BOOK:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Small and Medium Enterprises: Concepts, Cases, and Managerial Perspectives
(Open Access, Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing, 2026)
This book advances the central thesis that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are integral to the strategic management and everyday realities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), even if managers and employees may not explicitly use DEI terminology. Addressing long-standing critiques of DEI scholarship, the book explains why conventional DEI frameworks often feel inaccessible, irrelevant, or overly complex for resource-constrained SMEs.
In response, the authors reconceptualize DEI management for the SME context and introduce a framework and a set of best practices grounded in the lived realities of SMEs and insights from international surveys, interviews, workshops, and real-world cases from Europe. The book offers teaching cases along with online teaching notes and managerial reflections to equip current and future entrepreneurs and SME managers with the competencies needed to leverage social sustainability, in particular DEI, for a firm’s growth, strategy implementation, regulatory compliance, and conflict resolution. The book deepens understanding of intersectionality in SMEs and demonstrates how DEI contributes to advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Small and Medium Enterprises is a vital resource for scholars and students of business and management, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. Business educators and SME managers will also benefit from its actionable recommendations for effectively incorporating DEI best practices.
BOOK:
Managing Diversity in SMEs in Practice
(Open Access, Publisher University of Vaasa, 2026)
Diversity is no longer a peripheral issue for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It shapes their resilience and innovation capabilities, influences talent management and customer relationships.
This book brings together authentic cases from technology and service businesses, inviting readers to grapple with managerial situations that involve diversity management in the context of SME business development, including product and service development, strategy implementation, project management, team management, and other related areas.
Combining practical relevance with evidence-based perspectives, this edited volume presents a rich collection of cases that equip current and future managers, as well as learners, with the knowledge, skills, and strategic capabilities required to build and grow inclusive organisations.
The book is accompanied by detailed teaching notes (available online in open-access format) that demonstrate how each case can be used in higher and vocational education to model managerial actions and decision-making in inclusive organisations.
TEACHING CASES on DEI in SMEs
