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Acculturation attitudes and affective workgroup commitment: evidence from professional Chinese immigrants in the Australian workplace

2012; Routledge; Volume: 14; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14631369.2012.722445

1469-2953

Ying Lu, Ramanie Samaratunge, Charmine E. J. Härtel,

Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

Abstract The Australian workforce is becoming increasingly diverse and it is important to understand the role of individuals’ acculturation attitudes in the workplace. The appreciation of the relationship between acculturation attitudes and affective workgroup commitment is critical for mangers to facilitate the performance of employees with diverse backgrounds. To gain a better understanding of this relationship, we assessed the acculturation attitudes of professional Chinese immigrants and the relationship between these attitudes and affective workgroup commitment in the Australian workplace. Our survey of a sample of 220 professional Chinese immigrants in the Australian workplace revealed that, even though many of them favor integration, the majority adopt separation and marginalization, which were found to be related with low affective workgroup commitment. This study underscored the importance of acculturation attitudes to cultivate positive job-related outcomes, and provided useful information for organizations to manage immigrant employees via effective acculturation programs. Keywords: acculturationAustraliaChinese immigrantsworkgroup commitmentprofessionalsdiversity management Notes 1. Meyer et al., “Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization;” Mohamed, Taylor and Ahmad, “Affective Commitment and Intent to Quit.” 2. Moreland and Levine, “Socialization in Organizations and Workgroups;” Wang and Sangalang, “Work Adjustment and Job Satisfaction.” 3. Becker, “Foci and Bases of Commitment;” Riketta and Van Dick, “Foci of Attachment in Organizations.” 4. 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