Exploring Diversity Management to Avoid Social Washing and Pinkwashing: Using Bibliometric Analysis to Shape Future Research Directions

Objectives: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been a significant focus of environmental, social and governance sustainability research. Diversity management is one of the challenges faced by corporate governance in achiev- ing SDG 4, 5, 8, and 10. However, rapid demographic changes in the global workforce create significant challenges for human resource development pro- fessionals when focusing on diversity management. This paper aims to define the different perspectives of diversity management to avoid sustainability dis- tortions such as social washing and pinkwashing, which promote the percep- tion that policies or products of a given company are socially responsible. Methodology: The analysis of the existing literature can provide the informa- tion necessary to answer the research questions using rigorous scientific re- search methods. In the present study bibliometric analysis was used to enable a thorough and reliable analysis of knowledge on the topic and the identification of future progress. Bibliometric analysis was used to investigate the final pool of 126 peer-reviewed articles. Findings: Contributions include advancing the understanding of diversity man- agement, highlighting the dominance of communication bias, and strengthen- ing the connection between social sustainability and the individual by identi- fying social exchange theory as a tool for explaining the ongoing changes in corporate governance. Value added: The paper aims to answer research questions related to the jour- nals relevant to the study of diversity management, the geographical structure of the research flow on diversity management, and the possible implications for future research on this topic. Recommendations: In light of the clusters identified, it is recommended that forthcoming researchers explore the fitting theories that can be used to eluci- date the phenomenon of diversity management. In addition, interdisciplinary research can facilitate a deeper understanding of issues concerning identity and gender, thereby enhancing the knowledge of diversity among managers. The paper recommends that future studies emphasize the differences in di- versity management between national and multinational companies expanding the knowledge by conducting multiple case studies.