The State of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Business School Case Studies

Genevieve Smith
University of California, Berkeley

Kellie McElhaney
University of California, Berkeley

Diana Chavez-Varela
University of California, Berkeley

Case studies – using real-life business situations or imagined business scenarios – are a key pedagogical
tool for instruction within management education programs that inform students about business processes,
decision making, strategy, and leadership and management challenges. However, published case studies
used in business schools globally primarily include White male protagonists and do not incorporate key
topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This study analyzes trends in the identity/ies of
protagonists in case studies, as well as in topics related to DEI. Limitations and implications for case study
authors and faculty, business schools and case study publications are also discussed.

Keywords: diversity, equity, inclusion, management education, case studies, business schools

INTRODUCTION

Case studies – using real life business situations or imagined business scenarios – are a key pedagogical
tool for instruction within management education programs. Case studies are effective and important
teaching tools that inform students about business processes, decision making, strategy, and leadership and
management challenges. The extent to which case studies are used varies among schools, with Harvard
leading the way at an estimated 80% of teaching in its MBA program delivered through case studies as of
2012 (Byrne, 2012). However, published case studies used in business schools globally primarily include
White male protagonists (Moules, 2018) and often do not incorporate key topics related to diversity, equity
and inclusion (DEI) that are critical for businesses in an increasingly interconnected world and society.
Furthermore, while there has been some effort to enhance the number of case studies with diverse
protagonists in particular, this does not necessarily translate to an increased use of these types of case studies
in classroom settings as professors often use the same case studies over time.
This study presents an analysis of trends in 1) DEI-related case studies and 2) case studies with diverse
protagonists. In discussing diversity, we define diversity as incorporating the wide variety of shared and
different personal and group characteristics among human beings, including but not limited to race,
ethnicity, gender, age, ability, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. The study was
conducted following the creation of a case compendium developed by the Center for Equity, Gender, and

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Leadership (EGAL) at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, which includes: case studies with diverse
protagonists, and case studies focusing on DEI-related issues and opportunities.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Lack of Diversity in Published Case Studies

While the numbers vary slightly and vary depending on the platform that case studies are accessed
from, the conclusion remains the same – there is an immense lack of diversity in published case studies. Of
the approximately 19,000 cases on Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) Education cases (which comprise
~80% of cases used in business schools globally by some estimates), previous HBS faculty have estimated
that 1% as of 2017 include a Black executive as a protagonist or central decision-making figure (Ethier,
2017) (From our own findings, approximately 1.3% of cases on HBP appear in searches for “African
American” or “Black”). An analysis of 73 award-winning and best-selling cases from the Case Center
(another main distributor of case studies for business schools) between 2009-2015 revealed that women are
protagonists in only 11% (Symons, 2016). It is unclear how many of these case studies include a protagonist
that experiences overlapping forms of discrimination based on social categorizations – for example, an
under-represented minority (URM) and female – illustrating the likely extreme lack of intersectionality.
There is limited information on the percent or number of cases that incorporate concepts of DEI – and when
they do, these are often in case studies focused on issues and implications for Human Resources (HR).

