IMIB Journal of Innovation and Management
issue front

Nisha Yadav1 and Sunita Tanwar1

First Published 2 May 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/ijim.241245850
Article Information
Corresponding Author:

Nisha Yadav, Department of Management Studies, Central University of Haryana, Haryana 123031, India.
Email: 7nishayadav@gmail.com

1Department of Management Studies, Central University of Haryana, India

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-Commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed. 

Abstract

This research paper aims to identify and structure the enablers that promote organisational inclusivity, fostering a workplace that values diversity and inclusion. Using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), the study identifies the following four clusters of enablers: autonomous, linkage, dependent and driving. Furthermore, the research findings suggest that inclusive leadership acts as a key driving factor for promoting inclusivity in the organisation. The study offers practical implications for human resource managers to develop targeted strategies to create an inclusive culture and enhance overall organisational performance by recognising and prioritising the identified enablers.

Keywords

Organisational inclusion, Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), enablers, inclusive leadership

References

Ahmad, A., & Chowdhury, D. (2022). A review of effective communication and its impact on interpersonal relationships, conflict resolution, and decision-making. Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, 24(2), 18–23.

Ashikali, T., Groeneveld, S., & Kuipers, B. (2021). The role of inclusive leadership in supporting an inclusive climate in diverse public sector teams. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 41(3), 497–519. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X19899722

Aysola, J., Barg, F. K., Martinez, A. B., Kearney, M., Agesa, K., Carmona, C., & Higginbotham, E. (2018). Perceptions of factors associated with inclusive work and learning environments in health care organizations: A qualitative narrative analysis. JAMA Network Open, 1(4), e181003–e181003.

Bhanu, R. (2022). Achieving an inclusive work culture: Factors contributing to establish inclusivity in growing SMEs of India. ECS Transactions, 107(1), 20057–20063. https://doi.org/10.1149/10701.20057ecst

Boekhorst, J. A. (2015). The role of authentic leadership in fostering workplace inclusion: A social information processing perspective. Human Resource Management, 54(2), 241–264.

Booysen, L. (2013). The development of inclusive leadership practices and processes. In B. R. Deane & B. M. Ferdman (Eds.), Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion (pp. 296–329). Wiley.

Bohonos, J. W., & Sisco, S. (2021). Advocating for social justice, equity, and inclusion in the workplace: An agenda for anti-racist learning organizations. New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education, 2021(170), 89–98.

Brickson, S. (2000). The impact of identity orientation on individual and organizational outcomes in demographically diverse settings. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 82–101.

Brimhall, K. C., Lizano, E. L., & Barak, M. E. M. (2014). The mediating role of inclusion: A longitudinal study of the effects of leader-member exchange and diversity climate on job satisfaction and intention to leave among child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services Review, 40, 79–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.03.003

Brimhall, K. C., & Mor Barak, M. E. (2018). The critical role of workplace inclusion in fostering innovation, job satisfaction, and quality of care in a diverse human service organization. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 42(5), 474–492.

Carmeli, A., Reiter-Palmon, R., & Ziv, E. (2010). Inclusive leadership and employee involvement in creative tasks in the workplace: The mediating role of psychological safety. Creativity Research Journal, 22(3), 250–260.

Cheryl, E., & Joseph, J. G. (2022). Analyzing inclusive leadership with effective communication: A thematic study. International Journal of Science Engineering and Management, 9(7), 18–20.

Cottrill, K., Denise Lopez, P., & C. Hoffman, C. (2014). How authentic leadership and inclusion benefit organizations. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal, 33(3), 275–292.

Cox, T. (2001). Creating the multicultural organization: A strategy for capturing the power of diversity. Jossey-Bass.

Dai, X., & Fang, Y. (2023). Does inclusive leadership affect the organizational socialization of newcomers from diverse backgrounds? The mediating role of psychological capital. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1138101. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1138101

Davidson, M. N. (1999). The value of being included: An examination of diversity change initiatives in organizations. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 12(1), 164–180.

Davidson, M. N., & Ferdman, B. M. (2002). Inclusion: What can I and my organization do about it? The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 39(4), 80–85.

Daya, P. (2014). Diversity and inclusion in an emerging market context. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 33(3), 293–308.

Deloitte. (2012). Waiter, is that inclusion in my soup? A new recipe to improve business performance. Deloitte Australia.

Dennissen, M., Benschop, Y., & van den Brink, M. (2020). Rethinking diversity management: An intersectional analysis of diversity networks. Organization Studies, 41(2), 219–240.

