Inclusive Organizational Culture as an Anomaly: The Impact of Company Size on the Manifestation of Inclusive Norms and Practices

Abstract

Based on the results of a nationwide survey “Prospects for Inclusive Employment in Russian Companies and Factors Affecting Diversity Management in the Context of Global Challenges” (2021), the article shows how company size affects the formation of an organizational inclusive culture. The authors consider compliance with national norms of availability of infrastructural conditions for the work of employees with disabilities (EwDs) (equipment of workplaces and common areas) and internal inclusive standards and practices (formal rules and organization of recruitment, training and adaptation; recruitment and career development indicators for employees with various disabilities). Chi-square test was used to test the relationship between categorical variables — company size and various dimensions reflecting inclusive organizational culture. The final profiles of companies based on the presence of employment and work environment for EwDs were defined using the methods for finding anomalies.

The study shows that large companies are more likely to support inclusive norms and practices and provide an organizational environment for EwDs, an accessible office environment, and track EwDs recruitment and career development rates. In addition, a large company is more likely to employ EwDs.

Smaller companies support inclusive practices informally, through closer ties between employees and tolerant attitudes towards EwDs. This also demonstrates the potential for an inclusive culture in smaller companies. Medium-sized companies are less likely to implement inclusive employment practices and at the same time, are not willing to implement them informally. That is, medium-sized companies have fewer prerequisites for developing inclusive organizational culture than large or small companies.

The overall level of support for inclusive practices remains quite low, making the most inclusive companies, which the authors have categorized as anomalous, “invisible” against the general background. Such companies also tend to prioritize the formal fulfillment of regulatory requirements for the employment of people with disabilities (PwDs), and therefore they do not become drivers of disseminating inclusive organizational culture.

Acknowledgments. The study was carried out within a grant provided by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant agreement No. 075-15-2022-325).

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Christian Fröhlich for his significant contribution to this article.