_______________________________ FEELING LIKE AN OUTSIDER IN UNIVERSITY: THE EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, INTENTION TO RECOMMEND, AND COMMITMENT TO THE UNIVERSITY _

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___________________________________________________________________________ FEELING LIKE AN OUTSIDER IN UNIVERSITY:

THE EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, INTENTION TO RECOMMEND, AND COMMITMENT TO THE UNIVERSITY

___________________________________________________________________________ Master Thesis, MSc Human Resource Management

University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business

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1 ABSTRACT

Both in organisations and in academic institutions, issues regarding diversity play a relevant role. Diversity policies are implemented to initiate the employment of inclusive affirmative action plans, however, the results of these diversity policies often remain invisible throughout organisations. In this paper, attention was drawn towards the effect of the

perceived effectiveness of such diversity policies within an academic institution. An ineffective policy can be seen as word-seen misalignment, which reduces the level of trust people experience. In turn, trust is a crucial prerequisite for feelings of inclusiveness. This study tested whether trust and feelings of inclusiveness mediate the relationship between perceived effectiveness of diversity policy and students’ academic performance, commitment to the university, and intention to recommend the university. Moreover, I investigated whether the effect of perceived diversity policy effectiveness on trust is stronger for members of minority groups. In addition to the quantitative survey study (N = 127), semi-structured interviews (N = 7) were conducted in order to find how people assess the effectiveness of a diversity policy. The results show that the sequential mediation only holds for student’s intention to recommend, and partially for their commitment to the university. Therefore, it is important for academic institutions to improve their (perceived) diversity policy effectiveness, as commitment and intention to recommend are both relevant for future success. In addition, the moderating effect of minority status has shown to be insignificant. With regard to the concrete cues on how people determine the effectiveness of a diversity policy, both language and unfulfilled promises play an important role.

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2 INTRODUCTION

Gender diversity is a hot topic in society and organisations. Even though differences between men and women are still very obvious throughout the society (e.g. gaps in pay level and maternity vs. paternity leave; Global Gender Gap Report, 2018; Rabovsky & Lee, 2017; Riccucci, 2009), organisations have been claiming to work towards a more equal

representation of male and female employees, an issue that is particularly relevant for the upper echelons of organisations (McKinsey, 2018). Working towards equality for women is not only justifiable from an ethical point of view, but also from an economic perspective (McKinsey, 2015). McKinsey (2015) highlighted that global GDP can be increased by 12 trillion USD up until 2025 if the lack of parity between men and women on the labour market would be improved.

In academic institutions, too, the division between men and women at the top is significant. The University of Groningen is a good example of this, with only 19.6% of the highest professor positions taken by women in 2017 (LNVH, 2018). Like private

organisations, academic institutions strive for a more equal representation of men and women in top positions. The University of Groningen has set the goal for 2020 to have 25% of

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3 These so-called diversity quotas (in which diversity often refers to gender diversity) are used in many organisations. To show their commitment to reach these quotas,

organisations set up diversity policies. However, in line with the above-mentioned example of the University of Groningen, McKinsey & Lean In (2018) demonstrated that there is a

discrepancy between policies and outcomes regarding gender diversity, as women are still underrepresented in organisations. These examples show a great commitment to workforce diversity in academic institutions with only minor results. The discrepancy between diversity policies and reality exists in both private and public sector organisations, however, in public sector organisations, such as universities, consequences of these discrepancies can be particularly detrimental (Keynan, 2014). Universities are educating students to become researchers, which has great importance for society and promoting male scientists, instead of the best scientists, could hinder complex problem solving in the academic environment. Therefore, the current research will focus specifically on higher education institutions.

A discrepancy between words and deeds with regard to a diversity policy as described above can cause a reduction in the organisation’s perceived behavioural integrity (Prottas, 2008; Simons, 2002). Behavioural integrity can be defined as the consistency between what a person says he will do and what a person actually does (Prottas, 2008). As behavioural integrity has been suggested to affect the level of trust one experiences (Prottas, 2008; Simons, 2002), I expect diversity policy to positively affect trust when it is effective, and to negatively affect trust of the members of the focal organisation when it is ineffective. Another issue which might possibly result from perceived discrepancy in diversity policy, through trust, is a lack of feelings of inclusiveness. Policies that do not achieve their goals are

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4 sexuality – is welcome, while this is not reflected in people’s actual experiences, this will most likely be questioned, reducing one’s feeling of inclusion.

In university settings, feeling included is a well-known promotion criterium to attract and retain students (Pratt, Harwood, Cavazos, & Ditzfeld, 2019). Universities aim to convey the message of welcoming all students warmly, regardless of their demographics. The previous rector magnificus of the University of Groningen, Elmer Sterken, even stated that “Inclusion is an official part of the education strategy” (Thorburn, 2019). However, stories of both minority students and staff of the University of Groningen illustrate that they do not feel included after all (Thorburn, 2019). This contradiction, again, illustrates that discrepancies between policy statements and outcomes are pervasive. This is worrisome, since a feeling of inclusiveness has been shown to be associated with a number of positive outcomes, such as reduced conflict, lower turnover rates and higher performance (Nishii, 2013; Shore, Randel, Chung, Dean, Ehrhart, & Singh, 2011).

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5 recommend the university and commitment to the university as outcome variables. As every individual perceives the alignment between policy and reality differently, perceived diversity policy effectiveness will be used to reflect the differences in perception.

