This study draws upon human capital resource theory to propose and investigate a nonlinear relationship between racial minority employee proportions in work-units and unit-performance, moderated by racial composition of the customer base. Time-lagged data obtained from 331 college bookstores and their customer bases – colleges, provide evidence for a concave nonlinear relationship between racial minority employee proportion and store sales, while data from a survey panel (n = 497) of service establishment managers support the assertion that racial minority employee proportion predict diversity-related human capital resources. Further, at high levels of this focal predictor, racial minority employee proportion is found to be negatively related to sales for colleges with low proportions of racial minority customers but does not influence sales for high-minority customer bases. I interpret these results utilizing extant theories of diversity and provide a roadmap for future research in this domain.
AliM.KulikC. T.MetzI. (2011). The gender diversity–performance relationship in services and manufacturing organizations. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(7), 1464–1485. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2011.561961
2.
AliM.NgY. L.KulikC. T. (2014). Board age and gender diversity: A test of competing linear and curvilinear predictions. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(3), 497–512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1930-9
3.
AveryD. R.RichesonJ. A.HeblM. R.AmbadyN. (2009). It does not have to be uncomfortable: The role of behavioral scripts in Black-White interracial interactions. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(6), 1382–1393. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016208
4.
BennettA. A.CampionE. D.KeelerK. R.KeenerS. K. (2021). Videoconference fatigue? Exploring changes in fatigue after videoconference meetings during COVID-19. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(3), 330–344. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000906
5.
BriefA. P.UmphressE. E.DietzJ.BurrowsJ. W.ButzR. M.ScholtenL. (2005). Community matters: Realistic group conflict theory and the impact of diversity. Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 830–844. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2005.18803925
BusseC.MahlendorfM. D.BodeC. (2016). The ABC for studying the too-much-of-a-good-thing effect: A competitive mediation framework linking antecedents, benefits, and costs. Organizational Research Methods, 19(1), 131–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428115579699
8.
DahlinK. B.WeingartL. R.HindsP. J. (2005). Team diversity and information use. Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 1107–1123. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2005.19573112
9.
DierickxI.CoolK. (1989). Asset stock accumulation and sustainability of competitive advantage. Management Science, 35(12), 1504–1511. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.35.12.1504
10.
EarleyC. P.MosakowskiE. (2000). Creating hybrid team cultures: An empirical test of transnational team functioning. Academy of Management Journal, 43(1), 26–49. https://doi.org/10.5465/1556384
11.
GonzalezJ. A. (2013). Matchmaking: Community and business unit racial/ethnic diversity and business unit performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(21), 4063–4081. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.792858
12.
GrandeyA. A.HoustonL.IIIAveryD. R. (2019). Fake it to make it? Emotional labor reduces the racial disparity in service performance judgments. Journal of Management, 45(5), 2163–2192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318757019
13.
GrothM.WuY.NguyenH.JohnsonA. (2019). The moment of truth: A review, synthesis, and research agenda for the customer service experience. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6(1), 89–113. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015056
14.
HayesA. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Publications.
15.
HekmanD. R.AquinoK.OwensB. P.MitchellT. R.SchilpzandP.LeavittK. (2010). An examination of whether and how racial and gender biases influence customer satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 53(2), 238–264. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.49388763
16.
HochschildA. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press.
17.
HomanA. C.HollenbeckJ. R.HumphreyS. E.KnippenbergD. V.IlgenD. R.Van KleefG. A. (2008). Facing differences with an open mind: Openness to experience, salience of intragroup differences, and performance of diverse work groups. Academy of Management Journal, 51(6), 1204–1222. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2008.35732995
18.
Hope PelledL. (1996). Relational demography and perceptions of group conflict and performance: A field investigation. International Journal of Conflict Management, 7(3), 230–246. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb022783
19.
JacksonS. E.JoshiA.ErhardtN. L. (2003). Recent research on team and organizational diversity: SWOT analysis and implications. Journal of Management, 29(6), 801–830. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0149-2063(03)00080-1
20.
