A Diverse Organizational Culture and Its Impact on Innovative Work Behavior of Municipal Employees

Abstract

Representatives of municipalities and their management are invited to develop new managerial skills in order to implement modern approaches to management. Diversity management means using the diverse potential of employees to meet the innovation and development goals of the offices. The aim of our research is to examine the context of beliefs, values, and rules of diverse organizational culture (DOC) and innovative work behavior (IWB) through the mediation effect of teamwork climate, transmitting and moderating this direct effect in the environment of Slovak municipalities. A mediation model was applied using the Sobel test for the mediation effect. A series of regression analyses were used to identify the proposed hypotheses. The mediation effect was correctly estimated. The direct effect of the beliefs, values, and rules of DOC has enhanced IWB. However, a certain part of them that leads through teamwork climate slightly dampens IWB.

1. Introduction

In accordance with the Act on Municipal Establishment, municipalities in Slovakia represent independent legal entities that take care of the all-embracing development of their territories and the needs of their citizens. In carrying out their tasks, they protect the public interest and contribute to the creation of public value. The need to create, maintain, and develop optimal conditions for the provision of quality services to citizens and for the implementation of development plans of municipalities has long been based on the search for and effective use of appropriate external and internal resources. There is a considerable lack of own resources, not only financial or material but also personnel in terms of the quality of the workforce and its innovative potential.

Since Slovakia’s accession to the EU in 2004, significant opportunities have opened up for obtaining external support for the implementation of development plans of municipalities, but at the same time, there has been increasing demand for the readiness and efficiency of stakeholders to use them to ensure quality development projects with a positive impact on the socio-economic development of the given territory. Today’s world is subject to extreme changes due to the technological revolution, which significantly affects not only the industry and the organizational structure, but also the way people live, behave, and communicate. The fourth industrial revolution is a phenomenon that is mainly associated with automation, digitization, and the Internet of Things and affects the processes of municipalities, as well as the Smart City Initiative. Currently, the trend is to bring the authorities closer to citizens to facilitate their communication with them. At the same time, there is a shift from the primary focus on efficiency and results to the achievement of broader goals of creating value for citizens. In this perspective, the representatives of municipalities and their management need to develop new managerial skills in order to implement modern management approaches that are successfully used in the for-profit sector.

One of the management tools is diversity management, which has a broad research base, especially in the business sphere, where it has long been discussed that diversity management is not just about managing people by gender, age, race, or ethnicity (biodemographic diversity), but that it is a well-thought-out complex of activities that exploits the uniqueness of different employees and is supported by a job-related diversity [1]. As such, it fulfils many goals, from improving employee performance, through job satisfaction, to improving the innovation and general performance of companies.

Compared to the business world, a municipality has its specifics that need to be reflected in management activities. Within the external environment, it is the absence of a market, a non-profit nature, the provision of public goods, the different nature of objectives, formal and legislative restrictions, political influences, lobbying pressures, public control, and constant structural changes [2]. The specifics of the internal environment include the legal regulations of decision-making, the coercive nature of power, the ambiguity and conflict of goals, administrative constraints on stimulation, poor job satisfaction, strong bureaucracy and a rigid organizational culture, less participation, less flexibility, and less loyalty [3]. The management of municipalities is often involved negatively due to insufficient managerial skills and due to the frequent exchange of top employees and the constant reformulation of the public interest according to election cycles.

The topic of diversity management is a relatively well-known concept in public administration and municipal governance. However, according to many scientific and professional studies, due to the specifics of this environment, it is rather a formal concept or a tool implemented on the basis of European and Slovak legislation in the sense of policies of equal opportunities and positive discrimination and in terms of the results of studies, mainly on gender and racial discrimination [1,4]. Many municipal activities, supported by various foundations and aimed at the inclusion of different groups of residents and visitors to towns and villages, have gained ground with the aim to establish networks of important agents in diversity and to get inspired by good practice from other cities or countries [5]. A major research gap that we have identified through scientific literature reviews is the study of diversity management in the internal organizations of municipalities, i.e., not in the direction to citizens but primarily to employees, to use their diverse potential to meet the innovation and development goals of offices and in the context of societal trends such as globalization, demographic impacts, technological developments, changes in people’s lifestyles, and many others, which are transferred from the macro level to the level of specific organizations and significantly interfere with their management.