In this study, I will test the suggested relationship between perceived diversity policy effectiveness, trust, and feelings of inclusiveness. Moreover, the relationship between

perceived diversity policy effectiveness and outcome variables that are relevant for students will be investigated. To do so, I will employ a two-step research approach consisting of a quantitative part and a qualitative part. By conducting a survey study, I will address the issue of perceived diversity policy effectiveness and its effect on students’ levels of trust and feelings of inclusiveness within the academic setting. Specifically, I will investigate whether demographic factors influence this relationship. Moreover, I will focus on the effect the (lack of) feeling of inclusiveness has on academic performance, commitment to the university and the intention to recommend the university to others. The research questions for the

quantitative part of this paper are: What is the effect of perceived diversity policy effectiveness on academic performance, commitment and intention to recommend? Is this effect mediated through trust and feelings of inclusiveness? Is the effect of diversity policy effectiveness on trust more pronounced among students belonging to a minority?

A topic that received little or no attention in the literature so far, is why one would assess a diversity policy as effective or ineffective. For this reason, this study will go beyond investigating the effects of perceived diversity policy effectiveness by studying the cues and signals that people use to assess a diversity policy as (in)effective. These signals will be explored by conducting semi-structured interviews with students from the University of Groningen. The three main goals of this paper thus are (1) to examine whether the perceived effectiveness of current diversity policies is indeed affecting trust and feelings of

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6 provide insights based on respondents’ input regarding how to improve the match between policy and reality. Thus, the qualitative part of the study will address the following question: Which signals and cues are used to detect discrepancies between policy and reality?

Theoretical and practical contributions. The current study valuably extends existing knowledge in a number of ways. First, going beyond the commonly studied association between diversity policy and inclusion, we investigate the recently observed pervasive and widespread discrepancy between diversity policy and reality and its effect on inclusiveness. Second, extending insights into the effect of diversity on feelings of inclusion by individuals, we take into account the effect on objective performance measures (self-reported grades), on others outside of the organisation (recommendation of organisation) and on the organisation itself (commitment to the organisation, for instance willingness to contribute to alumni days or volunteering for events). Third, and of particular interest for practitioners, this research will examine the signals and cues individuals use to infer that there is a match or mismatch

between diversity policy and reality. These insights will point practitioners towards important areas that require careful design and attention.

Assuming support will be found for my hypotheses, practical contributions are valuable for both organisations as academic institutions. First of all, organisations will learn that improving diversity policy effectiveness has effect beyond the effect of improving diversity itself; it also improves the level of trust and feelings of inclusiveness among members of the organisation. In addition, an effective policy signals word-deed alignment, which has shown to positively affect employees’ trust in an organisation, employee

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7 specific university. Moreover, as university degrees are costly, it is of great importance that academic performance will be maximised to the extent that this is possible by influencing external factors. As perceived inclusiveness has been suggested to affect study results (Winkle-Wagner & McCoy, 2018), it is very relevant to investigate this relationship in more detail and find out to what extent the effectiveness of diversity policies affects this

relationship.

THEORY AND HYPOTHESES Workforce Diversity, Policy & Effectiveness

Nowadays, working in a diverse environment, beyond the diversity of age and gender, has become a standard. Diversity can be referred to as “differences between

individuals on any attribute that may lead to the perception that another person is different from self” (Van Knippenberg, De Dreu, & Homan, 2004 p.1008). Diversity therefore entails many different aspects, ranging from gender to educational background. Many studies have investigated the effects of diversity, but their outcomes are not unanimous. Some suggest that diversity within groups is positive, as it enhances creativity and provides plentiful ideas (Francoeur, Labelle, & Sinclair-Desgagné, 2008). On the other hand, diversity might hinder decision making and can lead to conflict (Ancona & Caldwell, 1992).

The question is where these opposing outcomes of diversity stem from. In a meta-analytical study regarding these conflicting findings, Horwitz and Horwitz (2007) found an explanation for this contradiction. They categorised diversity into two types: bio-demographic diversity, which represents differences in observable attributes like race and gender, and task-related diversity, which are traits that are acquired and less visible such as educational

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8 effect was found for bio-demographic diversity. As task-related diversity is difficult to

observe, it has also been classified as deep-level diversity or underlying attributes in the literature (Horwitz & Horwitz, 2007). As it is not easy to classify people based on their deep-level diversity, most organisations stick to promoting surface-deep-level diversity within their organisation in order to create a diverse workforce.

Since diversity is such a broad concept, heterogeneity in organisations refers to race, cultural backgrounds, sexual orientation and many more attributes. Organisations and

academic institutions realise the importance of diversity for their organisations, both from an economic and ethical point of view. Despite this awareness, minorities have been and remain underrepresented in the workplace (Findler, Wind, & Mor Barak, 2010; García Johnson & Otto, 2019; Holck, 2018; McKinsey & Lean In, 2018; Norman, Rankin-Wright, & Allison, 2018; Sabharwal, Levine, D’Agostino, & Nguyen, 2019; Williamson, Colley, Foley, & Cooper, 2018). In order to address this issue, diversity policies and affirmative action plans are brought into existence. In diversity policies, organisations state what their goals are regarding diversity in their organisation and what measures they take in order to reach their goal. Affirmative action, on the other hand, can be described as practices aimed at supporting minorities in the organisation (Noon, 2010). This includes enhancing opportunities and providing preferential treatment for target groups. Bias training, (non)binding gender targets or quotas are examples of affirmative action (Foley & Williamson, 2018).

