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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sociol.
Sec. Work, Employment and Organizations
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2024.1441109

The Impact of Diversity Management on Innovative Work Behavior: The Mediating Role of Employee Engagement in an Emerging Economy

Provisionally accepted
Abdallah M. Elamin Abdallah M. Elamin Hazem Aldabbas Hazem Aldabbas *Ahmed Z. Ahmed Ahmed Z. Ahmed
  • University of Science and Technology of Fujairah, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study explored how diversity management fuels innovative employee behavior in the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) emerging economy. Surveying 120 individuals from various service organizations, the research found a strong connection between diversity initiatives, and employee engagement, ultimately leading to more innovative practices. Diversity management directly impacts employee engagement, which in turn significantly influence innovative work behaviors. Interestingly, employee engagement fully mediates the relationship between diversity and innovation. These findings highlight the crucial role of diversity management in fostering a culture of innovation. Organizations can leverage this by investing in training by equipping employees with skills to effectively engage across diverse teams as well as promoting inclusivity through cultivating a work environment that values and respects differences, fostering open communication and collaboration. By implementing these recommendations, organizations can harness the power of diverse perspectives to drive innovation and gain a competitive edge.

    Keywords: Diversity management, Innovative work behavior, Employee engagement, social exchange theory, UAE

    Received: 31 May 2024; Accepted: 16 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Elamin, Aldabbas and Ahmed. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hazem Aldabbas, University of Science and Technology of Fujairah, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.