However, there are many conflicting and ambiguous views in the scientific literature on the context of managing diversity and the performance of employees and organizations, as well as the related need for a deeper examination of other contextual factors that enter into this relationship [6,7]. In the for-profit sector, the first research studies examined the moderation effects of various variables such as the organizational culture, teamwork climate, and others [8,9,10]. In the local municipalities, these research studies are absent or limited to the direct links between biodemographic characteristics and employee outcomes [4,11,12,13], whereas [14] emphasizes that, despite existing research, it is not examined when and with what probability the positive or negative effects of diversity prevail, and the key question remains: what moderates this effect? The aim of our research is to fill the identified research gap in a deeper examination of the relationships and support mechanisms of diversity management in municipalities. We will focus on teamwork climate (TWC) as a mediation effect, transmitting and moderating the effect of beliefs, values, and rules of diverse organizational culture (DOC) on innovative work behavior (IWB).

One of the often-cited benefits of diversity management is to increase employee innovation and creativity, leading to new ideas, projects, and ultimately to creating a competitive advantage, improving the quality of services provided [3] and creating public value [15]. IWB has broad support in the scientific literature, and various factors positively affecting IWB are examined, such as job autonomy [16], task-related learning and job characteristics [17], basic psychological needs satisfaction via autonomous motivation [18], dual identification with the organization and with users with a moderation effect on job satisfaction [19]. To the best of our knowledge, diversity management has not been studied as a factor with a positive association with IWB, whereas it is an important predictor in theoretical research on the subject. Innovative and creative employees are in demand for organizations in their day-to-day work and in creating long-term visions, and they will remain in demand for institutions even in more difficult crisis conditions as they will help them overcome the crisis more easily, adapt to modified conditions, and function effectively in post-crisis situations. Innovative ideas of employees are also necessary in municipalities in connection with societal trends. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, in addition to many threats, has opened up new opportunities for innovative activities of employees. The coronavirus crisis has shown that, with an appropriate leadership style, a favorable diversity-driven organizational culture, and supporting teamwork, even in the times of quarantine and home office, great employee initiatives and often volunteer activities of employees are created. These are tools that have proven to be essential for the sustainable development of individual organizations. According to [20], the implementation of diversity management needs flexible and proactive managers compared to the current largely defensive and bureaucratic approach.

2. Theoretical Research and Development of Hypotheses

The existing scientific literature defines diversity management as a multifaceted concept, encompassing management activities that promote workforce diversity, recognize diversity as an important organizational goal, build diversity awareness, and adopt and implement formal diversity programs [13,21,22]. Implemented diversity management will enable all employees, regardless of individual differences, to fully develop their personal potential. This fact brings many advantages to organizations in terms of creating a competitive advantage due to the difficult imitation of unique human resources [4,23,24], in the form of progress in organizational performance and improved decision quality [4,24,25], in the form of job satisfaction, improving the work climate, improving cooperation, increasing employee engagement and increasing their sense of belonging to the organization [26,27,28,29,30,31], and also in the form of value creation by increasing the intellectual capital, creativity, and innovation of the organization [23,32,33,34].

It is necessary to highlight some of the risks that accompany the culture of diversity [35,36]. Diversity leads to a plurality of opinions and causes team conflict [37,38]. Diversity is not only associated with positive effects [39] since it can lead to the formation of prejudice at the team level as a result of differences in perception [6]. It can also prevent or weaken decision making due to difficulties in reaching a consensus [7].

The important factors determining the implementation of diversity management tools in an organization include diversity in leadership or inclusive leadership [28,36,40], strategic human resources management [31,41], organizational culture supporting cultural diversity [42,43,44], cultural competence of customers or clients and citizens, community involvement, and teamwork climate [45,46].

However, many studies suggest that there is no direct link between the above effects and the output of the examined organizations [42,47,48,49].

Van Knippenberg—Van Ginkel—Homan [31] have already referred to a wide range of research studies on the positive effects of diversity management, simplifying these complex relationships in organizations; they also pointed out that many contextual factors that come between diversity and performance variables have been ignored, even though they potentially affect the strength and direction of these relationships. They have suggested that there is a need for a deeper examination of dependencies and also for the search for moderators of the relationship between diversity management and various output variables in order to broaden the theoretical perspectives of research and reconcile two conflicting views in the existing studies.