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9 on the labour market by establishing quotas and targets, most often aiming for gender

equality. For example, The Netherlands has set the target for the percentage of female board of director members and supervisory board members at 30% (Rijksoverheid, 2017). However, at the current pace this goal will only be reached by 2028 (Lückerath-Rovers, 2019). Also, in 2015 all Dutch universities have set goals for the percentage of female professors in 2020, which range from 15% to 35% of female professors (LNVH, 2018). Whether they will reach their target is highly questionable for many universities, based on their progression by 2018. The Dutch Network of Women Professors (2017) indicated the severity of this issue: the current gender inequality in universities costs almost 70 million euros yearly.

As becomes clear in the paragraphs above, the focus of organisations lies on improving the concrete numbers regarding diversity, representing surface-level diversity. However, recent research found that individuals who feel dissimilar from the group on a deep level are feeling less included than people who view themselves as dissimilar on a surface-level (Sahin, Van der Toorn, Jansen, Boezeman, & Ellemers, 2019). This indicates that stimulating diversity (most often on a surface-level) is not equal to enhancing feelings of inclusion. This is in line with the suggestion that inclusion consists of both the feeling of belonging to a group as well as the perception of authenticity (Jansen, Otten, Van der Zee, & Jans, 2014). A feeling of belonging to a group can be described as the feeling of being accepted by the group, whereas authenticity refers to the extent to which people feel supported to be their true selves (Jansen et al., 2014). Promoting a feeling of belonging, by implementing a diversity policy focussing on welcoming all people – regardless of their gender, age or origin – is not equal to creating an environment in which people can be their true selves, embracing both surface- and deep-level differences between individuals.

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10 The current research is renewing in that it tests the effect of perceived diversity policy effectiveness among students. The focus will thus lie on outcome variables that are highly relevant and important for students and universities: study performance, intention to recommend and commitment to the university. These variables will be discussed in more detail below.

Consequences of Inclusion for Students

Academic Performance. Every year, enormous amounts of money are spent for educational purposes. In The Netherlands, both private expenses (42.9 billion euros) and government expenditures (38.7 billion euros) are high and on the rise (CBS, 2018). Academic achievement is highly valued in our society, which makes it important to look for possible ways to improve this. Academic performance is generally measured by using data on grades, with a particular focus on GPA (Poropat, 2009). In this study, academic performance will be measured by using two separate variables, namely GPA and study progress (i.e. whether a student has nominal study progress or delays in the collection of ETCS).

Intention to Recommend. Next to academic performance, the intention to recommend among students is a very important factor for universities. When people feel satisfied about a product or service, they will spread their satisfaction to others, which can influence the brand image of the people to whom they express their satisfaction (Richins, 1983). However, the other way around appears to be also true: when consumers are dissatisfied, the chance of spreading this dissatisfaction to at least one other person is 57.2% (Richins, 1983). As word of mouth has a strong influence on the judgements of others, it is of utmost importance that the word that is spread will be positive (Herr, Kardes & Kim, 1991). Therefore, intention to recommend is a crucial variable to do research on, as universities are competing to attract students and therefore should have a positive image among potential students.

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11 commitment from the inside is important. In universities, this commitment can be observed by students’ willingness to participate in extracurricular courses or committees and boards, the tendency to take on jobs within the university (e.g. student-assistant or working for the reception), or the likeliness that students will become part of the alumni network after

graduation. Organisational commitment can be divided into three categories, namely affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment (Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993). Affective commitment is associated with one’s attachment to an organisation,

continuance commitment with the costs of switching to another organisation and normative commitment with a feeling of obligation to stay with the organisation (Meyer et al., 1993). In this study, the focus lies on affective commitment, as this type of commitment was found to be related to one’s intention to keep up with developments in the organisation and the intention to undertake extracurricular activities within the organisation because the person wants to (Meyer et al., 1993).

Behavioural Integrity

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12 It seems plausible that similar consequences will be evident for students. A perceived gap between policy and reality could cause students to be less satisfied, which will reduce their intention to (positively) recommend the university. Also, a negative perception will likely lower one’s attachment to the university, diminishing students’ commitment. Lastly, as experiences of stress and low satisfaction levels have been found to negatively affect

performance, I expect that a perceived ineffective diversity policy will hamper students’ performance (Erro-Garcés & Ferreira, 2019; Richardson, Abraham, & Bond, 2012).

Hypothesis 1: Perceived diversity policy effectiveness has a positive effect on academic performance, intention to recommend, and commitment to the university. Simons (2002) suggests that lack of behavioural integrity negatively affects trust. Trust is defined as “a psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behaviour of another” (Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt, & Camerer, 1998). Integrity can be defined as the extent to which one adheres to a collection of principles (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995). In case an organisation’s word-deed alignment is perceived as weak, for instance because diversity policy is perceived as being ineffective, this thus has major consequences for members’ view of the organisation as trustworthy. Therefore, I expect that perceived diversity policy effectiveness will affect feelings of trust, such that trust increases when diversity policy is perceived as effective and decreases when it is perceived as ineffective.

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13 are still underrepresented throughout society and are therefore typically targeted by equal opportunity programs (Norman et al., 2018; McKinsey, 2018).

Hypothesis 3: The relationship between perceived diversity policy effectiveness and trust is moderated by gender and nationality, such that this relationship is stronger among women and non-Dutch students.

Feelings of Inclusiveness

Inclusiveness is a relatively new topic in organisational research, even though it exists as an important aspect in our society for a long time. One definition that was established for feelings of inclusiveness was by Shore et al., (2011), who state that for feelings of inclusion one should experience both a feeling of belongingness and uniqueness. A diverse group can be described as a group in which people differ with regard to any attribute (Van Knippenberg et al., 2004). The difference between diversity and inclusion is that a group can be diverse if people differ from each other, but a group can only be inclusive when people feel like they belong and can be their unique selves. This illustrates that a diverse group is not inclusive by nature, and vice versa.

