“Superdiversity”: a new paradigm for inclusion in a transnational world

• Date: 20 May 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-07-2018-0134
• Pages: 477-490
• Published date: 20 May 2019
• Author: Banu Ozkazanc-Pan
• Subject Matter: Hr & organizational behaviour,Employment law

“Superdiversity”: a new

paradigm for inclusion in

a transnational world

Banu Ozkazanc-Pan

Department of Management, University of Massachusetts, Boston,

Massachusetts, USA and

The Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, Brown University,

Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Abstract

Purpose –Transnational migration has become a defining feature of many societies across the globe. This

paper focuses on contributions to diversity theorizing and research available from “superdiversity”,an

analytic framework derived from transnational migration studies. “Superdiversity”speaks to the novel social

transformations taking p lace globally and provide s new opportunities, albeit with critique, for

conceptualizing and studying people, difference and inclusion. The purpose of this paper is to provide

innovative ways to rethink hallmark concepts of diversity scholarship by offering new insights about the role

of nation-states, the concept of difference and inclusion in the midst of mobility.

Design/methodology/approach –The paper relies upon transnational migration studies as an emergent

field of inquiry about societal level changes brought upon by the ongoing movement of people. The social,

cultural and political transformations growing out of transnational migration are used to theorize new

directions for diversity research in the context of management and organization studies. By relying on

“superdiversity”and its mobility-based ontology, epistemology and methodology, the paper proposes new

ways to think about and carry out research on difference and inclusion.

Findings –Deploying the analytic framework of “superdiversity,”the paper offers “belonging”as the new

conversation on inclusion and proposes mobile methods as a means to study mobile subjects/objects. In

addition, it discusses how the ongoing transformative societal changes by way of transnational migration

impact the ways in which the author theorizes and carry out diversity research. Questions and concerns

around ethics, (in)equality and representation are considered vital to future research in/around diversity.

Originality/value –Extensive changes in societies emerging out of ongoing encounters between/among

different kinds of people have taken shape by way of transnational migration. As a result, emergentand novel

notions of difference have been forged in a transnational manner across social fields. By examining these

transformations, the paper provides new directions and challenges for diversity scholarship in the context of

rising societal tensions and rhetoric around difference and “belonging”in nation-states. It also provides

alternative considerations for understanding and theorizing inclusion in diversity research.

Keywords Transnational, Diversity, Mobility, Inclusion, Difference, Superdiversity

Paper type Conceptual paper

Migration is one of the most important drivers of social transformation in societies. In turn,

migration as a framework offers significant new opportunities for expanding upon and

challenging our understanding of work experiences and the ways in which we theorize

differences between/among people and cultures. Throughout history, humans have moved

across boundaries (e.g. empires and nation-states), geographies and places for economic,

social, cultural and political reasons. Sometimes out of choice or force, these wide-spread

movements have allowed for new and emergent ways of understanding oneself and Others,

the social world and the world of work. In contemporary times, laws on migration have

resulted in attempts to limit legal (and “illegal”) movements of particular groups into

existing nation-states. At the same time, politicized rhetoric has created a sense of belonging

for some people or instilled a sense of “Otherness”in certain groups. Migration has become a

lightning rod for conversations about the value of diversity and inclusion in liberal

democracies. Despite new attention to migration, mobility has always been and continues to

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 38 No. 4, 2019

pp. 477-490

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-07-2018-0134

Received 26 July 2018

Revised 27 November 2018

18 January 2019

Accepted 29 January 2019

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

477

Superdiversity,

inclusion and

transnationalism