Advancing Theory and Research on Diversity in Organizations

CALL FOR PAPERS

Advancing Theory and Research on Diversity in Organizations

Series: Research in Human Resource Management 

Editors: Dianna L. Stone and James H. Dulebohn 

Publisher: Information Age Publishing (Final Papers due April 1, 2017) 

The workforces of many industrialized nations are becoming increasingly diverse (Stone-Romero, Stone, & Salas, 2003). For example, recent reports estimate that by 2030 the U. S. will be a majority minority nation (i.e., ethnic minorities including African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native Americans will become the majority of the population) (U. S. Bureau of Census, 2015). As a result, many U. S. organizations will employ large number of ethnic minority group members, and will face the challenge of attracting, motivating and retaining employees who are ethnically and culturally diverse. Second, increases in the cultural diversity of work organizations are also a function of the rise in immigration among worldwide populations. For instance, ethnic minorities now make up 14% of the European Union, and the numbers are growing at a rapid rate. Third, the rise in diversity is also affected by the fact that many organizations are involved in international business and trade (Stone-Romero et al., 2003). Large numbers of organizations are conducting business across national boundaries, and some estimates indicate that 34 million individuals now work for multinational organizations. As a result, there is a growing interest in how to develop a better understanding of the issues that arise as organizations become more culturally and ethnically diverse. 

In view of the growing cultural diversity in U. S. and worldwide organizations, the purpose of this issue of Research in HRM is to advance our understanding of diversity in organizations by expanding the theory and research on the topic. In particular, the book will focus on enhancing diversity theory and research in the related fields of Human Resource Management (HR), Organizational Behavior (OB), and Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

EXISTING DIVERSITY THEORIES: Although there are a number of definitions of diversity in organizations, most researchers define diversity as the ways in which persons differ from each other or the distinctive characteristics of individuals (Nkomo & Hoobler, 2014). For example, the original definitions of diversity included the characteristics of sex, ethnicity, race, age, disability, but in recent years other attributes have been added including sexual orientation, weight, veteran's status, socioeconomic status, generational differences, and culture. Given that diversity focuses on a wide array of characteristics, researchers in HR and OB have developed multiple frameworks for understanding diversity in organizational settings. For instance, Van Knippenberg, De Dreu, and Homan (2004) identified three of the major theories of diversity (i.e., social identity, relational demography, information processing), and these will be briefly reviewed below. However, we believe that researchers should also consider theories associated with cultural value differences as a key diversity framework (e.g., Gelfand, Erez, & Aycan, 2007).

CALL FOR PAPERS: Given that the diversity theories are often viewed as distinct frameworks, we believe that they should be integrated in order to develop an understanding of the role that diversity plays at each stage of the employment process. Thus, the primary goals of this issue are to (a) advance theory and research on diversity by integrating and expanding existing frameworks, (b) give authors the opportunity to propose new frameworks that foster future research, and (c) offer authors the chance to present literature reviews on specific diversity topics that consider the implications for future research and practice.

GUIDELINES FOR PAPERS: All papers should integrate existing models of diversity, present new theoretical models or provide literature reviews of diversity-related research. They should also offer directions for future research on diversity. Empirical studies will not be included in the issue. However, meta-analysis of existing research will be considered.

STEPS:

1. Authors should submit a short abstract to Dianna Stone (diannastone2015@gmail.com) by September 15, 2016 describing the plans for their papers. Feedback will be provided to authors.

2. Final papers will be due April 1, 2017, and should be 50 pages or less including references and tables. In addition, all papers should conform to APA format.

3. Papers will be reviewed by Dianna Stone and James Dulebohn, and decisions will be made about publication

4. If authors are given an opportunity to revise and resubmit their manuscripts, the final papers will be due July 1, 2017.

**Please feel free to email Dianna Stone (diannastone2015@gmail.com) or James Dulebohn (dulebohn@msu.edu) if you have questions about the issue or call for papers.