Immigrant Diversity and Host Country Acculturation in Leader-Member Dyads

Leadership scholars have investigated the importance of leader-member dyads for several years. However, research has largely omitted the consideration of immigrant diversity with regards to leader-member relationships and outcomes in the organization. The US has experienced an influx of talented immigrants that are joining the workforce and, therefore, important to today’s economy. In a sample of two organizations, one based in South America, and another headquartered in Miami, Florida, I propose two models. One model examines the role of country of origin incongruence and LMX and the other examines the role of host country acculturation and LMX. Immigrants come from unique cultural and environmental backgrounds that may play a role in their relationship with their dyadic partner. I examine the relationship between of country of origin incongruence and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and the mediating role of LMX in the relationship between country of origin incongruence and outcomes (performance, OCBs, job satisfaction, turnover intentions). The results do not support either of these hypotheses. Immigrants have unique acculturation strategies that may also influence their relationships with their dyadic partners —integration into the host country culture and/or a focus on the heritage country culture. I examine the relationship between immigrant host country acculturation and LMX. Additionally, I examine the mediating role of LMX in the relationship between host country acculturation and outcomes (performance, OCBs, job satisfaction, turnover intentions). The results support these hypotheses. I next introduced a moderated mediation model with two moderators (diversity climate and supervisor cultural intelligence) in the relationship between host country acculturation and LMX. The results show that diversity climate moderates the relationship between host country acculturation and LMX but supervisor cultural intelligence does not moderate this relationship. The aim of this research was to discuss the implications of immigrant-host country native relationships in the organizational context. I introduce the importance of the examination of immigrant host country acculturation for LMX theory. However, my research is relevant to the management literature in general since other processes may be affected by immigrant status