Workplace Camaraderie: A Catalyst for Positive Deviance via Social Capital and Cognitive Diversity

The current study aims to examine the relationship between workplace camaraderie, social capital, cognitive diversity and their combined influence on positive deviance in organizational contexts. More specifically, the objective of the current study is to acquire a more profound comprehension of the impact that collegial relationships have on the manifestation of favourable deviant actions. In addition to that, the current study also aimed to test the sequential mediation process by which social capital and cognitive diversity facilitate the emergence of positive deviance. A positivism research philosophy followed by a deductive approach, the sample of 213 employees was collected from the hospitality sector in Pakistan by using time-lagged data collection procedure. Workplace camaraderie data were collected at time 1. Data related to social capital were collected at time 2 after a 3-week interval. At time 3, with the same duration, data related to cognitive diversity were collected. Lastly, following the 3-week time duration, positive deviance responses were obtained. The data were analysed using Mplus research techniques, and results revealed that workplace camaraderie has a significant impact on positive deviance. Moreover, it was found that social capital and cognitive diversity influence employees’ decisions on positive deviance through workplace camaraderie. The current study contributes to the body of knowledge, since the literature is silent about the relationship between workplace camaraderie and positive deviance by developing and testing of an integrated model.