Exploring the Relationships between Diversity, National Economic Performance, Community Attachment, Job Climate, and Subjective Wellbeing in 143 Cultures

Due to the trends of internationalization and globalization, many societies have become culturally diverse. Immigration is one of the factors which make the populations of many countries become more diverse. For example, Census data from the 2010 American Community Survey revealed that foreignborn immigrants represented 13 percent of U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). Gallup World Poll survey results obtained from 147 cultures in 2011 also revealed that nearly a half of adults (47%) worldwide see their communities as good places for immigrants to live (Wu & Ray, 2012). Thus, diversity has become a contemporary research issue in the fields of social psychology, management and intercultural communication. What is diversity? Some researchers (e.g., Cox & Blake, 1991; Thomas, 1991) defined diversity as actual differences in race, gender, ethnicity, age, cultural background, disability, social class, and sexual orientation. Some other researchers (e.g., Florida, 2012) defined diversity as something the Creative Class values. The Creative Class favors diversity and openness: openness to differences – of gender, sexual preference, race, or even personal idiosyncrasies. Thus, diversity can be also defined as tolerance or acceptance for differences. Many researchers argue that diversity brings positive outcomes to organizations (e.g., Cox & Blake, 1991) and societies (e.g., Florida, 2002; 2012). For example, Cox and Blake (1991) proposed six important competitive advantages that can be gained through the successful management of cultural diversity in organizations. These six competitive advantages are cost, resource-acquisition, marketing, creativity, problem-solving and systems flexibility advantages. It implies that organizations’ ability Abstract: Due to the process of globalization and immigration, many countries and societies have become culturally diverse. Thus, diversity is a contemporary research issue. In order to further explore the benefits of diversity at the societal level, this study explores diversity outcomes in 143 cultures. The researchers analyzed the data which surveyed 229,083 participants in 143 cultures in 2012. The results of Pearson correlation analysis suggest that diversity is positively correlated with GDP per capita, community attachment, job climate, and subjective wellbeing. This study empirically tests and supports Florida’s (2002; 2012) Creative Class Theory. The findings of this study bring significant insights into diversity around the world.