Diversity Ecosystem: Toward an Understanding of Its Role on Internal Marketing in Diversity Goals and Outcomes

Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Business Administration

Committee Chair

Greg Marshall and Joe F. Hair

Abstract

Organizational leaders may announce diversity initiatives, yet often these goals are never fully realized. When organizational leaders establish diversity goals, they frequently rely on internal marketing teams to implement them. Internal Marketing’s ability to influence Diversity Outcomes and Self-Rated Employee Performance may differ due to the moderating effects of the organization’s Diversity Ecosystem. The Diversity Ecosystem is a novel construct that involves an employee’s interpretation of an organization’s openness, aspects of organizational justice, need for diversity and voice. Does the strength of an organization’s Diversity Ecosystem moderate the relationship between Organizational Commitment to Diversity and Internal Marketing? An employee’s level of Job Involvement may also mediate Internal Marketing’s effect on Diversity Outcomes and Self-Rated Employee Performance. In turn, how does an employee’s Job Involvement mediate the relationship between Internal Marketing and Diversity Outcomes and Self-Rated Employee Performance. This research began in the summer of 2020 as organizations faced pressure to diversify after the death of George Floyd. The researcher began the project with a series of qualitative interviews with governmental and corporate leaders to aid in hypothesis development. After initial x qualitative interviews, an initial quantitative survey was developed and sent to as a pretest to full-time employees. From those results and after a thorough literature review, an initial qualitative survey was sent to a pilot sample of full-time employees nationwide. After an analysis of the pilot sample, a quantitative survey was sent to 364 full-time employees across the United States. The survey was designed in Qualtrics and administered through Prolific. The survey data was analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The development and understanding of a Diversity Ecosystem offer a key academic research contribution and potential managerial implications for diversity efforts.

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