Market Inclusion Research Articles

Conceptualizing Inclusive Marketing: A Synthesis of Theory and Practice

Fostering inclusion is a currently popular marketing imperative to which firms, policies, and individuals are giving increasing attention. Various brands are striving to join this trend in multiple ways, producing a wide and differentiated range of actions that could lead them to be defined as inclusive. There is also a surge of interest in recent literature. However, this literature does not produce a general understanding of the phenomenon and mostly focuses on one facet of diversity or one marketing mix element. The result is fragmentation of literature conceptualization and management operationalization. Based on this scenario, the objective of this paper is to propose a taxonomy for inclusive marketing (IM) actions, using a hybrid approach based on the integration of theory and practice. In particular, a deductive literature review led to the identification of four dimensions of IM: the audience, the purpose, the vehicle, the output, as well as their related characteristics. These elements have then been validated and confirmed through an inductive empirical study of 88 examples of IM initiatives. From the theoretical perspective, the taxonomy allows to systematize a field of research that has recently blooming yet is lacking a holistic approach. Moreover, basing on the identified dimensions and characteristics, a more detailed definition of IM has been proposed. From the managerial perspective, the elements of the taxonomy have been the base for the development of a roadmap that could support practitioners finetuning their IM strategies.

The COVID-19 pandemic and methodological constraints: Autoethnographic and prefigurative responses

While sets of constraints have become normalised in research production, the COVID-19 pandemic mandated shifts in research ontologies, epistemologies and methodologies. The society-wide, real-time experiment of the pandemic lockdowns constructed a set of prefigurative counterfactual contexts in which alternative structures and processes came to be, albeit briefly, normalised. Two examples illustrate the risks and opportunities that emerged. Firstly, the turn to autoethnography and creative methods offers a methodological challenge to the minoritisation of certain voices within the academy. Secondly, and more substantively, pivots in response to lockdowns offered glimpses of labour market inclusion best practice through the prefiguration of alternative workplace norms, suggesting the potential value of prefigurative counterfactuals as research method. Nevertheless, both methodological and substantive insights explored here in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic were mediated by technology which has the potential to reproduce embedded dominant epistemologies and ontologies.

Misrecognition and labor market inclusion of refugee mothers

AbstractOne lakh eighty five thousand refugees from Ukraine have started working in Poland since the Russian war began. Drawing on Bourdieusian concepts of capitals, misrecognition, habitus, and the field, the paper theorizes the subjective and objective terms of inclusion across intersectional interplay of motherhood, ethnicity, and refugee status. In particular, we explore how intersectional marginalized identities of individuals shape their negotiation power over terms of their labor market inclusion. Using qualitative interview data from 10 Ukrainian working mothers in Poland who became refugees following the Russian war in Ukraine in 2022, we demonstrate that misrecognition leads to uneven relations of power curtailing working refugee mothers' agency to negotiate the terms of their inclusion.

The Making of a Reserve Army of Labor: Paradoxes of American Disability Policy

Since the 1980s, despite much United States legislation to promote the employment of people with disabilities and reduce their reliance on government benefits, employment rates among people with disabilities have fallen while rates of disability benefits receipt have risen. I conducted historical research on two sites of contradiction in the state treatment of disability: (1) antidiscrimination legislation and (2) disability benefits. I show that the goals of antidiscrimination legislation were undercut by court interpretations of this legislation, while cyclical expansion and contraction of disability benefits produced haphazard integration of recipients into the labor force and inhibited cessation of benefits. These findings demonstrate that the legislative push for the labor market inclusion of disabled people, undertaken simultaneous to ongoing labor market exclusion with roots in the very same legislative program, led to the incorporation of disabled people into the labor market on contingent terms. Contradictions in disability employment policy have thus constituted people with disabilities as a labor force suited to the precarious positions characteristic of economic restructuring. This argument develops Marxist theories of disability, conceptualizing disabled people as a reserve army of labor malleable to the needs of capital.

Small farmers strife to develop: market and sustainability challenges

This paper explores the correlation between small farmers' market integration and sustain-ability within the eco-economy and agroecology framework. Local dynamics of market inclu-sion and sustainability promotion are analyzed to comprehend their impact on farming practic-es, sustainable approaches, and local extension services. Findings reveal a tension between sustainability goals and the emergence of a green revolution model reliant on agrochemicals for productivity. The study underscores the significance of preserving local farming knowledge and practices, and supporting extension officers to fortify the food system during the sustainability transition.