Moon—Christensen [1] have investigated the moderation effect of a diversity climate in relation to the two dimensions of biodemographic and job-related diversity—and organizational performance in the U.S. federal government—with a positive finding of this impact. [50] have provided findings from their study that help to illuminate the important moderating role of group leaders in the diversity-to-performance relationship. [51] have highlighted the moderating role of organizational culture in diversity-to-performance relationship.

Innovations and diversity are crucial prerequisites of organizational success in the new economy [52]. We have planned to thoroughly examine the relationship between DOC and IWB and to verify the extent to which it can be influenced by teamwork climate. Several studies have highlighted the importance of teamwork climate to support innovative employee behavior [53]. Research by Pirola-Merlo [54] has pointed to the relationship between teamwork climate and innovative performance. Leaders are recommended to strengthen team identity and build team cohesion to support innovative behavior that underpins organizational effectiveness [55]. The findings also point to a distinctive and complex relationship between organizational culture and its innovative performance [56]. Organizational culture, emphasizing the elements of diversity, influences innovative results, but its impact depends on the type of diversity [57]. While ethnic diversity dampens innovative performance, cultural diversity has a direct positive impact on it. The relationship between cultural diversity and innovative behavior was confirmed in several studies [58]. Diversity as a creative advantage unlocks innovative behavior, and team dynamics play an important role in maximizing these benefits [59].

In our understanding, a diverse organizational culture is part of the entire organizational culture that is oriented, within all three levels, resulting from Schein’s model of organizational culture, to accepting and using diversity. As part of our research, we have focused on the first two layers of the organizational culture, namely on beliefs and values and rules, which are extremely important for the sustainable management of diversity. If we perceive the so-called experiencing culture in the organization as a climate, then in relation to diversity, we can talk about a common perception of a set of practices in people management by employees, aimed at recognizing and valuing individual differences [60]. Diverse organizational culture is thus a collection of such beliefs, rules, and values by which managers declare positive attitudes towards diversity, a commitment to management practices, a diversity-friendly approach, and diversity leadership [12,60].

Bureaucratic structures, formalization, status management, and diversity prevail in their primary forms (age, gender, mental and physical abilities, sexual orientation, and nationality) in Slovak public administration organizations. These features are crucial in diversity management of public organizations abroad, where cultural and ethnic diversity in the offices is essential [61,62,63]. Cultural diversity in the workplace should reflect the diversity of citizenship [64]. In Slovakia, special attention has been dedicated to age diversity and the integration of employees of different age groups into joint projects, and therefore, when defining the DOC item, we have paid close attention to this area of diversity. We have relied on the methodology developed by the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, intended for the field of public administration and containing a comprehensive set of diversity management procedures for public administration organizations. This methodology is applicable to Slovak administrative offices due to similar conditions in public administration.

Based on our literature research, we have extracted the most common items within a diverse organizational culture, from which we have compiled a starting variable called diverse organizational culture (DOC). All items that are part of the DOC are listed in the model in Figure 1.

Managing diversity in organizations has different implications. One of them, given the diversity and uniqueness of diverse employees, is to create an innovative organization that responds flexibly to the rapidly changing needs of internal and external customers. At present, the ability to innovate services and work processes is crucial for municipalities, while the innovative activities of individuals are crucial for continuous innovation and improvement. IWB is perceived as a wide range of employee behaviors related to the creation of ideas, but also as a wide range of behaviors by management to create support for innovative ideas and to assist in their implementation [16,65,66,67]. IWB is different from creativity. Creativity can be considered as a key component of IWB, which is most evident at the beginning of the innovation process when problems or gaps in performance are identified and ideas emerge in response to a perceived need for innovation [68]. Innovative work behavior and innovative employees are considered as an important benefit for organizations. Employees have important, and often tacit, knowledge of processes, which allows them to identify problems and assess solutions quickly. In addition, employees’ innovative ideas are relatively cheap (if not free) and often depend on a specific organizational context and are, therefore, difficult to imitate. As a result, internal sources of information and knowledge from employees are important for the development of innovation [16]. We assume that the DOC is related to the innovation potential of office staff.

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

DOC is positively associated with IWB.

Given the evidence-based studies on the supportive effect of teamwork climate in implementing various changes in organizations, especially through the job satisfaction mechanism of team members [66,67,68,69,70,71,72], we are inclined to believe that the beliefs, values, and rules of DOC will be transformed into the work environment through the creation of a favorable teamwork climate.

Hypothesis 2 (H2).

Beliefs, values, and rules of DOC in the offices are positively associated with teamwork climate.