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14 Trust has been found to be a factor crucial for determining the extent to which people can be their true selves (Edmondson, 1999). One of the most popular definitions of trust was established by Mayer et al. (1995, p. 712): “Trust is the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party”. In order to experience feelings of inclusiveness, one should be comfortable with exposing their true self to others, thereby making themselves vulnerable to the opinion of others. Without trust, members are unable to feel psychologically safe and the concept of authenticity is thereby undermined (Edmondson, 1999). Nishii (2013) builds on the same perspective and explains that one should feel safe in order to show their true identity, making trust a critical prerequisite for authenticity and thereby feelings of inclusiveness (Nishii, 2013). Combining this knowledge, I expect that trust will lead to feelings of inclusiveness among students, as a trustworthy environment will enhance their tendency to be truly authentic.

Hypothesis 4: Trust will have a positive effect on feelings of inclusiveness.

Furthermore, in addition to the direct effect of perceived diversity policy effectiveness, the relationship between feelings of inclusiveness and academic performance, intention to recommend, and commitment to the university for students should be explored. Winkle-Wagner and McCoy (2018) found that minorities within white-dominated universities demonstrate lower academic results and satisfaction levels as compared to

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15 Hypothesis 5: Feelings of inclusiveness positively affect academic performance, intention to recommend, and commitment to the university.

Investigating the effect of inclusiveness in an academic setting is highly relevant, as most research is conducted in organisational settings testing the effect among employees. Students are a large group and are the future employees; investigating the proposed effects of inclusiveness in this population is relevant.

Cues Signalling Diversity Policy Effectiveness

As outlined above, the alignment of words and deeds is important for the development of trust (Simons, 2002). Besides the effect on trust, word-deed misalignment has

consequences for many more attributes, such as credibility and job satisfaction (Davis & Rothstein, 2006; Simons, 2002). Therefore, the words stated in a diversity policy should comply with the deeds of an organisation. Previous research regarding behavioural integrity and word-deed alignment clarifies the subjectivity of word-deed alignment (Simons, 2002). It is interesting to investigate which concrete signals indicate a misalignment between diversity policy and practice, as such cues have remained unestablished throughout the literature and can valuably inform practitioners about which aspects of the diversity policy or its

implementation should be improved.

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16 about what causes students to assess a diversity policy as effective or ineffective. Therefore, the qualitative part of this study taps into this unexplored field, by gathering data from students on the cues signalling an (in)effective diversity policy.

The Present Research

In sum, the current research tests the effects of perceived diversity policy effectiveness on students’ academic performance, intention to recommend and commitment to the

university through trust and feelings of inclusiveness. In addition, the possibility is explored that the association between diversity policy effectiveness and trust is stronger for minorities. Furthermore, data will be gathered to investigate what exactly makes students perceive a diversity policy as effective or ineffective. In order to test this, a study will be conducted among students from the University of Groningen.

Within the University of Groningen, the goal is to make everyone comfortable

(Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 2019). Moreover, inclusiveness is included in the strategy of the university (Thorburn, 2019). The success of its policy and strategy, however, is not as

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17 METHOD

Participants and procedures

To test the hypotheses outlined above, both quantitative and quantitative data was gathered. In order to test for the suggested relationships, a survey study was conducted. To ensure reliable results, the sample size was determined a priori by use of G*Power analysis. The analysis indicated that 74 participants were needed, based on a linear multiple regression with 4 predictors. A total of 80 participants was aimed for, in order to have a sufficient and rounded number of participants. Participants had to be students at the University of

Groningen, in order to analyse the effect of its perceived diversity policy effectiveness on perceived inclusiveness and study performance, intention to recommend and commitment to the organisation.

An online survey software (Qualtrics) was used to send out anonymous surveys and collect data. Participants were recruited using a snowballing system, starting with people within my personal network. These people received a message with a brief description on the study and a link to the survey. When they clicked on this link, they entered the survey, starting with a question regarding their informed consent. If they chose to participate, the actual survey questions would appear per topic, and moving forward in the survey was only possible if the participant had answered all the questions on the page. The survey collected information on all the variables included in the conceptual model using various measures for each item. The conceptual model outlining the hypotheses can be found in Figure 1 below.

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18 to non-Dutch (16.5%). The youngest student who responded was 17, and there were some with the age of 26 or older, which illustrates that all steps in the academic career were

covered. The tenure of students was quite evenly spread, with the biggest proportion being the students who have been studying at the University of Groningen for 4 to 5 years (31.5%). Except for the faculties Theology & Religion Studies, University College Groningen, and Campus Fryslân, all faculties were represented in our sample. However, the majority of the participants (74.0%) studied at the Economics and Business Faculty.

Parallel to the quantitative data collection, semi-structured interviews were held to find an answer to how people determine whether a discrepancy exists between diversity policy on paper and in practice. Questions concerned cues students use to conclude that a diversity policy is effective. The interviews consisted of 3 pre-determined questions, namely (1) What do you know about the diversity policy of the University of Groningen?, (2) Would you say that there is a fit between the diversity policy and reality?, and (3) How do you

observe this (mis)alignment between policy and reality? To gather as much useful information as possible, probing has been used. For this qualitative data collection, seven students from the University of Groningen were asked to participate in a short interview. In order to create a holistic view on the topic, three Dutch nationals and four non-Dutch students were

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19 Figure 1. Conceptual Model

TABLE 1 Interviewee demographics

Nationality Gender Age Study Tenure

German Male 22 4 years

Indonesian Female 21 1.5 years

German Female 22 4 years

German Female 24 4 years

Dutch Female 23 5 years

Dutch Male 23 5 years

Dutch Female 23 5 years

Measures

All measures are assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, unless stated otherwise. The complete items belonging to the scales are provided in the Appendix.