Worker and workplace determinants of employment exit: a register study

BackgroundWorkers with chronic illness are in higher risk of unemployment. This article investigated the worker and workplace characteristics associated with labour market inclusion for workers with a diagnosed chronic illness.MethodsLinked...

The role of "global competence" in professional competencies of Kazakhstan future educational psychologists

Relevance. The study addresses the crucial need for training globally competent educational psychologists, particularly within the context of Kazakhstan universities. As professionalism becomes vital for effective labour market inclusion, the development of global competencies in future educational psychologists is essential. Purpose. The research aims to identify the training needs of globally competent educational psychologists, and graduates of the "Pedagogy and Psychology" educational program, and to pinpoint priority areas for the development of global competencies among Kazakhstan university students in this field. Methodology. A pilot survey was conducted among students in the "Pedagogy and Psychology" program to assess their current level of global competence and gather their views on international news, cultural diversity events, and global issues discussions. Results. The survey results indicate an overly optimistic view regarding the potential to train globally competent educational psychologists. The findings underscore the necessity for highly educated and qualified specialists, aligning with state policies on optimizing the national labour market. Conclusions. The study highlights the importance of developing global competencies in educational psychologists to ensure their effective inclusion in the labour force. Training programs must focus on enhancing professionalism to meet the demands of the national labour market and support state policies on workforce development. Keywords: educational psychologist; globalization; professional competencies; global competence

Environmental sustainability in high‐income countries: Does natural resource protection, financial inclusion, and energy innovation matters?

AbstractEnvironmental sustainability (ES) is critical for high‐income countries (HICs) because of their high ecological footprints. They are responsible for global environmental problems as they consume more natural resources, produce more output, and generate more greenhouse gases than other countries, which could have severe consequences for land degradation. In the context of resource conservation and land development policies, this study examined the impact of natural resource protection (i.e., land, water, and biodiversity), financial institution inclusion, financial market inclusion, and energy innovation (EI) on the enhancement of ES in 15 HICs from 1995 to 2020. The study applied Feasible GLS and Prais–Winsten regression to consider cross‐sectional dependence, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, and slope heterogeneity problems for unbiased and robust findings along with 2nd generation cointegration tests and the JKS Granger non‐causality test. Natural resource protection, financial institution inclusion, financial market inclusion, and EI have positive effects on ES, along with green energy and environmental regulations. It was also found that an increase in real income negatively impacts ES, as it increases the use of natural resources and energy and generates more waste and pollution which further accelerates land degradation. Cointegration and causality also exist between variables of interest. This shows that protecting natural resources, increasing financial inclusion, and EI can be successful strategies for fostering a green transition, reducing environmental impacts, and embracing more sustainable practices and laws to meet development goals and develop sustainable land use policies. This study suggests that HICs should protect land, water, and biodiversity, promote green financing, digital payments, EI, energy diversification, and environmental protection to achieve ES which is critically important to reduce land degradation.

Integration and differentiation in collaboration between services for youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET)

ABSTRACT The need for a holistic social work-like approach to labour market inclusion is widely acknowledged. When considering the case of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEETs), services from different public service organisations are often needed. To succeed in providing holistic, integrated services, interagency collaboration is necessary. Drawing on 24 semi-structured interviews with managers and practitioners, this paper aims to investigate how services in different municipalities work to enable integrated service delivery to NEETs with complex problems. The study takes place in six Norwegian municipalities, three of which had higher NEET shares than predicted and three with lower NEET shares. The municipalities are compared to explore whether there are systematic differences and similarities regarding the collaboration between services for young people in vulnerable situations. The findings suggest that the municipalities with lower NEET shares than predicted had more integrated services compared to those with higher NEET shares. The municipalities handled differentiation in collaboration differently. In the municipalities with higher NEET shares, differentiation had caused disconnections between services, while the municipalities with lower NEET shares worked to achieve a common ground through strategies such as more extensive and closer collaboration, clearer communication, and more organised information sharing across services.

