Managing Power Dependence in Diversity Work at San Francisco Bay Area High-Growth Firms (2016-2020)

Abstract

We examine how diversity-promoters manage their high dependence on their firms for employment while pushing effectively for innovative rather than template-driven diversity practices. Building theory inductively from multiple case studies, we tracked the evolution of diversity practices within six technology firms across four years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through privileged access to line executives, Black and Hispanic/Latino employee activists, and several incumbents of the diversity program coordinator position within firms, we learned how diversity programs began and how they changed over time. Firms with very similar structures (diversity program managers and employee affinity groups) and similar diversity ideology had different experiences of one change outcome: whether their diversity practices remained stuck in their original templates or were customized to meet new needs. We contribute to studies of power dependence inside organizations by clarifying the tradeoff between insider knowledge and power dependence. Additionally, we add a strategizing perspective to power dependence, underscoring how diversity advocates use three behaviors to overcome resource blockages and effectively manage their power dependence. Finally, we contribute a novel perspective on the activist-employer relationship -- i.e., emphasizing internal coalitions (not just individual change agents) and activists as customizers of practices (not just diffusers of practice templates). We conclude with implications for power as a control that can be borrowed from a power-seekers perspective (not only delegated first by a power-holder), autonomy as a power distance issue achieved by neglect (not always ascribed or achieved status), and innovation as a customization process within institutional constraints.