The interactive effects of the experience of inclusion and subjective diversity on group processes in Chilean workgroups

Results of past studies of the relationship between team diversity and group outcomes have been inconsistent. This has motivated researchers to focus on the specific circumstances under which team diversity can be an asset for workgroups. This study focused on the collective experience of inclusion---individuals' aggregate perceptions and feelings of being valued, respected, authentic, and a full member of their workgroup---as a key factor that benefits group processes and as a means of taking advantage of workgroup diversity. Specifically, the collective experience of inclusion was hypothesized to relate positively to group-level information elaboration---the process through which workgroup members exchange, discuss, and integrate information to perform their tasks, aggregated at the group level---and to relate negatively to group-level relationship conflict---interpersonal tensions and friction---aggregated at the group level---as well as group-level task conflict---disagreements regarding how to perform the tasks, also aggregated at the group level. Additionally, the collective experience of inclusion and group-level subjective diversity (the perceived heterogeneity among workgroup members---aggregated at the group level) were expected to interact to strengthen these relationships. A total of 580 employees of a Chilean retail company comprising a total of 93 workgroups of at least two members each participated in this study. An internet-administered survey with 69 items was used to measure the focal variables. Hierarchical and multivariate multiple regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. As expected, the collective experience of inclusion was a strong predictor of the group processes, but group-level subjective diversity only predicted group-level task conflict. The results also indicated a moderating effect of the collective experience of inclusion and group-level subjective diversity in predicting group-level information elaboration. Collective experience of inclusion mediated the relationships between group-level subjective diversity and both task and relationship conflict at the group level. These findings partially supported the hypothesized relationships regarding the role of the collective experience of inclusion and subjective diversity in predicting the studied group processes. This study also provided recommendations for a future research agenda on diversity and inclusion.