Douglas, P. H. (2008). Affinity groups: Catalyst for inclusive organizations. Employment Relations Today, 34(4), 11–18.

Ferdman, B. M., Avigdor, A., Braun, D., Konkin, J., & Kuzmycz, D. (2010). Collective experience of inclusion, diversity, and performance in work groups. Mackenzie, 11(3), 6–26.

Findler, L., Wind, L. H., & Barak, M. E. M. (2007). The challenge of workforce management in a global society: Modeling the relationship between diversity, inclusion, organizational culture, and employee well-being, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Administration in Social Work, 31(3), 63–94.

Friedman, R. A., & Holtom, B. (2002). The effects of network groups on minority employee turnover intentions. Human Resource Management, 41(4), 405–421.

Gallegos, P. V. (2013). The work of inclusive leadership. In B. R. Deane & B. M. Ferdman (Eds.), Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion (pp. 177–202). Wiley.

Gehrels, S., & Suleri, J. (2016). Diversity and inclusion as indicators of sustainable human resources management in the international hospitality industry. Research in Hospitality Management, 6(1), 61–67.

Goel, P., Kumar, R., Banga, H. K., Kaur, S., Kumar, R., Pimenov, D. Y., & Giasin, K. (2022). Deployment of interpretive structural modeling in barriers to industry 4.0: A case of small and medium enterprises. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 15(4), 171. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15040171

Hagner, D. (2000). Coffee breaks and birthday cakes: Evaluating workplace cultures to develop natural supports for employees with disabilities. Training Resource Network.

Henderson, E. (2013). The Chief Diversity Officer’s view of the diversity and inclusion journey at Weyerhaeuser. In B. R. Deane & B. M. Ferdman (Eds.), Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion (pp. 431–450). Wiley.

Higginbotham, E. J. (2015). Inclusion as a core competence of professionalism in the twenty-first century. The Pharos of Alpha Omega Alpha-Honor Medical Society. Alpha Omega Alpha, 78(4), 6–9.

Hill, S. E. K., & Gant, G. (2000). Mentoring by minorities for minorities: The organizational communications support program. Review of Business, 21(1/2), 53–57.

Hirak, R., Peng, A. C., Carmeli, A., & Schaubroeck, J. M. (2012). Linking leader inclusiveness to work unit performance: The importance of psychological safety and learning from failures. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(1), 107–117.

Hu, C., Thomas, K. M., & Lance, C. E. (2008). Intentions to initiate mentoring relationships: Understanding the impact of race, proactivity, feelings of deprivation, and relationship roles. The Journal of Social Psychology, 148(6), 727–744.

Jackson, S. E., & Alvarez, E. B. (1992). Working through diversity as a strategic imperative. In Diversity in the workplace: Human resource initiatives (pp. 13–29). Guilford Press.

Jadaun, R. (2023). An empirical study of factors affecting inclusive workplaces: A framework for diversity management. Psychology and Education, 55(1). https://doi.org/10.48047/pne.2018.55.1.06

Jain, D. (2020). Inclusion—The ecosystem for Diversity to thrive! LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/inclusionecosystem-diversity-thrive-divya-jain/

Janssens, M., & Zanoni, P. (2008). What makes an organization inclusive? Work contexts and diversity management practices favoring ethnic minorities’ inclusion.

Jaskyte, K. (2004). Transformational leadership, organizational culture, and innovativeness in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 15(2), 153–168.

Johnsen, T. L., Fyhn, T., Jordbru, A., Torp, S., Tveito, T. H., & Øyeflaten, I. (2022). Workplace inclusion of people with health issues, immigrants, and unemployed youths—A qualitative study of Norwegian leaders’ experiences. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 687384. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.687384

Johnson-Bailey, J., & Cervero, R. M. (2004). Mentoring in black and white: The intricacies of cross-cultural mentoring. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 12(1), 7–21.

Khan, R. (2023). Enablers to build Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the organization. The People Management. https://thepeoplemanagement.com/enablers-to-build-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-organization-rubi-khan-avp-people-initiatives-talent-management-od-diversity-inclusion-max-life-insurance-company-limited/

Kuknor, S., Bhattacharya, S., Sharma, B. K., & Bhattacharya, S. (2023). Organizational inclusion and OCB: The moderating role of inclusive leadership. FIIB Business Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/23197145231183859

Malone, D. W. (1975). An introduction to the application of interpretative structural modeling. Proceedings of the IEEE, 62(3), 397–404.

Mor Barak, M. E., & Cherin, D. A. (1998). A tool to expand organizational understanding of workforce diversity: Exploring a measure of inclusion-exclusion. Administration in Social Work, 22(1), 47–64.