JulianS. D.Ofori-DankwaJ. C. (2017). Context matters: Diversity’s short-and long-term effects in fortune’s “best companies to work for”. Strategic Management Journal, 38(7), 1557–1565.
21.
KimW.OkC. (2010). Customer Orientation of Service Employees and Rapport: Influences On Service-Outcome Variables in Full-Service Restaurants. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 34(1), 34–55.
22.
KinslerJ.PavanR. (2011). Family income and higher education choices: The importance of accounting for college quality. Journal of Human Capital, 5(4), 453–477. https://doi.org/10.1086/663649
23.
KozlowskiS. W. J.KleinK. J. (2000). A multilevel approach to theory and research in organizations: Contextual, temporal, and emergent processes. In KleinK. J.KozlowskiS. W. J. (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations: Foundations, extensions, and new directions (pp. 3–90). Jossey-Bass.
24.
KraaijenbrinkJ.SpenderJ. C.GroenA. J. (2010). The resource-based view: A review and assessment of its critiques. Journal of Management, 36(1), 349–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206309350775
LeonardJ. S.LevineD. I.JoshiA. (2004). Do birds of a feather shop together? The effects on performance of employees' similarity with one another and with customers. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(6), 731–754. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.267
27.
LynnM.SturmanM. (2011). Is the customer always right? The potential for racial bias in customer evaluations of employee performance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41(9), 2312–2324. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00803.x
28.
LynnM.SturmanM.GanleyC.AdamsE.DouglasM.McNeilJ. (2008). Consumer racial discrimination in tipping: A replication and extension. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38(4), 1045–1060. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00338.x
29.
MannixE.NealeM. A. (2005). What differences make a difference? The promise and reality of diverse teams in organizations. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 6(2), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-1006.2005.00022.x
30.
MaynardM. T.MathieuJ. E.GilsonL. L.SanchezD. R.DeanM. D. (2019). Do I really know you and does it matter? Unpacking the relationship between familiarity and information elaboration in global virtual teams. Group & Organization Management, 44(1), 3–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601118785842
31.
McKayP. F.AveryD. R. (2006). What has race got to do with it? Unraveling the role of raceoethnicity in job seekers’ reactions to site visits. Personnel Psychology, 59(2), 395–429. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2006.00079.x
32.
McPhersonM.Smith-LovinL.BrashearsM. E. (2006). Social isolation in America: Changes in core discussion networks over two decades. American Sociological Review, 71(3), 353–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240607100301
33.
Mesmer-MagnusJ. R.DeChurchL. A. (2009). Information sharing and team performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 535–546.
34.
MillerJ. W.StromeyerW. R.SchwietermanM. A. (2013). Extensions of the Johnson-Neyman technique to linear models with curvilinear effects: Derivations and analytical tools. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 48(2), 267–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2013.763567
35.
MontoyaR. M.HortonR. S.KirchnerJ. (2008). Is actual similarity necessary for attraction? A meta-analysis of actual and perceived similarity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25(6), 889–922. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407508096700
36.
NybergA. J.MoliternoT. P.HaleD.JrLepakD. P. (2014). Resource-based perspectives on unit-level human capital: A review and integration. Journal of Management, 40(1), 316–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312458703
37.
OrtliebR.SiebenB. (2013). Diversity strategies and business logic: Why do companies employ ethnic minorities?Group & Organization Management, 38(4), 480–511. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601113497094
38.
PeerE.BrandimarteL.SamatS.AcquistiA. (2017). Beyond the Turk: Alternative platforms for crowdsourcing behavioral research. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 70, 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.01.006
39.
PelledL. H.EisenhardtK. M.XinK. R. (1999). Exploring the black box: An analysis of work group diversity, conflict, and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/2667029
40.
