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Why Disability Mainstreaming is Good for Business: A New Narrative

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Abstract

In developed economies, powerful legislative and regulatory frameworks, for people with disability (PWD) over the last five decades, have provided major motivation for business compliance with disability in the workplaces. However, develo** economy like India is marked by emergent disability legislation, weak institutional enforcement and an evolving disability rights movement. In the absence of strong institutional expectations, the private sector’s role in mainstreaming the disability agenda has been largely an act of voluntary participation. Drawing upon an in-depth, multilevel, cross-functional qualitative study of four Indian information technology sector companies, this paper explores why these companies engage in pro-social corporate behaviour in favour of disability. The study locates itself in the context of conceptualization of PWD as employee stakeholders and the literature on strategic CSR. The findings reveal that strategic factors promote voluntary business engagement with disability at workplaces and contribute to understanding of workplace integration of minority employees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Management Department, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, 11480, Indonesia

    Sanjukta Choudhury Kaul

  2. School of Business and Law, Central Queensland University, Melbourne, Australia

    Quamrul Alam

  3. Department of Management, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

    Manjit Singh Sandhu

  4. School of Business and Management RMIT University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Manjit Singh Sandhu

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  1. Sanjukta Choudhury Kaul
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Choudhury Kaul, S., Alam, Q. & Sandhu, M.S. Why Disability Mainstreaming is Good for Business: A New Narrative. J Bus Ethics 177, 861–873 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05095-0

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