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Article
Publication date: 8 November 2023

Katherine Taken Smith and John A. De Leon

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become prioritized goals of business, such as hiring more women and racial minorities. This study adds to the body of research regarding…

Abstract

Purpose

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become prioritized goals of business, such as hiring more women and racial minorities. This study adds to the body of research regarding the value of diversity in organizations by examining the relationship between diversity at the workforce level and the financial performance of the organization. The empirical results of prior research have provided mixed results, finding mainly positive, but also negative, and nonsignificant relationships (Sharma et al., 2020; Vlas et al., 2022). The purpose of this study is to examine the current employment status of women and racial minorities in top US companies, then analyze if a correlation exists between a company’s profit margin and its percentage of women and racial minority employees and managers.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examined the top 200 companies in the Fortune 500 companies; these are the largest companies by revenue in the USA. Companies were ranked according to each variable (% of women employees, % of racial minority employees, % of women managers and % of racial minority managers) and then divided into equal quartiles. The mean profit margin for the top quartile was compared with the mean profit margin for the bottom quartile. T-tests were used to determine whether significant differences in profit margin exist between companies. This methodology of comparing top and bottom quartiles was developed in prior studies.

Findings

Fortune 200 companies have an average of 40% women and also 40% racial minorities in their workforce. Both women and racial minorities account for a smaller percentage of managers. Women account for 34% of managers, while racial minorities account for 29%. There is a significant positive relationship between profit margin and two of the variables. Companies with 45% or more women managers have a significantly higher profit margin than companies with the lowest percentages of women managers. Companies with 48% or more racial minority employees have a significantly higher profit margin than companies with the lowest percentages of racial minority employees. These findings are in-line with the existing body of research that has found mixed impacts of diversity on firm performance (cf. Hoobler et al., 2018; Leung et al., 2022) and draws attention to the need to consider the impact of gender and racial diversity on firms at various management levels within the firm to better understand the impact that increasing diversity has on firm performance (cf. Curado et al., 2022).

Originality/value

This paper adds to the body of knowledge by assessing the current status of women and racial minorities in top US companies and, then, analyzing if a correlation exists between a company’s profit margin and the number of women and racial minority employees and managers. Findings provide companies with further incentive to maintain DEI as a prioritized goal.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 38 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2007

Javed Hussain and Harry Matlay

The purpose of this research is to show that while mainstream finance for small businesses has been researched, hard to reach segments of the UK owner/manager population have…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to show that while mainstream finance for small businesses has been researched, hard to reach segments of the UK owner/manager population have eluded empirically rigorous investigation. The authors investigate the financing preferences of owner/managers in small ethnic minority businesses in the UK and examine their access to both formal and informal finance as well as the use of personal funding networks. The emergent results are compared with the findings from a matched “control sample” of white small business owner/managers.

Design/methodology/approach

Identical, in‐depth, face‐to‐face interviews were used with a sample of ethnic minority small business owner/managers and a matched control sample of white respondents in the West Midlands region of the UK.

Findings

Family and close associate networks were very important for the support of both ethnic minority and white owner/managers. All the respondents required loans from banks and other financial institutions, both at the start‐up stage and in subsequent years. For the ethnic minority owner/managers, the initial importance of financial institutions declined over the years. In contrast, in the control sample, institutional borrowing needs increased considerably. Ethnic minority owner/managers showed a preference for less intrusive and more “user friendly” financing options that allow them to remain in full control of their businesses.

Practical implications

Caution is advised in the use and generalisation of results emerging from qualitative research that involves small samples of respondents chosen from a restricted area of the UK.

Originality/value

The research shows the importance of “user‐friendly” financing options for owner/managers.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2014

Dennis Reynolds, Imran Rahman and Stacey Bradetich

Recent research identifies several attributes that lead to the value proposition of a diversity-training program: corporate engagement in diversity training; participants'…

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Abstract

Purpose

Recent research identifies several attributes that lead to the value proposition of a diversity-training program: corporate engagement in diversity training; participants' perceptions of how such programs aid their peers; self-analysis of participants in training; and perceptions regarding the benefit of diversity training for subordinates. The aim of this paper is to test a corresponding four-antecedent model of the value of diversity training from the point of view of hotel managers.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey instrument was devised and sent to a random sample of hotel properties that asked managers questions related to the value of diversity training. Multiple regression analysis and t-tests were used as methods of data analyses.

Findings

Results from 242 responses returned by managers of 96 hotels indicated that managers perceive themselves and the corporate executives to significantly add value to the organization through diversity training. Furthermore, ethnic minority managers do not value diversity training significantly more highly than their non-minority counterparts do; similarly, little difference exists between genders on the four indicators of diversity-training efficacy.

Research limitations/implications

This study examined only one aspect of diversity management – diversity training. Among other limitations are the small sample and low response rates, which made it difficult to compare ethnic groups to one another.

Practical implications

Through this study, managers' perceptions about which groups of employees add value following diversity training are presented. The findings are likely to help hospitality corporations to implement diversity training more efficiently.