PhinneyJ. S. (1996). Understanding ethnic diversity: The role of ethnic identity. American Behavioral Scientist, 40(2), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764296040002005
PloyhartR. E.MoliternoT. P. (2011). Emergence of the human capital resource: A multilevel model. Academy of Management Review, 36(1), 127–150. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0318
43.
PloyhartR. E.NybergA. J.ReillyG.MaltarichM. A. (2014). Human capital is dead; long live human capital resources. Journal of Management, 40(2), 371–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313512152
44.
PloyhartR. E.Van IddekingeC.MacKenzieW. (2011). Acquiring and developing human capital in service contexts: The interconnectedness of human capital resources. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2), 353–368. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.60263097
45.
PughS. D.DietzJ.BriefA. P.WileyJ. W. (2008). Looking inside and out: The impact of employee and community demographic composition on organizational diversity climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(6), 1422–1428. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012696
46.
RichardO. C. (2000). Racial diversity, business strategy, and firm performance: A resource-based view. Academy of Management Journal, 43(2), 164–177. https://doi.org/10.2307/1556374
47.
RichardO. C.MurthiB. P. S.IsmailK. (2007). The impact of racial diversity on intermediate and long-term performance: The moderating role of environmental context. Strategic Management Journal, 28(12), 1213–1233. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.633
48.
RichardO. C.ShelorR. M. (2002). Linking top management team age heterogeneity to firm performance: Juxtaposing two mid-range theories. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(6), 958–974. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190210134309
49.
RobersonQ.HolmesO.IVPerryJ. L. (2017). Transforming research on diversity and firm performance: A dynamic capabilities perspective. The Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 189–216. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2014.0019
50.
RobersonQ.RyanA. M.RaginsB. R. (2017). The evolution and future of diversity at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 483–499. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000161
51.
RohH.ChunK.RyouY.SonJ. (2019). Opening the black box: A meta-analytic examination of the effects of top management team diversity on emergent team processes and multilevel contextual influence. Group & Organization Management, 44(1), 112–164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601118799475
52.
SchneiderB. (1973). The perception of organizational climate: The customer's view. Journal of Applied Psychology, 57(3), 248–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0034724
53.
SchneiderB.BowenD. E. (1995). Winning the service game. Harvard Business School Press.
54.
ShockleyK. M.GabrielA. S.RobertsonD.RosenC. C.ChawlaN.GansterM. L.EzerinsM. E. (2021). The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings: A within-person field experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(8), 1137–1155. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000948
55.
SliterM.JexS.WolfordK.McInnerneyJ. (2010). How rude! Emotional labor as a mediator between customer incivility and employee outcomes. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(4), 468–481. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020723
56.
SturmanM. C. (2003). Searching for the inverted U-shaped relationship between time and performance: Meta-analyses of the experience/performance, tenure/performance, and age/performance relationships. Journal of Management, 29(5), 609–640. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0149-2063_03_00028-x
57.
SubramonyM.PughS. D. (2015). Services management research: Review, integration, and future directions. Journal of Management, 41(1), 349–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314557158
58.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin, & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33- 37). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
59.
van KnippenbergD.De DreuC. K. W.HomanA. C. (2004). Work group diversity and group performance: An integrative model and research agenda. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(6), 1008–1022. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.6.1008
60.
WebberS. S.DonahueL. M. (2001). Impact of highly and less job-related diversity on work group cohesion and performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 27(2), 141–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630102700202
61.
WilliamsK. Y.O’ReillyC. A.III (1998). Demography and diversity in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 20, 77–140.
62.
WolfsonM. A.MathieuJ. E. (2018). Sprinting to the finish: Toward a theory of human capital resource complementarity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(11), 1165–1180. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000323
63.
WolfsonM. A.MathieuJ. E. (2021). Deploying human capital resources: Accentuating effects of situational alignment and social capital resources. Academy of Management Journal, 64(2), 435–457. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2019.0500
64.
YoundtM. A.SnellS. A. (2004). Human resource configurations, intellectual capital, and organizational performance. Journal of Managerial Issues, 16(3), 337–360.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