Favorable teamwork climate is a tool that contributes to increasing employee performance [73]; to job satisfaction [74]; and to increasing employee loyalty [75], trust [76], and business performance [77]. Knowledge and studies on the impact of teamwork climate on individual innovation are still evolving [78] and are often associated with the innovation of the organization as a whole [79]. We assume that a favorable teamwork climate will be related to IWB.

Hypothesis 3 (H3).

Teamwork climate is positively associated with IWB.

3. Materials and Methods

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the beliefs, values, and rules of DOC at municipal offices of the Slovak Republic and IWB, assuming that DOC is positively associated to IWB through teamwork climate.

Data collection was carried out using e-questionnaires that we distributed electronically to managers of municipalities in Slovakia. A total of 911 questionnaires were sent in the period of March and April 2020 using a convenience sampling method, while trying to cover all size and geographic categories. The return rate of the questionnaires was 24.3%, thus obtaining a sample of 227 offices. The structure of the sample is shown in

Table 1. Structure of the examined sample.

Variable	Category	Frequency	%	Variable	Category	Frequency	%
Number of Employees	1‒9 10–49 51–249 250 and over Total	32 65 121 9 227	14.1 28.6 53.3 4.0 100.0	Municipality	BanskoBystrický Bratislavský Košický Nitriansky Prešovský Trenčiansky Trnavský Žilinský Total	34 65 23 17 26 16 29 17 227	15.0 28.6 10.1 7.5 11.5 7.0 12.8 7.5 100.0
Position	informed employee lower man. middle man. higher man. Total	23 39 106 59 227	10.1 17.2 46.7 26.0 100.0	Years of experience as a manager	up to 5 years 6 to 10 years 11‒15 years 16‒20 years over 20 years Total	19 27 31 25 125 227	8.4 11.9 13.7 11.0 55.1 100.0
Gender	Man Woman Total	88 139 227	38.8 61.2 100.0	Age of manager	26–35 years 36–45 years 46–55 years 56–64 years 65 years and over Total	25 64 70 25 43 227	11.0 28.2 30.8 11.0 18.9 100.0
Education	secondary higher 1. degree higher 2. degree PhD. MBA Total	45 6 165 11 227	19.8 2.6 72.7 4.8 100.0

.

All data were analyzed using the SPSS 22 software package. Cronbach’s α coefficient was used to assess the internal consistency reliability of scales. Correlation analysis was used to test for the relationships among subscales of DOC, TWC, and IWB. A mediation model according to Baron and Kenny was used. The Sobel test was used to test the mediation effect. A series of regression analyses were used to identify the proposed hypotheses. Partial R2 (ΔR2), F test, and standardized regression coefficient (b) and their test statistics (t value) were reported in all regression analyses. The control variables included the size of the company according to the number of employees, gender, and age of the manager; his position in terms of managerial levels; and the length of practice in a managerial position. ANOVA was used to analyze multiple dependence. We worked at a significance level of 5%.

A mediation model was used to test the relationship between DOC, TWC, and IWB that takes into account the mediation role of TWC in DOC-to-IWB relationship. We used mediation because it allowed us to examine the causal relationships between variables and to involve the third variable in the basic relationship for a better and deeper examination of the relationships and processes that take place between the identified variables.

DOC is an independent, explanatory variable. This variable is operationalized as a score based on managers’ responses to agreement or disagreement with selected statements, identifying beliefs, values, and rules of DOC. In total, the independent variable DOC contained 12 items (

Table 2. Content definition of investigated variables.