Valuing women’s empowerment: tracking funding in Southeast Asia

Women’s empowerment is now a global development objective. However, the instrumentalization of this approach to gender equality has prompted calls for research into the financing of interventions. With donors now reporting the gender credentials of their spending, this article follows the money for one region—Southeast Asia—to investigate how donors are engaging with women’s economic empowerment. Through a systematic review, it identifies and codes women’s economic empowerment projects. Data is analyzed according to geographic distribution, thematic distribution, and participant types. The article offers important insights into funding patterns and deficiencies in current reporting practices. It finds, first, while there is a more thematically diverse mix of projects being funded than indicated in previous research, women’s economic empowerment continues to be interpreted in Southeast Asia as women’s market inclusion, continuing the trend of instrumentalization. Second, and consistent with emergent research highlighting the political uses of aid transparency, it demonstrates that donors are engaging in gender wash by inadequately and incorrectly reporting project characteristics. By upselling their gender credentials, donors are characterizing their activities as advancing gender equality despite often intensifying the challenges faced by women, underscoring the urgent need to reform reporting practices.

People with Disabilities and Labour Market Barriers: The Perspectives of Israeli Social Workers

Abstract Social workers play a key role in supporting the labour market inclusion of disabled people. Nevertheless, we know little about how they perceive the barriers that disabled people face and their role in addressing them. In particular, we need to know more about the extent to which they adopt an individualised versus a social model of disability. To address this gap, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-three Israeli social workers providing employment-related services via public and non-profit organisations. A thematic analysis revealed that the participants tended to view their clients’ barriers as related to individual characteristics, including their impairment, level of functioning and soft skills. Whereas social barriers were acknowledged as well, these were usually framed as related to employers’ attitudes, including ignorance, stigma, fear and distrust. In addition, recognition of these social barriers was usually detached from the social workers’ daily, individualised practices.

Negotiating autonomy in the public sector and nonprofits “collaborations” in politically contested fields

AbstractNonprofits are increasingly involved in cross‐sectoral collaborations with the public sector. However, we know little about the dynamics behind these collaborations and what happens to them in politically contested fields where actors may have divergent positions. In this article, a multi‐country comparison of data gathered from semi‐structured interviews (n = 68) with representatives of nonprofits involved in the labor market inclusion of newcomers is presented. Our findings indicate that, in politically contested fields, the possibility of participating in cross‐sectoral collaborations (political autonomy) is influenced by nonprofits' financial and ideological autonomy. Welfare models and migration regimes play a fundamental role in shaping the inclusion of these organizations in collaborations, and in most cases, the collaborations are based on latent conflicts. Our article discusses that if the costs of autonomy associated with cross‐sectoral collaborations are not offset, the collaboration in a politically contested field becomes a liability for nonprofits (and their beneficiaries).

A country-wide health policy in Chile for deaf adults using cochlear implants: Analysis of health determinants and social impacts.

Post-lingual deafness represents a critical challenge for adults' well-being with substantial public health burdens. One treatment of choice has been cochlear implants (CI) for people with severe to profound hearing loss (HL). Since 2018, Chile has implemented a high-cost policy to cover CI treatment, the "Ley Ricarte Soto" (LRS) health policy. However, wide variability exists in the use of this device. To date, no related study has been published on policy evaluation in Chile or other Latin American countries. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the LRS policy on the treatment success and labour market inclusion among deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) adults using CI. We examined and characterised outcomes based on self-reports about treatment success and occupation status between 2018 and 2020. We performed a prospective study using hospital clinical records and an online questionnaire with 76 DHH adults aged >15 who had received CIs since the introduction of the LRS policy in 2018. Using univariate and multivariate regression models, we investigated the relationship between demographic, audiological, and social determinants of health and outcomes, including treatment success for social inclusion (International Outcome inventory for Hearing Aids and CIs assessment: IOI-HA) and occupation status for labour market inclusion. Our study showed elevated levels of treatment success in most of the seven sub-scores of the IOI-HA assessment. Similarly, around 70% of participants maintained or improved their occupations after receiving their CI. We found a significant positive association between treatment success and market inclusion. Participants diagnosed at younger ages had better results than older participants in both outcomes. Regarding social determinants of health, findings suggested participants with high social health insurance and a shorter commute time to the clinic had better results in treatment success. For labour market inclusion, participants with high education levels and better pre- CI occupation had better post-CI occupation status. In evaluating the LRS policy for providing CIs for DHH adults in Chile, we found positive effects relating to treatment success and occupation status. Our study supports the importance of age at diagnosis and social determinants of health, which should be assessed by integrating public services and bringing them geographically closer to each beneficiary. Although evidence-based guidelines for candidate selection given by the LRS policy might contribute to good results, these guidelines could limit the policy access to people who do not meet the requirements of the guidelines due to social inequalities.