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20 effectiveness using three statements. An example item was ‘I believe that the university successfully implemented its diversity policy’.

Trust was measured using an adapted version of the 7-item scale provided by Robinson (1996) (α = .78). Two example items were “In general, I believe my university’s motives and intentions are good” and “I think my university treats me fairly”.

Feelings of inclusiveness was measured by using an adapted version of the three-item scale by Pearce and Randel (2004) (α = .67). An example item was “Sometimes I feel like an outsider.”

Academic Performance consisted of two separate outcome variables, namely average grade and study progress. To measure GPA, students were asked to disclose their average grade, rounded on one decimal. To measure study progress, students were asked to indicate whether they are on track with their collection of ECTS. This was done by asking the following questions: ‘Please indicate to which extent you are on track with the collection of ECTS.’ Options ranged from ‘I am not completely on track and will likely need a year or more than the time stated for completing my programme.’ to ‘I am completely on track with the collection of ECTS.’

Intention to Recommend was measured by an adapted version of the two-item word-of-mouth intentions scale by Brown, Barry, Dacin and Gunst (2005) (α = .95). An original example item is “If a friend were shopping for a [brand], how likely is it that you would recommend [dealership]?”. This item was adapted to “If a friend were looking for a university to attend, how likely is it that you would recommend the University of Groningen?”.

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21 “part of the family” at my organisation”. For reasons of consistency, a 5-point Likert scale was used instead of the original 7-point Likert scale.

Demographic factors concerned gender (1 = male, 2 = female), cultural background (1 = Dutch, 2 = non-Dutch), age and tenure ( “For how long have you been studying at the University of Groningen?” 1 = less than 1 year, 2 = 1-2 years, 3 = 3-4 years, 4 = 4-5 years, 5 = more than 5 years). Thus, higher values of tenure indicate a longer study time at the University of Groningen.

Data analysis

SPSS was used to analyse the quantitative data that has been collected. All measures showed a Cronbach’s alpha higher than .65, indicating satisfactory reliability. The moderation and mediation model were tested using PROCESS models 1 and 6, respectively (Hayes, 2013). Results of the qualitative data gathered from the interviews will be presented after the statistical analysis. This data was analysed using first- and second order categories. This will be supported by quotes from interviewees.

RESULTS Descriptive statistics and correlations

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22 TABLE 2

Pearson Correlation Matrix

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Simple moderation analysis

For gender, the predicted interaction with perceived diversity policy effectiveness was not significant (B = .06 t(120) = .47, p = .642). In the current research, gender does not moderate the association between perceived diversity policy effectiveness and trust (Table 3). I will elaborate on possible explanations for this finding in the discussion.

TABLE 3

Conditional process analysis gender: moderator variable model Trust

Antecedent B SE t p LLCI ULCI

Constant 4.59*** .94 4.90 .000 2.74 6.44 Gender -.28 .47 -.60 .547 -1.21 .65 PDPE .14 .22 .62 .535 -.29 .56 Gender x PDPE .06 .13 .47 .642 -.20 .32 Age -.05* .02 -2.28 .025 -.09 -.01 Tenure .01 .03 .32 .751 -.06 .08 R² = .16, F(5, 121) = 4.53, p = .001

Notes: B = effect, SE = standard error. LLCI = lower limit confidence interval, ULCI = upper limit confidence interval. PDPE = perceived

diversity policy effectiveness. *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

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24 TABLE 4

Conditional process analysis nationality: moderator variable model Trust

Antecedent B SE t p LLCI ULCI

Constant 3.30** .93 3.56 .005 1.46 5.13 Nationality .71 .68 1.05 .300 -.63 2.06 PDPE .47* .22 2.12 .036 .03 .91 Nationality x PDPE -.22 .19 -1.15 .253 -.60 .16 Age -.05 .02 -1.88 .062 -.09 .00 Tenure .00 .04 -.02 .988 -.08 .08 R² = .16, F (5, 121) = 4.66, p = .001

Notes: B = effect, SE = standard error. LLCI = lower limit confidence interval, ULCI = upper limit confidence interval. PDPE = perceived

diversity policy effectiveness. *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

Sequential mediation analysis

Next, the sequential mediations from our conceptual model were tested with age, tenure and nationality as control variables, as the correlations presented in Table 2 show significant effects on the variables being tested. In addition, gender was used in the analysis regarding commitment to the university, as a correlation between gender and commitment was found. All four outcome variables were tested for sequential mediation. Results will be discussed in detail below.