Originality/value

This study indicates that hotel managers value diversity training and suggests the need for organizations to understand how to prioritize various organizational levels for such training.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 September 2020

Nixon S. Chekenya and Shingirai Sikomwe

Using data for the period 1965–2016, we investigate whether there are systematic differences between the investment performance of Black fund managers and those of other races in…

Abstract

Purpose

Using data for the period 1965–2016, we investigate whether there are systematic differences between the investment performance of Black fund managers and those of other races in South Africa and whether investors recognize these differences. The two-tailed test results show that there is no significant difference between the two means considering the 12 months yield return at a hypothesized mean difference of zero. There is no statistical difference at 5% level of significance implying that the performance of Black fund managers is as equally as that of managers of other races. Our results also show that the percentage of Black fund managers in South Africa is still too low even as the workforce gets diverse. There's no single explanation for what is happening in this industry. The findings cannot be explained by differences in fund characteristics such as age, total assets under management or expenses or from the performance lenses. The results seem hard to reconcile with an explanation of differences in portfolio characteristics such as return volatility or market, size, value and momentum exposures.

Design/methodology/approach

We test the glass cliff hypothesis by employing conditional logistic regression (CLR). The approach enables the use of case/control style of analysis where White/majority fund managers are the control population and professional minorities are the case group. The selection of these as fund managers is our event or outcome variable. To test savior effect hypothesis, we employ analysis of variance (ANOVA). The technique enables us to compare variances between the groups: when a White male fund manager replaces a professional minority, when a White male fund manager replaces a White male fund manager and when a professional minority replaces a professional minority.

Findings

Our analyses so far have documented a woeful underrepresentation of Black fund managers in South Africa's mutual funds industry. We explore potential explanations for these trends. Our analysis is meant to be suggestive. Are Blacks, women, people of color and ethnic minorities finding success in the investment industry? Are they having rewarding and fulfilling careers? Or is the industry still homogenous (just a White man's world) with a thin veneer of diversity layered on for public relations effect? The percentage of Black fund managers in South Africa is still too low even as the workforce gets diverse. There is no single explanation for what is happening in this industry. The findings cannot be explained by differences in fund characteristics such as age, total assets under management or expenses or from the performance lenses. Also, the results seem hard to reconcile with an explanation of differences in portfolio characteristics such as return volatility or market, size, value and momentum exposures.

Research limitations/implications

The two-tailed test results show that there is no significant difference between the two means considering the 12 months yield return at a hypothesized mean difference of zero. There is no statistical difference at 5% level of significance. Our results so far establish that, ceteris paribus, the performance of Black fund managers is as equally as that of managers of other races.

Practical implications

The two-tailed test results show that there is no significant difference between the two means considering the 12 months yield return at a hypothesized mean difference of zero. There is no statistical difference at 5% level of significance. Our results so far establish that, ceteris paribus, the performance of Black fund managers is as equally important as that of managers of other races.

Social implications

The two-tailed test results show that there is no significant difference between the two means considering the 12 months yield return at a hypothesized mean difference of zero. There is no statistical difference at 5% level of significance. Our results so far establish that, ceteris paribus, the performance of Black fund managers is as equally important as that of managers of other races.

Originality/value

This paper investigates whether there are systematic differences between the investment performance of Black fund managers and those of other races in South Africa and whether investors recognize these differences. Our hypothesis is that due to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) laws in the country and possibly, due to a perception of discrimination in the market, it is only Black fund managers with superior fund management skills that enter the profession. As such, we expect to find superior performance among Black fund managers. We also conjecture that investors recognize this phenomenon and reward Black fund managers with more fund flows and more investment mandates than others.

Details

Review of Behavioral Finance, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1940-5979

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2016

Juan M. Madera, Mary Dawson and Priyanko Guchait

The purpose of this paper was to develop and test a model examining how hotel managers’ psychological diversity climate affects job satisfaction, the moderating effect of…

2254

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to develop and test a model examining how hotel managers’ psychological diversity climate affects job satisfaction, the moderating effect of racioethnic minority status and the mediating role of organizational justice.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of frontline managers from 164 individual hotel properties was used. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to examine the underlying mechanism through which psychological diversity climate impacts job satisfaction.

Findings

The results found support for the mediating effect of organizational justice between managers’ psychological diversity climate and job satisfaction. Racioethnic identity moderated the relationship between psychological diversity climate and organizational justice, thereby supporting the mediated-moderated model proposed in the current research.

Practical implications

The findings show the importance of improving employee perceptions of diversity climate and organizational justice, particularly through recruitment practices, incorporating diversity into the corporate values, adopting formal diversity management practices and educating managers about the importance of diversity through formal training methods.

Originality/value

Little research has examined the underlying mechanisms that explain why psychological diversity climate affects organizational attitudes. Even less research has examined whether the link between a perceived positive diversity climate and job satisfaction is stronger for racioethnic minorities. These results provide meaningful insights for researchers because the hospitality industry is one of the largest employers of racioethnic minorities and immigrant employees.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 28 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2018

Hans Spijkerman, Yvonne W.M. Benschop and Joost Bücker

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of constructive intercultural contact. This concept refers to intercultural contact in which majority as well as minority

1940

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of constructive intercultural contact. This concept refers to intercultural contact in which majority as well as minority participants are intercultural effective, i.e. can perceive themselves as comfortable and successful.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on exploration and review of intergroup, contact, acculturation and organization literature.

