The Effect of Workforce Diversity on Organizational Competitiveness: The Mediating Role of Inclusive Leadership and Innovative Work Behavior

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-626-5_70How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Workforce Diversity; Inclusive Leadership; Innovative Work Behavior; Competitiveness; Resource-Based View

Abstract

This study aims to examine the conceptual framework of the mediating roles This study examines the impact of workforce diversity on organizational competitiveness by evaluating the mediating roles of inclusive leadership and innovative work behavior, utilizing the Resource-Based View (RBV) as its theoretical framework. A quantitative explanatory research design using a census sampling technique with 127 non-academic staff of Universitas Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa Yogyakarta. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire assessing workforce diversity, inclusive leadership, innovative work behavior, and competitiveness, and were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS) to elucidate both direct and indirect correlations among the variables. The results indicate that workforce diversity favorably affects inclusive leadership and innovative work behavior, hence improving organizational competitiveness. Both mediators substantially enhance the effect of workforce diversity on competitiveness, suggesting that diversity alone does not yield a competitive advantage without the backing of inclusive managerial competencies and employees’ innovative initiatives. This study includes a systematic conceptual synthesis of existing theoretical and empirical studies on diversity management, leadership, innovation, and competitiveness, with the empirical investigation. The research emphasizes that diversity serves as a strategic asset only when it is converted into inclusive leadership practices and innovation-oriented processes; otherwise, diversity initiatives tend to be merely symbolic and do not produce competitive results. This study’s novelty resides in its multidimensional integration of diversity, inclusion, and innovation within the competitiveness framework, a topic that remains underexplored in multicultural organizational environments, especially in developing nations. The report underscores the necessity for firms to develop strategic diversity management and inclusive leadership initiatives that promote innovation and maintain long-term competitiveness in evolving global markets.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Puspa Eka Ayu Febriana
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/15
TI  - The Effect of Workforce Diversity on Organizational Competitiveness: The Mediating Role of Inclusive Leadership and Innovative Work Behavior
BT  - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Business, Economic, and Social Sustainability (ICOBES 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 950
EP  - 962
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-626-5_70
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-626-5_70
ID  - Febriana2026
ER  -