DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS IN MULTINATIONALS: OPPORTUNITY FOR REVERSE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Abstract

This article aims to understand how multinational enterprises manage their diversity and inclusion (D&I) programs globally, identifying strategies, subsidiaries’ motivation to internalize practices, and addressing an issue little discussed in D&I literature to date: the reverse knowledge transfer (RKT). Through an exploratory multiple case analysis, this study contributes by integrating and advancing literatures of D&I, international business, and RKT, to the best of our knowledge not yet done. It highlights the importance of the headquarters’ strategy, the subsidiaries context as well as their relative size and power inside the organization, identifying main drivers for D&I and conditions for the RKT, culminating in a summarizing framework.