| Title |
Step by step, not all at once: planting diversity, equity, and inclusion seeds in hard ground |
| Authors |
Butkevičienė, Jurgita ; Ramanauskaitė, Joana |
| DOI |
10.4337/9781035361243.00016 |
| ISBN |
9781035361236 |
| eISBN |
9781035361243 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Diversity, equity, and inclusion in small and medium enterprises: concepts, cases, and managerial perspectives / edited by A. Šilenskytė, M. Fletcher, J. Butkevičienė, C. Jayton.. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar (EE) Publishing, 2026. p. 122-135.. ISBN 9781035361236. eISBN 9781035361243 |
| Keywords [eng] |
HR outsourcing ; HR practices ; diversity, equity and inclusion ; DEI ; tensions ; strategic condition ; small- and medium-sized enterprises ; SMEs |
| Abstract [eng] |
After an export-oriented manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) signs a major contract with a new international partner, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements emerge during supplier due diligence. What had previously been an informal and peripheral issue becomes a strategic condition for sustaining the business partnership. The case highlights tensions around reliance on an external Human Resource (HR) consultant to design and formalise DEI policies versus fostering internal managerial ownership; short-term compliance measures versus long-term cultural transformation; and informal, personality-driven practices versus systematic, organisation-wide approaches to inclusion. By adopting the perspective of an external HR consultant, learners are invited to critically consider the risks of outsourcing DEI functions in SMEs, consider questions of responsibility and the sustainability of externally driven change, particularly in contexts where decision-making authority has traditionally remained centralised and internal commitment remains limited. This teaching case addresses Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities). |
| Published |
Cheltenham : Edward Elgar (EE) Publishing, 2026 |
| Type |
Book part |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2026 |
| CC license |
|
