Increased demographic heterogeneity in organizations
has been expected to generate important
benefits, such as increasing the variance in perspectives
and approaches to work brought by
members of different identity groups. Given the
purported advantages, managers might eagerly
incorporate workforce diversity into organizational
problem-solving processes. Yet attempts to
capitalize on these advantages have met with
mixed success (e.g., Heilman, 1994). Likewise,
research on the effects of demographic heterogeneity
in organizational settings has been characterized
by mixed findings, leading researchers
to conclude that, in spite of the recent popularity
of demographic heterogeneity as a topic, there is
little consensus about either what constitutes diversity
or how it affects performance (Guzzo &
Dickson, 1996: 331).
We address these inconsistencies by suggesting
that past researchers have neglected to consider
whether demographic heterogeneity among work
group members led to the emergence of certain
norms that subsequently influenced work processes
and outcomes. Drawing on self-categorization
theory, we begin by exploring how demographic
heterogeneity influences the emergence
and stability of a group's emphasis on cooperative
norms. We then consider the relative impacts of
increased contact on cooperative norms for demographically
similar and different people. Finally,
we examine how inconsistencies in the relationship
between group heterogeneity and work outcomes
might be explained by considering the mediating
role of norms. Thus, this study may explain
the contradictory findings described above; the
negative effects of demographic heterogeneity may
diminish when norms that encourage a focus on
interdependent objectives develop.