of organization (i.e., family-oriented and career-oriented) differed as a function of collectivism. The slope of the regression line for the family-oriented organization was steeper than the slope of the regression line for the career-oriented organization. Results for the test of Hypothesis 2 indicated a joint effect between individualism and the type of organization on organizational attraction. The slopes of the regression lines for each type of organization (i.e., family-oriented and career-oriented) differed as a function of individualism. The slope of the regression line for the career-oriented organization was steeper than the slope of the regression line for the family-oriented organization. Findings for the test of Hypothesis 3 showed that collectivism was related to subjective norms. Results indicated that the more collective the individual, the higher the subjective norms. In addition, supplementary analysis showed that individualism was not related to subjective norms. Taken together, results from the tests of the three hypotheses support components of the Theory of Reasoned Action, and the premise that values are a factor related to an individual's attraction to a particular organization. The current study showed that the cross-cultural values of individualism and collectivism help predict organizational attraction. Based on these results, practical implications, contributions to theory, study limitations, and future research are discussed for designing organizational attraction strategies for a culturally diverse workforce.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2007

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Dipboye, Robert

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree Program

Psychology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0001859

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0001859

Language

English

Release Date

May 2007

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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Psychology Commons

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