IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v194y2024i2d10.1007_s10551-024-05613-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Don’t Rock the Boat: The Social-symbolic Work to Confront Ethnic Discrimination in Branches of Professional Service Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Daniela Aliberti

    (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

  • Rita Bissola

    (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

  • Barbara Imperatori

    (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

Abstract

In Western societies and organizations, episodes of discrimination based on individual demographic and social characteristics still occur. Relevant questions, such as why ethnic discrimination is perpetuated and how people confront it in the workplace, remain open. In this study, we adopt a social-symbolic work perspective to explore how individuals confront workplace ethnic discrimination by both upholding and challenging it. In doing so, we incorporate the perspectives of those directly experiencing, observing and neglecting discrimination. Specifically, we focus on the Italian branches of North American professional service firms (PSFs), performing a qualitative investigation of the worlds of concern among professionals regarding the topic of ethnic discrimination to explore how different backgrounds motivate social-symbolic work. We find that different forms of work are enacted to support the status quo, shape the boundaries of existing organizational practices, and balance professional identities, emotions, and careers to silence episodes of ethnic discrimination. We also highlight cases of ‘soft,’ yet increasing, work that contests the status quo. Finally, we discuss our results in light of neo-institutional and critical management research to ultimately inspire our focal firms and societies to find alternatives to the rhetoric in the established approaches to inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniela Aliberti & Rita Bissola & Barbara Imperatori, 2024. "Don’t Rock the Boat: The Social-symbolic Work to Confront Ethnic Discrimination in Branches of Professional Service Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(2), pages 251-274, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:194:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05613-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05613-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-024-05613-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-024-05613-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carol Azab & Jonas Holmqvist, 2022. "Discrimination in Services: How Service Recovery Efforts Change with Customer Accent," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 355-372, September.
    2. Furusten, Staffan, 2009. "Management consultants as improvising agents of stability," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 264-274, September.
    3. Jason Brennan, 2023. "Diversity for Justice vs. Diversity for Performance: Philosophical and Empirical Tensions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(3), pages 433-447, October.
    4. Benjamin Taupin, 2012. "The more things change... Institutional maintenance as justification work in the credit rating industry," Post-Print halshs-02114422, HAL.
    5. Sonali K. Shah & Kevin G. Corley, 2006. "Building Better Theory by Bridging the Quantitative–Qualitative Divide," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1821-1835, December.
    6. Hayfaa Tlaiss, 2015. "How Islamic Business Ethics Impact Women Entrepreneurs: Insights from Four Arab Middle Eastern Countries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(4), pages 859-877, July.
    7. Daniela Bolzani & Francesca Crivellaro & Rosa Grimaldi, 2021. "Highly skilled, yet invisible. The potential of migrant women with a STEMM background in Italy between intersectional barriers and resources," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 2132-2157, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kazadi, Kande & Lievens, Annouk & Mahr, Dominik, 2016. "Stakeholder co-creation during the innovation process: Identifying capabilities for knowledge creation among multiple stakeholders," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 525-540.
    2. Kristian Alm & David S. A. Guttormsen, 2023. "Enabling the Voices of Marginalized Groups of People in Theoretical Business Ethics Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 303-320, January.
    3. H. Mahesh Prabhu & Amit Kumar Srivastava, 2023. "CEO Transformational Leadership, Supply Chain Agility and Firm Performance: A TISM Modeling among SMEs," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 24(1), pages 51-65, March.
    4. Rebecca Pera & Giampaolo Viglia, 2017. "Can snacking be healthy? A comparison between coeliacs and health conscious food consumers," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(3), pages 79-99.
    5. Ya Xi Shen & Chuang Zhang & Long Zhang & Ting Liu & Sijia Zhao, 2024. "Caught in a Dilemma: The Impacts of Dual Organizational Identification on Host Country Nationals in the Face of Ethical Controversies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(4), pages 831-857, December.
    6. Leiva, Alejandro, 2011. "The Concept of ‘Diversity’ among Swedish Consultants," SULCIS Working Papers 2011:7, Stockholm University, Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS.
    7. Bala Mulloth & Andreas Antonopoulos, 2014. "Developing Central And Eastern Europe As A Hub For Global Entrepreneurship: Budapest and Prague As Cases In Point (Rozwoj Europy Srodkowo-Wschodniej jako centrum globalnej przedsiebiorczosci - przykla," Research Reports, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 1(17), pages 7-18.
    8. Kotapati Srinivasa Reddy, 2015. "Beating the Odds! Build theory from emerging markets phenomenon and the emergence of case study research—A “Test-Tube” typology," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 1037225-103, December.
    9. Alice Klettner & Thomas Clarke & Martijn Boersma, 2016. "Strategic and Regulatory Approaches to Increasing Women in Leadership: Multilevel Targets and Mandatory Quotas as Levers for Cultural Change," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(3), pages 395-419, February.
    10. Alroomi, Azzam & Karamatzanis, Georgios & Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos & Tilba, Anna & Xiao, Shujun, 2022. "Fathoming empirical forecasting competitions’ winners," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 1519-1525.
    11. Noemi Sinkovics & Jihye Kim & Rudolf R. Sinkovics, 2022. "Business-Civil Society Collaborations in South Korea: A Multi-Stage Pattern Matching Study," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 471-516, August.
    12. Soliman, Salma & Papanastassiou, Marina & Saka-Helmhout, Ayse, 2023. "The role of subsidiaries in Global Value Chains (GVCs): An institutional voids perspective on LVC upgrading and integration," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    13. Mohammad Hossein Rahmati & Ali Intezari & Bernard McKenna, 2022. "A Shi’a Islam Approach to Wisdom in Management: A Deep Understanding Opening to Dialogue and Dialectic," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(4), pages 891-911, December.
    14. Philip T. Roundy, 2019. "“It takes a village” to support entrepreneurship: intersecting economic and community dynamics in small town entrepreneurial ecosystems," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1443-1475, December.
    15. Salvador Carmona & Mahmoud Ezzamel & Claudia Mogotocoro, 2018. "Gender, Management Styles, and Forms of Capital," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 357-373, December.
    16. Desirée Knoppen & Louise Knight, 2022. "Pursuing sustainability advantage: The dynamic capabilities of born sustainable firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1789-1813, May.
    17. Hätönen, Jussi, 2009. "Making the locational choice: A case approach to the development of a theory of offshore outsourcing and internationalization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 61-76, March.
    18. Heusinkveld, Stefan & Visscher, Klaasjan, 2012. "Practice what you preach: How consultants frame management concepts as enacted practice," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 285-297.
    19. Jörn Block & Christian Fisch & Farooq Rehan, 2020. "Religion and entrepreneurship: a map of the field and a bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 70(4), pages 591-627, November.
    20. Timothy Clark & Mike Wright, 2009. "So, Farewell Then . . . Reflections on Editing the Journal of Management Studies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 1-9, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:194:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05613-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.