Can organizations help adjust?: The effect of perceived organizational climate on immigrants' acculturation and consequent effect on perceived fit

Abstract

Acculturation, or the process of adjustment in a host culture, is a determinant of immigrants' overall success and well-being. Surprisingly, less is known about the role organizations may play in influencing immigrants' acculturation and how this process, in turn, may influence organizations. Thus, we examine how an organizational climate in the form of a diversity climate and an intercultural group climate may influence immigrants' acculturation strategies, as shown by the degree they adopt the host culture and retain their original culture. Furthermore, we explore how immigrants' adopted acculturation strategies may, in turn, influence their attitudes toward the organization in the form of person-organization fit and person-workgroup fit. Using a latent profile analysis, MANOVA, and multinomial logistic regression in a sample of 244 Mexican immigrants working in the Southwest U.S., we found that higher levels of intercultural group climate, but not diversity climate, are more likely to increase the likelihood of immigrants' embracing of acculturation strategies where the host culture is highly adopted. We also find embracing such acculturation strategies increases perceptions of fit. Our results offer two important highlights: first, to show the influence of organizational factors on an immigrant's acculturation and acculturation's workplace effects, and second, to contribute to the fit literature by showing that even when individuals may have contrasting cultural orientations, they are still able to perceive high levels of fit within their workplace.