Contribution of compositional changes in the workforce to sickness absence trends in Finland

In this study, we assessed whether the long-term decrease in sickness absences in Finland is explained by observed and unobserved compositional changes in the workforce. Utilizing register-based panel data on Finnish wage earners aged 30–62, we examined the annual onset of compensated sickness absence (granted after 10 weekdays) in the period 2005–2016. We applied random effects models adjusting for changes in the observed sociodemographic and occupational characteristics of the study population. We also applied fixed effects models, with corrections of the estimates for cohort ageing, to additionally account for the unobserved time-invariant characteristics of the study population over the years. Of the observed characteristics, increasing educational level partly explained the decreasing trend in sickness absences, and the further contribution of the occupational class was weak. Additionally, accounting for unobserved individual characteristics further explained the decreasing trend in sickness absences among those aged 30–47 years and led to a reverse increasing trend among those aged 48–62 years irrespective of sex and employment sector. Particularly for those over 47 years old, the decrease in sickness absences appeared to be more strongly influenced by compositional changes in characteristics that are established before fully entering the labour market — such as educational level as well as unmeasured individual characteristics that remain unchanged after childhood and early adulthood — than in the work environment or other factors contributing at working age. Sickness absence trends fluctuated during economic cycles, which did not appear to be explained by immediate changes in the observed or unobserved characteristics. Different mechanisms are likely to explain long-term sickness absence trends and trends around economic cycles. Attempts to improve work ability and labour market inclusion in long-term should rely more on increasing educational levels among the workforce and on interventions carried out early during the life course.

The chronos of class conflict. The relevance of the temporal dimension in conflicts related to labour migration

AbstractIn recent migration research temporality has become a prominent figure. Focussing on temporality allows to shed light on some aspects of labour mobility that enlighten our understanding of work-related conflicts. Especially with view to labour market inclusion, migrants often experience the (assumed) temporal limitation and unpredictability of migration projects, work and residence permits, as well as employment relationships. Correspondingly, labour policies, sector-specific company structures and management techniques also have a temporal dimension (time limits, seasonality, outsourcing schemes), which have effects on conflicts in and around work. Furthermore, one has to situate labour and labour migration within its context of social reproduction in order to better understand, how paid wage labour is embedded in social activities and networks such as households, families and communities, and shaped by the social, developmental and migratory policies that condition workers’ labour market inclusion. This conceptual paper argues that for migrants in particular, the (assumed) temporal limitation and unpredictability of migration projects, work/residence permits, and employment relationships is of great importance when it comes to analysing conflict-ridden negotiations over labour relations and working conditions.

Integration policies and migrants' labour market outcomes: a local perspective based on different regional configurations in the EU

Migrants’ integration process and their labour market inclusion occur within distinct local contexts. However, the existing literature has paid little attention to the role of the local context and its relationship with national-level policy outcomes on migrant integration. This study addresses this gap by using new regional (NUTS-2) data from Eurostat and integration policy data from MIPEX, coupled with multivariate analyses. We investigate how national-level integration policies are related to the employment rate gap between migrants and country nationals, and how this relationship varies depending on the local context. Results show that migrant integration policies exhibit no association with this gap in low-competitive, culturally homogeneous and rural regions. Conversely, integration policies are associated with a larger gap in high-competitive and diverse urban regions. Notably, consistent with previous national-level literature, inclusive integration policies are associated with negative outcomes for migrants compared to country nationals. However, a shift toward more inclusive policies is found to reduce this gap, suggesting that inclusive policies may be a response to a widening divide between country nationals and migrants. This study offers valuable insights into the role of regional configurations and the impact of national-level integration policies on migrants' labor market outcomes, providing a local perspective that enhances our understanding of migrant integration processes.

