Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Small and Medium Enterprises: Concepts, Cases, and Managerial Perspectives

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.

Edited by Aušrinė Šilenskytė, Assistant Professor of International Strategic Management, School of Management, University of Vaasa, Finland, Margaret Fletcher, Professor and Chair of International Business, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, UK, Jurgita Butkevičienė, Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University and Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania and Chenthuran Jayton, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, USA