Article 2019

Promoting perceived insider status of indigenous employees: A review within the psychological contract framework

Cross Cultural and Strategic Management
Journal · Vol. 26 · Issue 4 · pp. 609-638
Abstract

Purpose: While companies in developed countries are increasingly turning to indigenous employees, integration measures have met with mixed results. Low integration can lead to breach of the psychological contract, i.e. perceived mutual obligations between employee and employer. The purpose of this paper is to identify how leadership and organizational integration measures can be implemented to promote the perceived insider status (PIS) of indigenous employees, thereby fostering fulfillment of the psychological contract. Design/methodology/approach: A search for relevant literature yielded 128 texts used to identify integration measures at the level of employee–supervisor relationships (leader-member exchanges, inclusive leadership) and at the level of employee–organization relationships (perceived organizational support, pro-diversity practices). Findings: Measures related to leadership included recruiting qualified leaders, understanding cultural particularities, integrating diverse contributions and welcoming questions and challenges. Organizational measures included reaching a critical mass of indigenous employees, promoting equity and participation, developing skills, assigning meaningful tasks, maintaining good work relationships, facilitating work-life balance, providing employment security, fostering support from communities and monitoring practices. Originality/value: While PIS has been studied in western and culturally diverse contexts, it has received less attention in indigenous contexts. Yet, some indigenous cultural values are incompatible with the basic assumptions of mainstream theories. Furthermore, colonial policies and capitalist development have severely impacted traditional indigenous economic systems. Consequently, indigenous people are facing many barriers to employment in ways that often differ from the experiences of other minority groups. © 2019, Joanie Caron, Hugo Asselin, Jean-Michel Beaudoin and Doïna Muresanu.

Keywords

Author Keywords

employment psychological contract indigenous people Diversity management Perceived insider status

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
School of Indigenous Studies, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
Sciences du bois et de la forêt, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada
Dept. des Sciences de la Gestion, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
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