policy support
Definition
Policy support refers to the multidimensional endorsement of organizational D&I policies across both attitudinal and behavioral domains, encompassing beliefs about fairness and credibility alongside concrete actions that promote implementation. Rather than a binary construct, policy support manifests across five empirically derived profiles—Champions and Opponents (consistent across both domains), Bystanders (attitudinally supportive but behaviorally passive), Reluctants (behaviorally engaged but attitudinally skeptical), and Ambivalents (ambivalent in both domains)—each grounded in distinct reasoning patterns. The underlying motivations for policy support and resistance vary meaningfully by organizational position and group membership, with managers overrepresented among Champions and Reluctants, and individuals of perceived minority status more likely to express critical or advocacy-oriented reasoning.
Sources: Bokern et al. (2026)
Related Terms
Applications
Policy Support and Organizational Position
Managers and non-managerial employees exhibit significantly different distributions across D&I policy support profiles, with managers overrepresented among Champions and Reluctants but underrepresented among Ambivalents and Opponents.
Sources: Bokern et al. (2026)
Policy Support and Group Membership
Individuals of perceived minority status are more likely to adopt critical or advocacy-oriented reasoning patterns and appear more frequently in Reluctant and Opponent profiles compared to majority-group members.
Sources: Bokern et al. (2026)
Policy Support and Reasoning Patterns
Five distinct reasoning patterns emerged from qualitative analysis, each strongly aligned with specific support profiles.
Sources: Bokern et al. (2026)