Beliefs, Values, and Rules of a Diverse Organizational Culture—(DOC)	Climate in Teamwork (TWC): Perceived Quality of Cooperation among Staff	Innovative Work Behavior (IWB)
In our office, the composition of the teams is very important in terms of gender.	All team members can ask questions if there is something they do not understand.	How often do your subordinates pay attention to activities that are not part of their daily work?
In our office, the composition of the teams is very important in terms of age.	Staff members shall receive the support they require from other staff in the performance of their duties.	How often do your subordinates care about how things can improve?
Uniqueness and otherness are welcome in our office; we regard them as our values.	The contribution of employees is positively perceived at our office.	How often do your subordinates look for new working methods, techniques, or tools?
The absence of older workers in our office is not associated with the absence of work experience.	Disagreements in the team are resolved adequately, it is not important who is right, but what is best for the task.	How often do your subordinates generate original solutions to problems?
The absence of older employees is not associated with a lower depth of knowledge in our office.	Team members work together as a well-coordinated team regardless of their functional positions.	How often do your subordinates discover new approaches to performing tasks?
The presence of younger employees in our office is not associated with the breaking of stereotypes and a certain established routine.	It is not difficult to express ourselves critically at our office if we perceive problems in performing performance.	How often do your subordinates inspire innovation in your team?
The presence of younger employees in our office is associated with a variety of approaches.		How often do your subordinates try to persuade colleagues to support an innovative idea?
The presence of younger employees in our office is associated with openness to the new and the ability to learn.		How often do your subordinates introduce innovative ideas into their work processes?
There are no signs or manifestations of ageism, generational clashes and misunderstandings in our office, when older workers are perceived as less productive, or as less flexible, as those who cling to positions.		How often do your subordinates contribute to the implementation of new things?
At our office, young people are not perceived as inexperienced, too ambitious, insufficiently erudite, threatening the elderly, and too often fluctuating.		How often do your subordinates make efforts to develop new things?
Young childless leaders do not show in our office a misunderstanding of the life situations of people with children. Young leaders do not show in our office a misunderstanding of the life situations of older people.

), which were scaled using 5-point Likert-type scales (1—strongly disagree, 5—strongly agree). After reliability analysis, the Cronbach’s alpha of the OP was 0.959 (12 items).

The second variable, representing the consequence, was the dependent variable—IWB. The 10-item scale for innovative work behavior was adopted from the study of [65]. Participants were required to indicate how frequently, using a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always), they manifest the behaviors mentioned in the survey. Cronbach’s α for innovative work behavior was 0.942. (10 items). Our measure included items for all these three dimensions—idea generation, idea championing, and idea implementation. The last item is an overall factor for innovative work behavior (Table 2).

The third variable was the mediator variable teamwork climate (TWC), which is a kind of transition bridge between the dependent and the independent variable. It is directly linked to the relationship between these two variables and affects the whole model. The independent variable is the cause of the mediator variable, which is then the cause of the dependent variable [80]. The TWC variable is operationalized as a score, which is generated based on managers’ statements to the items listed in Table 2. Our TWC data were abstracted from the safety attitudes questionnaire (SAQ), a validated tool that assesses safety culture across six organizational domains—teamwork climate, job satisfaction, perceptions of management, safety climate, working conditions, and stress recognition—one of which is teamwork climate [81]. In total, the TWC intermediate variable contained six items that were scaled using 5-point Likert-type scales (1—strongly disagree, 5—strongly agree). After reliability analysis, the Cronbach’s alpha of the TWC was 0.959 (six items). The internal consistency of the variables used was very good.

The relationship between the three variables can also be affected by external so-called control variables. For control variables, we subsequently verified their influence on the course of the basic modeled relationship.

4. Results

Our goal was to examine the DOC-to-IWB relationship in municipal organizations, assuming that DOC was positively associated to IWB through teamwork climate.

Table 3. Item Statistics—a set of DOC, TWC, and IWB items.

Items DOC				Items IWB				Items TWC
Item	SD	N	N	Item	SD	N	N	Item	Average	SD	N
1.	4.22	0.736	227	1.	4.35	0.740	227	1.	4.15	0.966	227
2.	4.22	0.797	227	2.	3.89	0.436	227	2.	4.04	0.968	227
3.	3.52	1.074	227	3.	4.35	0.740	227	3.	4.11	1.041	227
4.	3.48	1.256	227	4.	3.31	0.913	227	4.	4.18	0.948	227
5.	3.85	1.031	227	5.	3.67	1.273	227	5.	4.26	1.018	227
6.	4.03	0.851	227	6.	3.67	1.273	227	6.	4.08	0.944	227
7.	3.75	0.978	227	7.	4.02	1.350	227
8.	4.13	0.776	227	8.	3.39	0.907	227
9.	3.92	1.001	227	9.	3.62	1.240	227
10.	3.95	0.879	227	10.	3.64	1.256	227
11.	3.60	1.110	227
12.	3.54	1.126	227

shows the item statistics for all three item variables (DOC, IWB, TWC).

This table is used to illustrate the evaluation of the individual components of the aggregate variables. Given the scale used from 1 to 5, their high evaluation was evident, whereas the most significant gaps in the beliefs, values, and rules of DOC were observed in the perception of older workers in terms of their experience and depth of knowledge, in their beliefs in the need for otherness and uniqueness, and helpfulness of younger managers towards older workers and people with children.

