Resilience and Diversity: Potentials of diversity and resilience measures for the successful management of crisis situations by companies – a preliminary study

Research Topic & Roadmap

In the peak phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ludwig Boltzmann Insitute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) was commissioned by the Austrian Ombud for Equal Treatment to conduct a first preliminary study with regard to possible potentials of diversity and resilience measures for the successful management of crisis situations by companies.

The background was the assumption that companies that have implemented a diversity and inclusion strategy could be better positioned in situations of crisis than others. In particular, it was important to ascertain what diversity and inclusion can mean in different corporate contexts and which measures may or may not lead to a higher degree of resilience. However, it should also be analysed whether diversity measures can in some cases constitute also barriers to a more resilient approach to crisis-related challenges.

Research Focus

• What makes companies successful and crisis-proof in general (not exclusively related to COVID-19) – especially in terms of their leadership culture, corporate culture and structures? How do companies define “crisis”? What criteria do companies apply to classify overcoming a crisis as successful?
• How has COVID-19 affected companies’ diversity policies? Which aspects of diversity policy (e.g. accessibility) have proven to be particularly helpful? Does increasing diversity in companies – both in terms of employees and customers – create more opportunities to react to crises? How were the different needs of employees and customers dealt with?
• What have resilience measures implemented before COVID-19 achieved in the crisis? How do companies define resilience and what measures do they take in this regard? Is there a link between resilience and diversity measures? Are there interactions between these two?
• Which diversity and resilience policies and ideas developed before the COVID-19 crisis have proven successful during the crisis and are therefore being pursued? What new ideas have emerged, and for which areas of companies? How “normal” is it to deal with the new realities after the lockdowns? How well are companies prepared for a possible second wave of COVID-19?

Research Method

An analysis of available literature as well as qualitative interviews and focus group discussions formed the methodological basis for the preparation of the preliminary study.