Is Diversity Management Related to Financial Performance in Family Firms?

Abstract

Policies and practices designed to foster diversity in organizations are now well integrated into a firm’s corporate strategy. In this article, we examine the role diversity management policies play in the financial performance of family firms, based on the premise that family firms have unique goals and governance structures that may affect the adoption of such policies. Using a longitudinal data set covering 952 publicly listed firms and multidimensional measures for diversity and financial performance, our empirical analyses suggest that family firms underperform nonfamily firms on diversity performance indicators. Interestingly, however, we find that the weaker diversity management practices of family firms may contribute to their robust financial performance.

HR on board! The implications of human resource expertise on boards of directors for diversity management

“…Table provides the descriptive statistics including the means, standard deviations, and correlations for the variables in this study. In this study's sample, the mean diversity management index score is 1.54 (SD = 1.51), which is higher than the 1.41 and 1.08 scores observed by Huseynov and Klamm () and Singal and Gerde (), respectively. Board HR expertise is represented in about 8% of the firm‐year observations.…”

The Implications of Managed-Workforce Diversity on Internal Supply Chain Integration and Business Performance

“…Kaufmann & Wagner, 2017;Singal & Gerde, 2015;Richard et al, 2015). Available literature suggests that most of the discussions and studies on diversity have been staged in advanced economies, particularly, in the US and Europe (Podsiadlowski et al, 2013).…”

“…The difficulty often comes from the fact that employees possess varied abilities and have diverse inherent and explicit characteristics as well as different needs and expectations (Bedi, Lakra, & Gupta, 2014;Bogaert & Vloeberghs, 2005). As a growing concern, organizations are supposed to indiscriminately bring on board workforce with these differences and harness them to their advantage (Singal & Gerde, 2015; Charted Instituted of Purchasing and Supply [CIPS], 2009). In this sense, effectively managing diverse workforce has become the way forward (Point & Singh, 2003).…”

“…Not only are few conceptual discussions on workforce diversity within the SC literature but also, there is insufficient empirical attention on how workforce diversity management could become a source of capability for SCs. Even at the focal firm level, most diversity studies have focused on the micro-level (individual), with few focusing on the macro-level (organizational) or inter-organizational-level (Singal & Gerde, 2015). Despite the emerging stream of studies on diversity at the upstream portion of the SC (i.e.…”

“…Generally, research on workforce diversity issues in bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) countries is scanty. Along this, Singal and Gerde (2015) recommended that business contexts other than that of U.S., Canada, and U.K. where diversity issues are less salient should be explored. Ghana's unique institutional environment could largely shape specific workforce diversity management initiatives and outcomes.…”