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25 Figure 2. Analysis model with commitment as dependent variable

Note: *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

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26 TABLE 5

Effects of Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness on Commitment to the University Mediator Model Dependent Variable Model Trust FOI Commitment to the University Constant 4.08(.58)*** 2.12(.93)* .68(.79) PDPE .24(.07)*** .10(.10) .17(.08)* Trust .26(.13)* .04(.11) FOI .17(.08)* Age -.05(.03) .07(.03) .01(.03) Nationality -.00(.12) -.71(.17)*** .18(.15) Tenure .01(.04) -.04(.05) -.02(.04) Gender -.07(.08) -.06(.11) .28(.09)** R² = .15, F (5, 115) = 3.97, p = .002 R² = .21, F = (6, 114) = 5.11, p = .000 R² = .18, F (7, 113) = 3.56, p = .002

Notes: *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001. Standard error in parentheses. PDPE = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness. FOI = Feelings of

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27 TABLE 6

Direct and Indirect Effects on Commitment to the University

Antecedent B SE LLCI ULCI

Direct effect .17 .08 .02 .33

Total indirect effect .04 .04 -.03 .13

Indirect effect 1 .01 .03 -.05 .07

Notes: B = effect, SE = standard error. LLCI = lower limit confidence interval, ULCI = upper limit confidence interval. Indirect effect 1 =

Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Trust – Commitment to the University. Indirect effect 2 = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness

– Feelings of Inclusiveness – Commitment to the University. Indirect effect 3 = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Trust – Feelings of Inclusiveness – Commitment to the University. *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

Intention to Recommend. The second model that was tested for sequential mediation regards the conceptual model with intention to recommend as dependent variable (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Analysis model with intention to recommend as dependent variable Note: *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

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29 TABLE 7

Effects of Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness on Intention to Recommend Mediator Model Dependent Variable Model

Trust FOI Intention to Recommend

Constant 4.08(.56)*** 1.82(.90)* .61(1.08) PDPE .23(.06)*** .13(.09) .06(.11) Trust .29(.12)* .40(.15)** FOI .31(.11)** Age -.04(.02) .07(.03)* .05(.04) Nationality -.04(.12) -.74(.16)*** -.23(.21) Tenure .00(0.04) -.06(.05) .03(.06) R² = .15, F (4, = 121) = 5.44, p = .001 R² = .23, F (5, 120) = 7.00, p = .000 R² = .22, F (6, 119) = 5.48, p = .000

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30 TABLE 8

Direct and Indirect Effects on Intention to Recommend

Direct effect .06 .11 -.16 .27

Total indirect effect .15 .06 .04 .29

Indirect effect 1 .09 .04 .01 .19

Indirect effect 3 .02 .01 .00 .05

Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Trust – Intention to Recommend. Indirect effect 2 = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness –

Feelings of Inclusiveness – Intention to Recommend. Indirect effect 3 = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Trust – Feelings of

Inclusiveness – Intention to Recommend. *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

Average Grade. The next dependent variable that was tested for sequential mediation concerned participants’ average grade (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Analysis model with average grade as dependent variable Note: *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

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31 hypothesis, the relationship between trust and feelings of inclusiveness was positive and significant (B = .25, t(118) = 2.03, p = .045). However, the sequential mediating model for average grade could not be confirmed, since the relationship between feelings of inclusiveness and average grade was not significant. Moreover, no significant direct or indirect effect was found for perceived diversity policy effectiveness on average grade. Hence, the hypothesis that perceived diversity policy effectiveness affects a student’s average grade through trust and feelings of inclusiveness cannot be supported.

TABLE 9

Effects of Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness on Average Grade

Mediator Model Dependent Variable Model

Trust FOI Average Grade

Constant 4.05(.56)*** 2.07(.90)* 5.15(1.02)*** PDPE .21(.06)** .12(.09) -.08(.10) Trust .25(.12)* .17(.14) FOI .12(.10) Age -.04(.02) .06(.03) .02(.04) Nationality -.02(.12) -.74(.16)*** .30(.20) Tenure .01(.04) -.03(.05) .16(.06)** R² = .12, F (4, 119) = 4.12, p = .004 R² = .22, F (5, 118) = 6.56, p = .000 R² = .12, F (6, 177) = 2.69, p = .017

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32 TABLE 10

Direct and Indirect Effects on Average Grade

Direct effect -.08 .10 -.28 .12

Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Trust – Average Grade. Indirect effect 2 = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Feelings of

Inclusiveness – Average Grade. Indirect effect 3 = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Trust – Feelings of Inclusiveness – Average

Grade. *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

Study progress. The final model that was tested is the sequential mediating model affecting the collection of ECTS (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Analysis model with study progress as dependent variable

Note: *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

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33 positive and significant, as predicted. However, the remaining relationships that have been hypothesised were not significant and therefore we could not confirm our sequential mediation. Accordingly, the indirect effects regarding study progress are not reliable. The hypothesis that perceived diversity policy effectiveness affects the collection of ECTS through trust and feelings of inclusiveness was not supported.

TABLE 11

Effects of Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness on Study Progress

Mediator Model Dependent Variable Model

Trust FOI Study Progress

Constant 4.15(.56)*** 1.83(.90)* 2.38(2.25) PDPE .23(.06)*** .12(.09) -.01(.22) Trust .29(.12)* -.18(.30) FOI .28(.22) Age -.05(.02) .07(.03)* .02(.08) Nationality -.06(.12) -.75(.16)*** .43(.43) Tenure .00(.04) -.06(.05) -.02(.13) R² = .15, F (4, 122) = 5.48, p = .000 R² = .23, F (5, 121) = 7.25, p = .000 R² = .02, F (6, 120) = .51, p = .800

Inclusiveness.

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34 TABLE 12

Effects of Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness on Study Progress

Direct effect -.01 .22 -.46 .43

Indirect effect 1 -.04 .07 -.20 .08

Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Trust – Study Progress. Indirect effect 2 = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Feelings of

Inclusiveness – Study Progress. Indirect effect 3 = Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness – Trust – Feelings of Inclusiveness – Study

Progress. *p <.05, **p <.01, ***p <.001.

The sequential mediation model was confirmed up to feelings of inclusiveness in all analyses, providing support for both Hypothesis 2 and Hypothesis 4. Yet, only for intention to recommend the full sequential mediation was significant. Partial support was found for the sequential mediation model on commitment to the university. Thus, Hypothesis 5 only holds for intention to recommend. The (positive) direct effect of perceived diversity policy

effectiveness on the dependent variables was significant only for commitment to the university. Therefore, also Hypothesis 1 is partially supported.