The Effects of Digitalization and Skills on Women’s Labor Market Inclusion- Serbian Gap Study

This study aims to indicate the importance of the factors connected to the digital knowledge and skills of women (WDKS) and the institutional support of digitalization (DIS), for women's inclusion in the labor market (WLMI) and employment in a digital age. The impact was valorized by 224 women, as participants in the research provided in 2022 in Serbia, through the Likert scale instrument for 15 claims within the defined research variables, and regression analyses. Findings showed that knowledge and digital skills, and competencies of girls and women (WDKS) are strongly correlated with their social inclusion in the labor market (WLMI). The impact of the DISF, institutional measures, and policies as a set for digital infrastructure, networks, and lows adjustments for the digitization process development is important too as a national framework for the digital economy. These findings of the research contribute to the literature on digitization and new technologies knowledge development, the SDGs goals on gender divide and equality, as to further feminist economics scientific works.

The political practices of gender experts: repurposing women's empowerment

ABSTRACT Gender experts are increasingly employed across governments, multilateral donors, companies, and NGOs where they are defining a new profession and a new field of study, driving calls for research into the relationship between expertise and feminism. At the same time, the instrumentalization of the women's empowerment approach has prompted analysis of whether it can be reharnessed to its radical roots. By interviewing 25 gender experts, this article examines their political practices in navigating their work at a time when there is unprecedented support for gender equality, and yet interventions overwhelmingly focus on women's market inclusion. The article underscores the profound contradictions generated by the privatization of development, where most gender experts support increased private sector involvement but operate in a hostile environment and devote substantial labour to gender-capacity building. Based on the limited scope for re-radicalising women's empowerment, the article proposes advocating for feminist participatory action research as an alternative.

Exploring the use of gender-fair language by influencers

PurposeExplore the use of Gender-Fair Language (GFL) by influencers on Instagram.Design/methodology/approachThe clustering methodology. A digital Bag-of-Words (BoW) Method called GFL Clustering BoW Methodology to identify whether an inclusive marketing (IM) strategy can be used. Thus, this research has a methodological and practical contribution to increasing the number of marketing technology tools.FindingsThis study is original as it proposes an inclusive digital marketing strategy and contributes with methods associated with digital transfers in order to improve marketing strategies, tactics and operations for inclusive content with a data integrity approach.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the limitations of the application programming interface (API) of the social network Instagram, a limited number of text data were used, which allowed for retrieving the last 12 publications of each studied profile. In addition, it should be considered that this study only includes the Spanish language and is applied to a sample of influencers from Chile.Practical implicationsThe practical contribution of this study will lead to a key finding for the definition of communication strategies in both public and private organizations.Originality/valueThe originality of this work lies in its attractive implications for nonprofit and for-profit organizations, government bodies and private enterprises in the measurement of the success of campaigns with an IM communicational strategy and to incorporate inclusive and non-sexist content for their consumers so as to contribute to society.

Exploring farmers’ perspectives on agrobiodiversity management: future options for quinoa smallholder organizations in the Peruvian high Andes

The intensification of crop production is widely recognized to negatively affect the agrobiodiversity in smallholder systems. This trend can also be observed in Quinoa production systems, where few varieties are commercialized while maintaining traditional varieties of quinoa remains a key agricultural activity in the high-Andes landscape. In recent decades, the “boom” of quinoa production has given rise to national projects intended to ensure that farmers benefit from their agricultural heritage, including the development of a collective trademark. However, little is known about the opinions of smallholder farmers regarding quinoa varieties cultivation, farming practices, market choices, or the development of a collective trademark as a tool to safeguard a position in the booming international quinoa market. To address these questions, we developed our research in three villages in the Puno region of Peru, quinoa’s center of origin. We applied a novel combination of participatory methods: the Q methodology to interpret the perceptions of smallholder quinoa farmers concerning the activities that are important on their farms, and the Four-Square Analysis workshops to explore quinoa biodiversity management. The results of our Q-analysis revealed three types of opinions emerging among farmers: (Type 1) Conservationist, (Type 2) Intensification sustainer, and (Type 3) Collaboration seeker. Type 1 assigns importance to maintaining and promoting quinoa biodiversity through collective practices and markets. Type 2 focuses on developing export-oriented production based on certified and improved varieties, combined with efficient ways of storing quinoa. Type 3 appears to value the collective aspects of organizations and cooperation among stakeholders. According to the results of the Four-Square Analysis, most landraces of quinoa are threatened by genetic erosion, as they are cultivated in situ in small plots and on few farms. Our results are an important baseline for further project development for biodiversity conservation in situ and market inclusion engaging local communities.