Why Do Business Schools Need More Case Studies With Diverse Protagonists & Case Studies on
DEI Topics?
The lack of diverse protagonists in cases perpetuates and reinforces a status quo in which traditional
business leaders are primarily both male and White. This perpetuates the idea that men are at the center of
business and unintentionally depicts strong business leadership as masculine. Showing one model of
leadership implicitly signals that women are not suited for leadership and deprives students of alternative
role models for leadership identities (Symons & Ibarra, 2014). Further, even when cases have protagonists
that are not White men, case studies often perpetuate harmful stereotypes and gender norms such as women
depicted as more emotional, less visionary and less agentic than men (Soule, et. al, 2019; Sharen &
McGowan, 2018). Graduate students exposed to case studies with diverse business leaders may benefit
from a role model effect in which students relating to those diverse leaders can have better self perceptions
and are more confident, as well as perform better (Ammerman, et. Al, 2019).
The lack of case studies on DEI topics has implications for preparing students adequately for their
corporate leadership roles. There are various business benefits for organizations and individuals to promote
DEI. While this brief will not delve into the business case for diversity, at its core, increasing diversity at
organizations is associated with increased financial performance, innovation, and productivity, among other
benefits (Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership, 2020). In addition, more equitable organizations can
reduce the incidence of sex-based and other forms of harassment, and thus the associated costs, including
reductions in workers’ productivity, loss of workers who quit or transfer in the face of harassment and
reduced ability to recruit top talent due to reputational damage. Interestingly – and more specific to gender
– promoting gender equity and changing the definition of manhood might also help organizations behave
more ethically and improve their long-term returns (Kennedy & Kray, 2014). Beyond promoting DEI in
the workplace, companies can also benefit from promoting DEI in their supply chains, as well as in the
marketing, sales and distribution of products and services. For example, Unilever’s purpose driven brands
(which are linked to social purposes related to DEI and/or environmental sustainability) are growing 69%
faster than the rest of the business and delivering 75% of the company’s growth (Unilever, 2019). As an
additional example, Google has and continues to expand its positions with a focus on “equity” across
business functions. Teams (some new and several expanding) include, for example: Equity engineering,
Inclusive products, Machine Learning Fairness, D&I, and more. The rapid expansion of positions linked to
equity include HR / DEI but span beyond. In the Bay area, technology is linked to various implications for
equity and inclusion alongside risks and businesses for opportunities. This is further reflected in the 2019

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statement from the Business Roundtable reflecting on the purpose of business to commit to supporting all
stakeholders, not just shareholders.
Integrating case studies related to diversity, equity and inclusion can (1) foster cultural sensitivity
among students; (2) equip students to manage real-life scenarios in which varying perspectives and lived
experiences come into play; (3) prepare students for increasingly diverse workplaces where DEI is a
strategic advantage; and (4) learn about critical and timely strategies to promote equity and inclusion
throughout the business value chain - from leadership ranks and the workplace through developing,
marketing and distributing products and services.
Finally, business schools are increasingly prioritizing advancement of DEI in recruitment, the learning
environment and in curriculum. Within the top 10 business schools of the world, although there is an
increase in acceptance of candidates representing a wide range of profiles through initiatives such as
Minority Recruitment Programs, gaps remain. In the United States, the average proportion of international
students in the Financial Times’ 2019 top MBA schools was 36.4%, while women account for 34.8% of
MBA classes at US schools on average (Moules, 2019). For US ethnic minorities, at the top 10 business
schools, numbers fluctuate between 19.5% at Dartmouth Tuck and 34.1% at Penn Wharton (Ethier, 2020).
Numbers of Black American students are not shared across all schools, but at Harvard Business School 5%
of students in 2019 were Black, which was the same as in 2008 (Fernandes, 2019). This number is reflected
in GMAT examinations, where only 8% were Black Americans in 2016 (Daniel, et. al, 2018). The knock
on effect is the industry pipeline - only 3% of executive and senior-level positions within private industry
are Black Americans, with 4% for Hispanic Americans (Daniel, et. al, 2018).
Increasingly, the graduate business education industry is recognizing the importance of improving the
representation of more diverse perspectives in their curriculum. Top MBA programs – including at UC
Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, among others – have affirmed their commitment to supporting
diversity, equity, and inclusion through initiatives in their own community, teaching, and research as well
as through the recruitment of diverse students, faculty, and staff. At UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School,
DEI is a clear priority of the school and Haas has a robust strategy to advance DEI. An integral part of this
strategy is advancing recruitment of diverse students. As Haas continues to increase diversity among the
student body it is critical these students see people similar to themselves represented as leaders in their
business school curriculum, including case studies. Furthermore, Haas also seeks to advance “equity
fluency” among its students who represent current and future leaders in the business world globally. A term
coined by EGAL, Equity Fluent Leaders understand the value of different lived experiences and use their
power to address barriers, increase access, and drive change for positive impact.