Qualitative Data Analysis

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35 aspects they consider in deciding on this topic. A brief transcript of the interviews can be found in the Appendix.

While conducting the interviews, there was one specific topic that all interviewees mentioned, namely the use of Dutch language in the university and among students. International students experience exclusion in the sense that they cannot acquire the same amount of information, they are not able to participate in all activities or committees of study associations, and most importantly, they cannot follow or join conversations since students switch to the Dutch language easily. One of the non-Dutch interviewees said that ‘sometimes the Dutch teacher even spoke Dutch to the Dutch students and English to the internationals’. Moreover, one of the students reported ‘When I learned the Dutch language it became easier for me because I could get more information from people and find more information. People can provide me with information more easily as soon as I start to speak Dutch.’ Also the Dutch interviewees mentioned this topic ‘If you talk to internationals, they sometimes

complain about the fact that everyone is talking in Dutch and that they do not understand it’. Another often mentioned topic was the university’s advertising towards international students. Students explained that they experience quite a lot of advertising in order to attract more international students. However, the advertisements are, according to the interviewees, not always reflecting reality. One girl mentioned ‘I do not know much about the university’s diversity policy, I just know that they are trying to get a lot of internationals into the

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36 make these diverse individuals integrate well. I think the SPAA groups are not enough.’ Lastly, a quote from one of the interviewees on the question what is important for her in deciding on the alignment between policy and practice: ‘That you do not just use

internationals to get more funds or something. Do not get them here just to look better or for advertising but have genuine motives. Do not use false advertising.’

Throughout the interviews it became clear that the above two issues are perceived as most critical for students with regard to diversity policy and implementation. The latter one, the university’s advertising to attract international students, is an issue that should be on the university’s diversity agenda. Advertisements for international students should be compliant with the reality at the university. A related point of attention in this regard is the housing problem for international students. This, together with the high workload and adjusting to the Dutch culture, creates much stress for incoming students, which is not what is portrayed in the university’s marketing campaign. The other critical point, the language barrier, is something the university should pay more attention to, but is not entirely in hands of the university itself. This was also mentioned by some of the (Dutch) interviewees: ‘I think the university tries to include everyone, but I do feel like that Dutch students are not always really open to

international students.’ Therefore, an additional approach may be needed, focusing not only on international students, but just as much on the Dutch students. Still, the university can show its commitment towards all students by improving information provision in English, and rewarding study associations that include international students in every aspect of it.

DISCUSSION

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37 performance, commitment, and intention to recommend?’ and ‘Is this effect mediated through trust and feelings of inclusiveness?’ have been answered in this study. Both commitment to the university and intention to recommend appeared to be positively affected by perceived diversity policy effectiveness. Commitment to the university was directly influenced by perceived diversity policy effectiveness. For intention to recommend, this effect was indirect and ran through both trust and feelings of inclusiveness, supporting our sequential mediation model. Providing further support for our sequential mediation model, all mediation models were significant up to feelings of inclusiveness.

Neither a direct nor indirect association was found between perceived diversity policy effectiveness and academic performance (neither for average grade nor for study progress). One explanation for the insignificant results for the sequential mediation models on academic performance is that this model is not yet complete. Drawing upon the literature on

organisational commitment, I suggest that the variable ‘commitment to the university’ precedes the dependent variable academic performance in the model, since organisational commitment positively influences job performance (Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch, & Topolnytsky 2002; Wright & Bonett, 2002). Assuming similar effects hold in academic settings, this provides interesting avenues for future research, as the current research indicates the relevance of perceived diversity policy effectiveness on commitment to the university.

The third and last research question of the quantitative part of this study was ‘Is the effect of diversity policy effectiveness on trust more pronounced among students belonging to a minority?’. For both gender and nationality, this moderating effect on the association between perceived diversity policy effectiveness and trust was not significant. A potential explanation for the insignificant effect of gender as a moderator is that in this specific setting, women might not be a minority. There are even slightly more female students (51.3%)

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38 Groningen, 2016). For nationality on the other hand, the insignificance can be explained by the underrepresentation of international students in the research sample.

By conducting qualitative research, we gathered more detailed information regarding the question why people perceive a diversity policy as effective or not. We discovered that all students find language a highly important indicator in this context, as the university is

portrayed as fully English for particular studies, but still it was mentioned that students, and even staff, tend to switch to Dutch, excluding non-Dutch students from possible participation in conversations. Students therefore also take into account fellow students’ or individual staff members’ behaviour in deciding on the university’s diversity policy effectiveness. This finding is in line with suggestions from Simons (2002), who indicated that word-deed

misalignment in one aspect of the organisation influences the degree to which the entire entity is viewed as integer or not. Moreover, the extensive advertising to attract international

students is perceived as not completely realistic. Students indicated that there is substantial marketing by the university to attract non-Dutch students, but these advertisements do not fully portray reality. This can be seen as word-deed misalignment, and therefore is in line with existing theory. Based on these outcomes, we would advise universities to focus on complete word-deed alignment in their diversity policy and the execution of this policy to improve the perceptions students have on the effectiveness of the policy.

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39 perceived diversity policy effectiveness among targets of diversity measures, which

negatively affects trust and feelings of inclusiveness.