Mor Barak, M. E., Cherin, D. A., & Berkman, S. (1998). Organizational and personal dimensions in diversity climate: Ethnic and gender differences in employee perceptions. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 34(1), 82-104.

Mor Barak, M. E., Luria, G., & Brimhall, K. C. (2022). What leaders say versus what they do: Inclusive leadership, policy-practice decoupling, and the anomaly of climate for inclusion. Group & Organization Management, 47(4), 840–871.

Murphy, S. E., & Ensher, E. A. (1999). The effects of leader and subordinate characteristics in the development of leader–member exchange quality. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29(7), 1371–1394.

Nandal, V., Kumar, R., & Singh, S. K. (2019). Barriers identification and analysis of solar power implementation in Indian thermal power plants: An Interpretative Structural Modeling approach. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 114, 109330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109330

Naseer, S., Bouckenooghe, D., Syed, F., & Haider, A. (2023). Power of inclusive leadership: Exploring the mediating role of identity-related processes and conditional effects of synergy diversity climate in nurturing positive employee behaviors. Journal of Management & Organization, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2023.37

Nautiyal, M. (2018). The intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion in management practices: A descriptive study. Psychology and Education, 55(1). https://doi.org/10.48047/pne.2018.55.1.74

Nejati, M., & Shafaei, A. (2023). The role of inclusive leadership in fostering organisational learning behaviour. Management Research Review, 46(12), 1661–1678.

Nembhard, I. M., & Edmonson, A. C. (2006). Making it safe: The effects of leader inclusiveness and professional status on psychological safety and improvement efforts in health care teams. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(7), 941–966.

Nguyen, T. V. T., Nguyen, H. T., Nong, T. X., & Nguyen, T. T. T. (2022). Inclusive leadership and creative teaching: The mediating role of knowledge sharing and innovative climate. Creativity Research Journal, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2022.2134543

Nishii, L. H., & Rich, R. E. (2013). Creating inclusive climates in diverse organizations. In B. R. Deane & B. M. Ferdman (Eds.), Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion (pp. 330–363). Wiley.

Offerman, L. R., & Basford, T. E. (2014). Best practices and the changing role of human resources. In B. R. Deane & B. M. Ferdman (Eds.), Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion (pp. 229–259). Wiley.

Pelled, L. H., Ledford, G. E., & Mohrman, S. A. (1999). Demographic dissimilarity and workplace inclusion. Journal of Management Studies, 36(7), 1013–1031.

Roberson, Q. M. (2006). Disentangling the meanings of diversity and inclusion in organizations. Group and Organization Management, 31(2), 212–236.

Sabharwal, M. (2014). Is diversity management sufficient? Organizational inclusion to further performance. Public Personnel Management, 43(2), 197–217.

Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership. Jossey-Bass.

Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership. Jossey-Bass.

Schyns, B., Paul, T., Mohr, G., & Blank, H. (2005). Comparing antecedents and consequences of leader–member exchange in a German working context to findings in the US. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 14(1), 1–22.

Shore, L. M., Chung-Herrera, B. G., Dean, M. A., Ehrhart, K. H., Jung, D. I., Randel, A. E., & Singh, G. (2009). Diversity in organizations: Where are we now and where are we going? Human Resource Management Review, 19(2), 117–133.

Shore, L. M., Randel, A. E., Chung, B. G., Dean, M. A., Ehrhart, K. H., & Singh, G. (2011). Inclusion and diversity in work groups: A review and model for future research. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1262–1289

Tang, N., Jiang, Y., Chen, C., Zhou, Z., Chen, C. C., & Yu, Z. (2015). Inclusion and inclusion management in the Chinese context: An exploratory study. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(6), 856–874.

Theodorakopoulos, N., & Budhwar, P. (2015). Guest editors’ introduction: Diversity and inclusion in different work settings: Emerging patterns, challenges, and research agenda. Human Resource Management, 54(2), 177–197.

Thomas, D. A. (1990). The impact of race on managers’ experiences of developmental relationships (mentoring and sponsorship): An intra-organizational study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11(6), 479–492

Wasserman, I. C., Gallegos, P. V., & Ferdman, B. M. (2008). Dancing with resistance: Leadership challenges in fostering a culture of inclusion. In K. M. Thomas (Ed.), Diversity resistance in organizations (pp. 175–200). Taylor & Francis Group.

Welbourne, T. M., Rolf, S., & Schlachter, S. (2017). The case for employee resource groups. Personnel Review, 46(8), 1816–1834.


Make a Submission Order a Print Copy