Findings

Five input elements of constructive intercultural contact are distinguished: responsibility, deliberate choice to postpone judgment, acknowledging the relative relevance of cultural differences, perspective taking and respect. What participants have to do to make constructive intercultural contact in organizations not only possible between colleagues, but also in hierarchical relationships is elaborated by reflection on the interrelation between majority/minority and manager/employee positions in constructive intercultural contact.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to diversity management literature by introducing a new concept which, focusing on the interaction level, explains how participants can make intercultural contact into a comfortable and successful experience for both. Other contributions are the differentiation between majority and minority actors and the elaboration of the complexity of intercultural employee/manager contacts.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 37 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 October 2017

Xiaoxiang Zhang, Jo-Ting Wei and Hsin-Hung Wu

The purpose of this paper is to examine how family firms affect analyst forecast dispersion, accuracy and optimism and how earnings smoothness as the moderating factor, affects…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how family firms affect analyst forecast dispersion, accuracy and optimism and how earnings smoothness as the moderating factor, affects these relationships in an emerging market context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the population sample of firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2010 as the research sample, which includes 963 firm-year observations.

Findings

The findings show that analysts following family firms are more likely to have more dispersed, less accurate and more optimism biased forecasts than those following nonfamily firms. Earning smoothness is mainly used by nonfamily firms as a signaling strategy to improve analyst forecast quality. In contrast, earnings smoothness is mainly used by families as a garbling strategy, stimulating forecast optimism. Only earnings smoothness in family firms with a high level of family ownership concentration is likely to be signaling-oriented to improve analyst forecast accuracy and mitigate analyst optimism biases.

Originality/value

Emerging markets are not only featured by prevailing principal-principal conflicts but also have multiple levels of agency conflicts among large shareholders, minority shareholders and professionally hired managers. This research reveals the multiple governance roles of family owners in affecting analyst forecast quality, including their entrenchment role in extracting private benefits of control through opaque environments and market discipline distortion role in aligning interests between managers and families without prioritizing meeting or beating analyst forecasts, both at the cost of minority shareholders. This research further disentangles the intertwined signaling oriented and garbiling oriented incentives associated with earnings smoothness under family governance.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 55 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2013

Joseph Gustafson

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the institutional and external factors associated with African-American and Latino representation in policing at the line and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the institutional and external factors associated with African-American and Latino representation in policing at the line and managerial ranks. Line representation analyses utilize new data sources and a full range of theoretically informed covariates. Managerial representation analyses provide the first comprehensive attempt to understand the dynamics behind minority promotion.

Design/methodology/approach

Portions of the 2000 US Census of Population and Housing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Tabulation, Division of Governmental Studies, and Services (DGSS) survey and Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey were combined to produce a sample of 180 cities/municipal departments for analysis.

Findings

Results indicate that the representation of minorities in political office and their presence in police leadership positions are among the most influential predictors of line officer diversity. Proportions of minorities in administrative police roles are greater in larger departments paying higher salaries. There is also evidence that the career advancement of minorities can be limited when multiple minority groups compete for the same promotional opportunities.

Originality/value

This study provides a thorough examination of minority officer line representation and the first multivariate examination of minority representation in managerial positions using a national sample.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2024

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

On average 40% of the employees are female and 40% are from racial minorities while the mean percentage of women managers is 34% and 29% for racial minorities. Companies with 45% women managers and over have a significantly higher profit margin than those with the lowest percentages and those with 48% racial minority managers and over also have a significantly higher profit margin than those with the lowest percentages.

Originality/value

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Details

Human Resource Management International Digest , vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-0734

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Samuel Mwaura and Stephen Knox

This paper investigates how gender, ethnicity, and network membership interact to influence how small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner-managers become aware of finance…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper investigates how gender, ethnicity, and network membership interact to influence how small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner-managers become aware of finance support programmes developed by government policy and/or support schemes advanced by the banking industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on expectation states theory (EST), we develop eight sets of hypotheses and employ the UK SME Finance Monitor data to test them using bivariate probit regression analysis.

Findings

In general, network membership increases awareness, but more so for government programmes. We also find no differences between female and male owner-managers when in networks. However, we identify in-network and out-network differences by ethnicity, with minority females seemingly better off than minority males.

Practical implications

Business networks are better for disseminating government programmes than industry-led programmes. For native White women, network membership can enhance policy awareness advantage further, whilst for minorities, networks significantly offset the big policy awareness deficits minorities inherently face. However, policy and practice need to address intersectional inequalities that remain in access to networks themselves, information access within networks, and the significant out-network deficits in awareness of support programmes afflicting minorities.

Originality/value

This study provides one of the first large-scale empirical examinations of intersectional mechanisms in awareness of government and industry-led enterprise programmes. Our novel and nuanced findings advance our understanding of the ways in which gender and ethnicity interact with network dynamics in entrepreneurship.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

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