Equality, diversity and inclusion in international business: a review and research agenda

Abstract

To remain relevant IB research must address the increasing pressure being applied to multinational enterprises (MNEs) to address equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). In this first systematic review of EDI in international business (IB), we evaluate the extent to which IB research on EDI addresses current and future demands for global equality and social justice. Our text analysis of 1618 articles indicates that EDI research within IB focuses on similar diversity categories (e.g. gender) and rationales for addressing EDI (e.g. performance) as mainstream EDI research from outside IB, but that IB research does not leverage the global aspects of the MNE, and is slower to shift its goal from firm or team performance to the inclusion of underrepresented groups. Our subsequent narrative review of 101 articles within IB indicates that IB excels at theorizing mechanisms related to heterogeneity, but avoids moral arguments for EDI, and that findings are often blind to power or status differences, postcolonial legacies, and other inequalities. We call for more moral-based and power-laden analysis that could mitigate international resistance to EDI, while maintaining an interest in EDI’s relationship to organizational performance. At the intersection of IB and EDI research, we see the opportunity to lead societal change.