Assessing Perceptions of Immigrant Contribution: Scale Development and Organizational Implications

The literature on immigrant perceptions has predominantly focused on the effects of perceived threat on attitudinal and behavioral outcomes towards immigrants. Although this threat perspective is useful, it is mismatched with many public opinions that immigrants are vital contributors to organizational and societal growth. The implications of immigrant contribution perceptions are still largely unknown. Building on a dual-dimension framework, this paper explores and presents the perceived immigrant contribution (PIC) construct and develops a scale as a tool to measure perceptions of economic/realistic (i.e., physical resources) and symbolic (i.e., cultural resources) immigrant contributions. Five studies provide evidence for the scale and construct validity in both general and workplace-specific contexts. The inclusion of this construct will allow future scholars to capture an alternative perspective and gain additional insights into immigrant-directed attitudes and behaviors, guiding future research towards a more positive psychology approach to studying immigrant perceptions and its organizational implications for workplace well-being, treatment, and integration.