Relationships between individual variables were determined by a correlation matrix. To construct it, we created three summary variables (DOC, IWB, and TWC) as total average scores from the respective items. There were also control variables in the matrix. Descriptive statistics and the correlation matrix are given in

Table 4. Correlation matrix.

Variable	n	Mean	SD	DOC	TWC	IWB	Age	Education	Practice	Position	Size
DOC	227	3.85	0.81
TWC	227	4.14	0.89	0.623 **
IWB	227	3.79	0.86	0.819 **	0.391 **
Age	227	2.99	1.26	−0.236 **	−0.137 **	−0.302 **
Education	227	3.63	0.85	−0.090	−0.026	−0.049	−0.144 **
Practice	227	3.93	1.39	0.129	0.161 **	0.098	0.399 **	−0.057
Position	227	2.89	0.91	0.139 **	0.184 **	0.037	0.137 **	0.081	0.183 **
Size	227	2.47	0.78	−0.118	−0.200 **	−0.049	−0.021	0.410 **	0.155 **	0.076
Gender	227	1.61	0.49	0.131	0.129	0.191 **	−0.252 **	0.043	0.016	−0.180 **	−0.006

Note. DOC = diverse organizational culture; IWB = innovative work behavior; TWC = teamwork climate; ** p > 0.05. Gender: 1—women. 2—male. Categorical items are coded in ascending order.

.

The correlation matrix showed a significantly high positive correlation between DOC and IWB and a slightly lower positive correlation between DOC and TWC. The lowest positive correlation, but still significant, was between TWC and IWB. These facts indicated the use of a mediation model.

In mediation, we relied on the main hypothesis.

H: The dependence between the beliefs, values, and rules of DOC and IWB is mediated by teamwork climate.

We proceeded in three steps (A, B, C), in which we verified the partial hypotheses by calculating three regressions.

(C) There is a relationship between IWB (Y) and DOC (X).

(A) There is a relationship between TWC (M) and DOC (X).

(B) There is a relationship between IWB (Y) and TWC (M) in which X does not participate.

Where: C is the overall effect

The product of A * B is the mediated (indirect) effect of X on Y through M.

The difference C’ = C‒A*B is the pure (direct) effect of X on Y without the participation of M.

The hypothesis applies when the indirect effect is significant; this means when A*B = C‒C’ is significant (using the Sobel test). The significance level is 5%. (Sig.—in

Table 5. Baseline model—Test of between-subjects effects (Dependent Variable: IWB).

Source	Type III Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Intercept	1.009	1	1.009	4.333	0.039
county	1.214	7	0.173	0.743	0.636
DOC	75.749	1	75.749	324.387	0.000
age	1.317	1	1.317	5.642	0.018
education	0.002	1	0.002	0.010	0.922
practice	0.202	1	0.202	0.866	0.353
position	0.574	1	0.574	2.458	0.118
size	0.460	1	0.460	1.968	0.162
gender	0.340	1	0.340	1.456	0.229

Note. DOC = diverse organizational culture; p > 0.05. Gender: 1—women. 2—male. Categorical items are coded in ascending order. Sig. = p value.

and

Table 6. Parameter Estimates.

Step C: (Dependent Variable: IWB)
Parameter	B	Std. Error	t	Sig.	95% Confidence Interval
					Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Intercept	0.518	0.327	1.583	0.115	−0.127	1.164
DOC	0.818	0.045	18.011	0.000	0.729	0.908
Step A: (Dependent Variable: TWC)
Parameter	B	Std. Error	t	Sig.	95% Confidence Interval
					Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Intercept	1.124	0.461	2.440	0.016	0.216	2.032
DOC	0.603	0.064	9.430	0.000	0.477	0.728
Step B: (Dependent Variable: IWB)
Parameter	B	Std. Error	t	Sig.	95% Confidence Interval
					Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Intercept	0.743	0.319	2.326	0.021	0.113	1.372
TWC	−0.200	0.047	−4.255	0.000	−0.292	−0.107
DOC	0.939	0.052	18.029	0.000	0.836	1.041

Note. DOC = diverse organizational culture; IWB = Innovative Work Behavior; TWC = teamwork climate; Sig. = p value.

means p-value). We added control variables such as age, gender, education, experience, office size, focus, and position to the model for the overall effect while the coding of categorical variables is ascending. We coded age, practice, size, and position variables as interval variables. ANOVA was used to analyze multiple dependence. We worked at a significance level of 5% and the results obtained are shown in Table 5.

