Immigrant Cultural Diversity Management as a Catalyst for Organisation-Level Innovation

A growing body of empirical research is uncovering the correlation between diversity and regional economic performance. Cultural diversity is accepted both as an economic asset, as well as a social benefit. Studies have demonstrated a positive economic impact of cultural diversity on productivity and innovation, but only a few organization-level studies have been conducted. The scientific literature discusses various benefits of cultural diversity to organisations, e.g., establishing the encouraging environment of “outside the box” thinking. Diverse management is more likely to introduce product innovations; moreover, diversity is particularly important for reaching international markets and serving the cosmopolitan population. Diversity encompasses race, gender, age, culture, education, personality, skills and life experiences. When managed effectively, cultural diversity offers the flexibility and creativity that is needed for enhanced innovation. The aim is to investigate how to handle immigrant cultural diversity to improve innovativeness in an organisation. Firstly, immigrant cultural diversity management and relation to innovation are discussed; secondly, the immigrant cultural diversity management model is presented.