Int. J. of Human Resource Management 18:11 November 2007 2037– 2056

The good and the bad: the impact of diversity management on co-operative relationships

´ Stephanie Dameron and Olivier Joffre
Abstract This paper explores the consequences of cultural diversity on co-operative relationships. It postulates two different modes of co-operation: ‘community based co-operation’, based on the need to belong, and ‘complementary co-operation’, which seeks to harness strategic resources. These modes are combined with six dimensions of cultural diversity to create a cross-analysis framework. This framework forms the basis of our analysis of the interaction between cultural diversity and co-operation. Counterintuitively, the study of France Telecom Mobile and Orange UK’s integration team suggests that cultural diversity has little influence on issues of identity involved in co-operation. However, it reveals a strong link between cultural diversity and strategic rationale. The findings suggest that cultural diversity should not be understood as differences between stable sets of values and norms, but rather as a way to explain interindividual difficulties. We then propose factors that are likely to influence the impact of cultural diversity. Keywords Co-operation; cultural diversity; case study.

The impact of diversity management on co-operative relationships Organizations and groups are rarely homogeneous. Members of teams differ from each other in many important ways, such as age, seniority and gender. Traditionally, studies of subgroup relationships have focused on domestic diversity issues (e.g. Allport, 1954). However, faced with the increasing inter-organizational collaboration of a globalized world, diversity management must address the confrontation of both national and organizational cultures, which we call ‘local cultures’. In joint ventures, cross-national mergers or even partnerships, cultural confrontation can affect co-operative relationships and may explain