Theoretical and Practical Contributions

This study provides multiple theoretical and practical contributions. First of all, the current paper aimed to create more clarity about the effects of diversity policies, specifically regarding its perceived effectiveness. Horwitz & Horwitz (2007) provide one explanation for contradicting findings on outcomes of diversity and diversity policies, namely different levels of diversity (deep- or surface-level). This study builds upon this research and suggests that differences in perceived diversity policy effectiveness also play a role. While one person assesses a particular policy as being effective, another can have opposing views on the effectiveness. These perceptions influence one’s feelings of trust and inclusiveness, causing the same diversity policy to cause different effects among people.

The quantitative part of the research showed that perceived effectiveness of diversity policies significantly affects important variables of individuals overall wellbeing, such as the relatively proximal outcome trust. Strikingly, perceived diversity policy effectiveness can also affect more distal variables that relate to student’s academic outcomes such as commitment to the organisation and one’s intention to recommend, through trust and feelings of

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40 established. By doing so, a valuable extension has been added to the (limited) research

regarding this topic.

Furthermore, prior research often takes the existence of a diversity policy as a

guarantee for an inclusive culture. Recent research (Jansen et al., 2014, Sahin et al., 2019), in alignment with our findings, shows that this is too short-sighted. Furthermore, this research shows that it is important to do more research on targets’ perception of diversity policy

effectiveness, while prior research (e.g. Foley & Williamson, 2018) often focuses on members of the majority.

In this study, both quantitative and qualitative data were used to examine our two research questions. As qualitative data is a more accurate research method for defining real-life situations and social processes (Fine & Elsbach, 2000), this has been particularly useful in describing the status quo regarding diversity policy at the University of Groningen, through the eyes of students. However, qualitative research may produce data that is complex and hard to generalise, which is why it is combined with quantitative data in this study. Fine and

Elsbach (2000) suggest that the integration of both quantitative and qualitative data can result in theory that is more accurate and generalisable. Therefore, the integration of both research methods represent a strong aspect of this study.

Limitations and Future Research

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41 regression analyses was rather low. This indicates that there should be other variables that explain the change in the dependent variable, which should be studied in more detail in future research.

In this research, we did not find a moderating effect of gender or nationality on the relationship between perceived diversity policy effectiveness and trust. This may be due to the method we used for measuring minority status. As discussed, female students are unlikely to constitute a minority in this context. Therefore, future research should focus take into account this context specificity of minority groups. One way to do this would be measuring perceived minority status as opposed to objectively determining whether someone belongs to a minority group. Also, perceived minority status might better account for intersectionality.

Fourth, we recruited participants via an online software (Qualtrics). This makes it relatively easier to access participants as a link can be shared and snowballed. However, the disadvantage of using an online software to conduct a survey study is that the circumstances among which participants complete the survey are unknown and cannot be controlled for. This might potentially influence the results gathered from this survey.

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42 CONCLUSION

Nowadays, diversity and inclusiveness play an important role within organisations. It does not only provide economic benefits, but it also serves as a promotion criteria to attract new members. Yet, results of diversity policies are lacking behind. The aim of this paper was to provide insights into the gap between diversity policy and reality, and its effects on

students’ academic performance, intention to recommend the university, and commitment to the university. A significant, positive effect was found for both commitment to the university and intention to recommend the university. For intention to recommend, this effect is

mediated through trust and feelings of inclusiveness. In addition, a qualitative study provided insights into the cues students use to infer diversity policy effectiveness. Most importantly, universities should eliminate an existing language barrier and ensure word-deed alignment in their advertising campaigns.

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APPENDIX Perceived Diversity Policy Effectiveness

I believe that the university successfully implemented its diversity policy. The university has reached its goals regarding diversity.

I feel like what is stated regarding diversity is in line with reality. Trust (Robinson, 1996)

I believe my employer has high integrity.

I can expect my employer to treat me in a consistent and predictable fashion. My employer is not always honest and truthful.

In general, I believe my employer’s motives and intentions are good. I don’t think my employer treats me fairly.

My employer is open and upfront with me. I am not sure I fully trust my employer. Trust, adapted from Robinson (1996) I believe my university has high integrity.

I can expect my university to treat me in a consistent and predictable fashion. My university is always honest and truthful.

In general, I believe my university’s motives and intentions are good. I think my university treats me fairly.

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50 Workplace Social Inclusion (Pearce & Randel, 2004)

I feel like an accepted part of a team. I feel included in most activities at work. Sometimes I feel like an outsider.*

Perceived Inclusiveness, adapted from Pearce and Randel (2004). I feel like an accepted part of the university.

I feel included in most activities at the university. Sometimes I feel like an outsider. *

Word-of-Mouth Intentions (Brown et al., 2005)

If a friend were shopping for a [brand], how likely is it that you would recommend [dealership]?

If you were helping your son, daughter, or other close relative make a decision on what dealership to shop for a [brand], how likely is it that you would recommend [dealership]? Intention to Recommend, adapted from Brown et al. (2005)

If a friend were looking for a university to attend, how likely is it that you would recommend the University of Groningen?

If you were helping an acquaintance, friend, or relative make a decision on what university to attend, how likely is it that you would recommend the University of Groningen?

Affective Commitment to Organisation (Meyer et al., 1993)

I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this organisation. I really feel as if this organisation’s problems are my own.

___________________________________________________________________________ FEELING LIKE AN OUTSIDER IN UNIVERSITY: THE EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, INTENTION TO RECOMMEND, AND COMMITMENT TO THE UNIVERSITY _____________________________________________

_______________________________ FEELING LIKE AN OUTSIDER IN UNIVERSITY: THE EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, INTENTION TO RECOMMEND, AND COMMITMENT TO THE UNIVERSITY _