It is clear from Table 5 that the age variable is significant of the control variables. Therefore, we treat the mediator effect by the effect of age. All regressions are listed in Table 6.

Table 6 shows that step A (TWC and DOC relationship) is significant. At the same time, step B is significant, i.e., the relationship between IWB (Y) and TWC (M) in which X does not participate. The direct effect (C’—DOC and IWB effect) is significant in the positive direction. The overall effect (C) is significant. The dependence is positive. We used the Sobel test to test for the mediation effect (

Table 7. Sobel test (Indirect effect).

A * B=	−0.120
z=	−3.879
Sig.=	0.000

).

Based on the Sobel test, the indirect effect (i.e., the effect of X on Y via M) was identified as significant in the negative direction.

When interpreting all the obtained results, we proceeded with the following steps (A, B, C):

We found that relationships expressed in steps A and B were significant, so there was a relationship of teamwork climate (M) and beliefs, values, and rules of DOC (X), and at the same time, there was a relationship of IWB (Y) and teamwork climate (M) in which X did not participate. These relationships created a precondition for the existence of mediation.

The product of parameters A*B was significant, so the indirect effect of DOC (X) on the IWB (Y) through the measured teamwork climate TWC (M) has been confirmed. The hypothesis therefore has been verified. However, the indirect effect was significant in the negative direction; it weakened the direct effect.

In this case, the direct and mediated effects acted in the opposite direction (the so-called suppressing mediation). The direct effect was positive. The mediated was negative. In percentage terms, it must be taken into account that the effects are contradictory. Therefore, we cannot express them as a percentage of the total. Instead, we can express them as the ratio of the direct and indirect effects, which is 7.79; the direct effect is about seven to eight times greater than the indirect effect.

We can, therefore, state that the direct effect of the beliefs, values, and rules of DOC increases IWB. If teamwork climate enters into this relationship, there is a slight but statistically significant attenuation of this relationship.

5. Discussion

Diversity management is an important tool that allows all employees, regardless of their individual differences, to fully develop their personal potential; bring different ideas; and pay attention not only to routine work activities but also to innovative approaches, their search, elaboration, and support of their implementation in the team. It is this fact that brings many benefits to municipalities that can be reflected in the job satisfaction of employees but also in the form of creating public value for citizens. Our findings have pointed to a significant relationship between DOC and IWB, and we consider this finding, namely, that there is a high positive correlation of beliefs, values, and rules within a diverse organizational culture that form its internal, often invisible layers and strongly influence IWB, to be original. Many studies confirming the relationship between diversity management and organizational outcomes were based on a variable including implemented diversity management tools and their relationship to innovation, creativity, and increased intellectual capital of organizations [23,32,33,34]. However, a much stronger relationship has been demonstrated when there is a strong belief in diversity and the subconscious orientation of managers to its use compared to realistically implemented tools, which can often be formal, symbolic, and unsuccessful [82]. Ref. [46] highlight this fact in their research and claim that human resource management in public sector organizations is generally more standardized and formal than in private sector organizations, as a result of which more formal acceptance of diversity policies can be expected. Many studies have confirmed that the effectiveness of diversity management in the public administration environment depends on supportive motivation [83], the ability to translate it into practice, and actual implementation [4].

Our findings have contradicted some authors, claiming that there is no direct link between diversity management and organizational output [47,48,49], which were justified by simplifying relationships that do not copy complex organizational and other contextual factors, triggering a wave of search for moderators of the relationship between diversity management and various output variables in order to broaden theoretical research perspectives and reconcile two conflicting views in existing studies. On the contrary, in our research, the effect of another variable was not confirmed to be significant. Based on our findings, the moderation effect of teamwork climate weakens the influence of a diversity-driven organizational culture on the innovative behavior of employees to a small extent, but not significantly. There can be several explanations for this effect. The first explanation is the specifics influencing the work climate of municipalities, such as strong bureaucracy, rigid organizational culture, less opportunity to participate, lower flexibility, lower loyalty, or poor job satisfaction. Therefore, although managers have identified teamwork climate as favorable, the reality may be different in the perception of employees due to their own perception of satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment. These aspects are an important moderation factor not only for TWC but also for IWB [19], but they have not been identified in our research. Another explanation relates to the understanding of IWB, which is perceived primarily as a wide range of imaginative, creative, and innovative behaviors of employees, but also requires management support, not only formal, presented externally, but real, related to supportive management styles, which are not adapted to this environment. Leadership styles significantly support the relationship we have researched [28]. The latter explanation is based on some studies showing that collective work sometimes hampers the ideas and creativity of individuals [66] and that part of a favorable teamwork climate is job autonomy, which we have not found in our research [18]. These facts are among the limits of this research. When examining the relationship between the identification variables and teamwork climate, a significant negative correlation was found with the age of managers and the size of offices according to the number of employees. This means that younger managers and smaller offices report better results in this variable than older managers and larger offices, which may also be one of the explanatory reasons for the mitigating effect of teamwork climate, as one third of managers were over 56 years of age and one third of managers were in the category from 46 to 55 years. Half of the examined offices were of medium size with the number of employees from 50 to 249, in which the formality of the working environment is probably higher.

