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Thinking like a chameleon: How diversity ideologies differentially enable cultural accommodation.

Jaee Cho¹; Michael W. Morris²; Hayley Blunden³; Jie Kassie Li⁴; Jingzhou Pan⁵

¹ Hong Kong University of Science and Technology · ² Division of Management, Columbia Business School · ³ American University · ⁴ Wilfrid Laurier University · ⁵ Tianjin University

Global business often demands cultural accommodation, acting according to a host country's norms. However, cultural accommodation is often deterred by the threat people can feel about betraying their heritage cultural identity. We investigate an important yet unrecognized antecedent of cultural accommodation: the ideologies that people hold about diversity, which we propose shape people's notions that their cultural identity is changeable. Across field, survey, and experimental studies, we examine how the ideology of polyculturalism (which welcomes the mutual influence of cultures over time) reduces identity threat, enabling cultural accommodation. Greater endorsement of polyculturalism by participants is associated with greater cultural accommodation (Study 1), an effect mediated by lower identity threat (Studies 2 and 4). Experimental manipulation of polyculturalism showed the same effect, supporting the hypothesized causal direction (Study 3). This effect of polyculturalism on cultural accommodation has downstream workplace effects, improving performance proficiency and social acceptance (Study 4). Moreover, our investigation did not reveal similar effects of other ideologies, colorblindness (which deemphasizes cultural differences), or multiculturalism (which emphasizes preserving cultural traditions). By illuminating how polyculturalism facilitates cultural accommodation, we highlight one means by which organizations can foster employees' effectiveness in cross-cultural work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

DOI

10.1037/apl0001340

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