Diversity perspectives are philosophies of or approaches to diversity held by organizations, groups, or executives. They are important for organizations because they can determine the success or failure of diversity in the workforce. However, little is known about the predictors of diversity perspectives among executives. Using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, we analyzed 50 interviews with top executives in Germany to identify individual and organizational characteristics that predict executives' adoption of a diversity perspective, in particular of a value‐in‐diversity perspective. Specifically, we analyzed gender, age, education level, vocational background, and tenure (individual characteristics), as well as size, sector of organization, and competitive environment (organizational characteristics), as potential predictors. We found single characteristics did not predict adoption, but configurations of characteristics did. Drawing on the person‐situation‐interactionist perspective, we developed specific profiles of executives likely to foster a value‐in‐diversity perspective and identified characteristics of their work environments that support such an approach. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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Purpose-Gender diversity and equality vary tremendously among countries. This is a particular challenge for foreign subsidiaries, when the level of gender diversity and equality differs between the home and host country. This study investigates how executives leading Scandinavian subsidiaries in Japan perceive gender equality in the host country, and whether and what kind of actions they take to initiate change. Design/methodology/approach-This study is based on a qualitative analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with executives of Scandinavian subsidiaries in Japan. Findings-Findings reveal that executives of Scandinavian subsidiaries respond to the differences in gender equality between Scandinavia and Japan with three strategies of change: resistance and rigid change, compromise and moderate change, and adaptation and maintaining. Moreover, the findings indicate that the strategy of change varies depending on individual differences of the executives, e.g., nationality, and organizational differences, e.g., subsidiary size. Research limitations-Due to our small sample size, the generalizability of our findings is limited. Given the paucity of research on this topic, this approach provides first insights for building a basis for future studies. Originality/value-This study contributes to the scarce literature on gender diversity and equality in MNEs by identifying strategies of how top managers foster gender diversity and equality in a foreign non-Western context.

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