5.1. Research Implications

Our study has several implications on both theoretical and practical levels. First, it points to a positive relationship between the core of diverse organizational culture and IWB. The core of DOC refers to the beliefs, values, and rules that represent the invisible layers of organizational culture and have a strong impact on IWB. This is the originality of our study since most studies focus on the implemented tools of diversity management. Furthermore, this study highlights the existence of a direct positive relationship between diversity management and output variables that need not be supported by other intermediate variables reported by some scientists. Our study claims that teamwork climate, as a frequently presented supporting factor in the management of organizations, may not transfer the effect of DOC to IWB. Therefore, it is important for the practice of the authorities in managing diversity to ensure that diversity perception lies at the heart of organizational culture, that it is rooted in the beliefs and values of managers, and thus, it can directly and significantly influence IWB.

5.2. Limitations

The study has several limitations. It has been implemented on the territory of the Slovak Republic, which leads to geographical limitations. However, our findings may support research into diversity management and innovative working behavior at the international level. The second limitation refers to a relatively small sample of respondents (227) in relation to the total number of middle-level managers in public administration offices in Slovakia. On the other hand, the study involved a wide range of managers in terms of age, gender, and experience, as well as managers of offices of various sizes in terms of the number of employees, offices from all regions of Slovakia, which would support the generalization of results for Slovak municipalities. Moreover, this study aimed to examine the context in the modeled relationships. To confirm the causality, it would be necessary to meet two conditions, namely accruals and the exclusion of another option. This condition has been partially fulfilled by controlled effects, but not completely, since our data are not experimental but questionnaire-based. Therefore, we have not addressed these issues. The next limitation is linked to a subjective view of middle-level managers on the variables examined, which could differ in inquiries of their superior or subordinate employees. Consequently, future research may examine how these groups perceive the researched mechanism of relationships. Other variables may exist that may affect the relationships examined and deepen the theoretical and practical levels of research. In the future, other theories can be combined, and a comprehensive analysis can be performed from various perspectives.

6. Conclusions

Strategic choices of municipalities respond to changes in the environment and the challenges of the post-globalization period and require authorities to be open to the perspectives of being innovative. Increased use of interfunctional and virtual teams in the workplace often requires connecting people with different cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives. Such differences bring benefits to the team and, consequently, to the entire organization, which can respond flexibly to the changing needs of customers, citizens, employees, and other stakeholders, and can innovate services and work processes in line with new internal and external environmental requirements, reflecting the challenges of digitization, ecology, and environmental protection. Innovative activities of individuals are essential for continuous innovation and improvement. IWB is perceived as a wide range of employee behaviors related to the creation of ideas, whereas it has been found that in municipalities, it is significantly related to the diverse organizational culture. Beliefs, values, and the rules of the diverse culture in the offices are the starting points for the innovative behavior of employees. The observed direct effect of this relationship is high, which contributes to our findings to reconcile the conflicting views of scientists on the relationship between diversity management and the performance of employees and organizations. The need to include additional variables in this relationship has proven ineffective. Teamwork climate as a mediation factor weakens the direct effect of a diverse organizational culture on IWB. [31] state that a certain level of comfort in teams can reduce IWB, which can also be one of the explanations for our findings. Therefore, it is necessary to work purposefully and gradually to increase the effectiveness of teamwork, which is clearly positively associated to heterogeneous membership, by introducing mechanisms to reduce uncertainty in the initial recognition of individual differences and increase support for their otherness and uniqueness.