How to define diversity and inclusion? What are economic and social benefits of diversity and inclusion?
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Let’s talk about diversity and inclusion
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Diversity is a topic of great social as well as economic relevance. A research team from the University of Vienna, sponsored by the Academic Society for Management & Communication, investigated success factors and the role of communication in establishing and promoting diversity and inclusion in companies.
The following research questions are addressed:
Key findings of the study
- Potential: The study suggests that communication professionals see digital nudging as an interesting and promising method to increase the effectiveness of communication activities. Learning about digital nudging could be useful even if the method can’t be applied by communication professionals directly.
- Application possibilities: Most interviewees hadn’t yet implemented digital nudging themselves. But the interviewees identified the following applications as particularly promising:
- Supporting digital transformation
- Encouraging learning and development as well as knowledge sharing
- Increasing compliance behavior, especially regarding cybersecurity
- Improving employees’ health and well-being
- Challenges: The applicability of digital nudging depends on whether the organization uses digital platforms that allow for customization, if there is leeway regarding corporate design, and whether ethical concerns can be sufficiently addressed.
Methodology
The research project was led by Prof. Dr. Sabine Einwiller and Daniel Wolfgruber, University of Vienna. It is divided into four sub-studies:
- Literature review of scientific, management and organizational studies on diversity management and communication. Besides that, the research team analyzed literature from other fields like business ethics or sociology.
- Semi-structured interviews with 84 employees with and without various diversity characteristics in Germany and Austria. The aim was to investigate employees' experiences with D&I-related measures and communication and which organizational communication influences the inclusion/exclusion of employees.
- Online survey of 1,000 employees: The aim was to find out to what extent an organization's handling of and communication about D&I issues influence employees' identification with the organization. In addition, the research team investigated, how the behaviors of fellow employees change.
- Semi-structured interviews with 20 D&I experts in Austria and Germany to draw a holistic picture of the status quo of D&I management: reasons for establishing D&I management, conception and implementation of communication measures as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Companies that participated in the semi-structured expert interviews – a selection:
Research team
The research project was conducted by Dr. Sabine Einwiller and Daniel Wolfgruber at the University of Vienna from 2020 to 2021:
- Dr. Sabine Einwiller is the professor of Public Relation Research at the Department of Communication at the University of Vienna.
- Daniel Wolfgruber, M.A. is a research associate in the Department of Communication at the University of Vienna.
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Further readings
- Hansen, K., & Seierstad, C. (2017). Corporate social responsibility and diversity management: Theoretical approaches and best practices. Springer International, Cham.
- Mor Barak, M. E. (2017). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. SAGE, Thousand Oaks.
- Bohnet, I. (2016). What works: Gender equality by design. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Contact:
c/o Leipzig University
Nikolaistraße 27-29
04109 Leipzig, Germany
info@akademische-gesellschaft.com
Phone: +49 (0)341 97350-52
