Diversity and inclusion management in sport organizations: an integrative literature review

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research question Diversity and inclusion management (DIM) is central to organizational science and studies of sport’s contribution to diversity and inclusion in society are plentiful, e.g. through the “sport for development” field. But what is the status of existing research about DIM within sport organizations? Research methods This paper draws upon an integrative literature review of DIM in sport organizations (n = 124). Data consist of articles gathered from Web of Science and the databases of Human Kinetics, Elsevier, Taylor and Francis and SAGE. Results and Findings The analysis generated five categories of findings: a lack of focus on the management part of DIM; the use of “organizational culture” as an all-embracing concept; an instrumental approach to “diversity” in particular; the key role of education in improving future DIM practices in sport; and an Anglo-Saxon bias. Implications This article advances the idea of a relational management of “diversity” and “inclusion” in sport organizations for integrative purposes. It is proposed to examine this relational management through a social-scientific approach to three research gaps, which are key to future empirical research on DIM challenges in sport organizations.