December1, 2014

Marketplace Diversity and Inclusion

BY GERALDINE ROSA HENDERSON, Loyola University and
JEROME D. WILLIAMS, Rutgers University

Research on marketplace diversity involves studying the impact of sociodemographic identities and influences in business-to-consumer, business-tobusiness, consumer-to-consumer and supply chain management. These sociodemographic identities include those based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender,
sexual orientation, physical differences, religion and other socio-cultural differences,
as we noted in From Exclusion to Inclusion: An Introduction to the Special Issue on
Marketplace Diversity and Inclusion, published in 2013 in the Journal of Public
Policy & Marketing.
As the global marketplace becomes increasingly connected and diverse, there has
been an expanding need for research to better understand how firms can effectively
tap into this trend, and to connect this research to public policy. Firms must identify
ways to increase opportunities for the pursuit of emerging markets both locally (for
example, multi-ethnic marketing) and abroad (for example, cross-cultural marketing).
Yet, looking just at the racial/ethnic dimension of diversity, fewer than 3% of all
subjects in research studies published in the major marketing and consumer
behavior journals represent research participants from diverse backgrounds.
Therefore, attention should be given to these overlooked and undervalued
consumers. It is high time for the private and public sectors to enact policies to
ensure active interest in, and respect for, diverse marketplaces throughout the globe.
Each article in this collection from the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing begins to
fill the gap in conducting the much-needed research in this domain. These articles
provide insight on marketplace diversity and inclusion by extending research across
a broad range of domains, including a framework for intercultural competency,
consumer vulnerability as it relates to the visually impaired, racial/ethnic marketplace
discrimination, factors influencing the gay consumer market, measuring diversity,
public housing stereotypes, and exploring the concept of intersectionality.
In a 2013 article entitled Toward Intercultural Competency in Multicultural
Marketplaces, a team of 12 authors takes consumers, marketers, community
groups, NGOs and policymakers toward business success through a framework for
intercultural competency development in multicultural marketplaces. The framework
consists of three phases: discovery, resiliency and the last, or highest, phase of
development, competency. This article tackles a critical issue in our multicultural
world, where increasing marketplace diversity heightens the danger of consumers
being harmed or treated unfairly. Conversely, intercultural incompetence places
marketers at risk of reputation loss or litigation. Extending recent work on consumer
vulnerability and resilience, the article proposes specific, concrete actions that
multicultural marketplace actors can take to ensure that all consumers can pursue
their universal economic, social and cultural rights.
In Marketplace Experiences of Consumers with Visual Impairments: Beyond the
Americans with Disabilities Act, Stacey Menzel Baker, Debra Lynn Stephens and
Ronald Paul Hill explore how consumers with a variety of visual impairments handle
day-to-day interactions with service providers, products and services. Based on
interviews with people with visual impairments, their study reveals that there are
considerable individual differences in adaptation strategies, including the degree of
independence desired and achieved. Their research suggests that independence
and dependence are not mere opposites on a single dimension. Rather, they are
domain-specific and complex, and are determined by both environmental factors and
personal characteristics.