METHODOLOGY

The objective of this research was to identify, categorize and analyze case studies with diverse
protagonists and case studies that build “equity fluency” by focusing on DEI-related topics. Specifically,
we sought to evaluate the trends and gaps among these case studies and present implications for writers of
cases, faculty, students, and companies.

Discovery & Selection Process of Case Studies

To discover case studies, we began by collating a list of relevant publishers and repositories of business
school case studies. We identified leading publishers, including: Amity Business Academies, Babson
College Case Studies, Berkeley Haas Case Series, Business Case Journal, California Management Review,
Columbia CaseWorks, Copenhagen Business School, Darden Business Publishing, ESSEC Business
School, Harvard Business Publishing, IBS Case Development Center, IMD Case Studies, INSEAD, Ivey
Publishing, Stanford Business School Case Database, and The Case Centre. Then we used the following
search terms in the search engines of each publisher: underrepresented minorities, minorities, URMs, Black,
African American, Hispanic, Latino, Latinx, disability, women, gender, immigrant, refugee, asylee,
LGBTQ+, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, diversity, inclusion and empowerment. In addition to
case studies, the search results included articles and journals, which needed to be screened. The first 10

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Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) for each website were reviewed in order of appearance (e.g., 100-120
cases) per search term. The algorithm of cases prioritized relevance and popularity of the query. Using the
search terms on different platforms revealed varied results in terms of the number of case studies with
diverse protagonists and cases on DEI-related topics. Many searches resulted in less than 10 pages, in which
case all pages were reviewed. The results displayed on the SERP displayed the title of the case study, the
case abstract, and the keywords that matched with the content. Due to most portals’ algorithms, each case
study recommended similar cases with keywords related to the initial search terms.
The main platform where cases were gathered from is Harvard Business Publishing (HBP). HBP is
considered the leading provider of teaching materials for management education and comprises 80% of
cases used in business schools globally by some estimates and includes cases from various institutions and
partner collections (Ethier, 2017). Given that this publisher houses the vast majority of business school case
studies online, we reviewed additional SERPs for this publication.
Given that full case studies are behind paywalls, case studies were reviewed and selected based on their
abstract. Cases that did not have an abstract could thus not be reviewed. Cases that included a description
but did not include the learning objective were reviewed closely to determine if they were suitable for
further analysis. In some cases, the search term “diversity” included phrases such as “diversified investment
platform comprising hedge funds,” “diversity of the investor base”, and “a diverse profile.” After close
review, cases that did not refer to diversity as “DEI” were not included.
We also searched for lists of relevant compiled case studies from the different platforms and publishers.
For example, there was a list of “Cases with Female Protagonists” compiled by the Harvard School Gender
Initiative. Some cases included in this list did not include a description of the protagonists’ identity in the
abstract of the case study, but were still categorized as gender diversity. We did not locate any lists
highlighting case studies pertinent to issues of DEI.

Analysis of Case Studies

To prepare for our analysis of the case studies, we categorized case studies in the following topics:
Discipline, Industries and Sectors, Identity/ies of Protagonists (for diverse protagonist cases), Identity/ies
of Focus (for DEI-related cases), and Geographic Breadth. See the Appendix for more details on each of
these categorizations. Other information tracked on case studies includes Description of the Case Study,
Learning Objective, Author(s), Publisher’s Name, Publication Date, and Revision date (if applicable).
The list of industries and sectors was based on the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics (2020) which
includes ten main industries: Natural Resources and Mining, Construction, Manufacturing, Trade,
Transportation, and Utilities, Information, Financial Services, Professional and Business Services,
Education, Health Services, and Social Assistance, Leisure and Hospitality, Other Services, and Public
Administration.
The list of disciplines were drawn from the University of Nevada’s College of Business website, given
its comprehension and detail and included: Accounting, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance,
Information Systems, International Business, Management, and Marketing. Additional disciplines were
incorporated into our list based on the way publishers categorized the discipline of their case study, and
included: Business and Government Relations, Business Ethics, Business Information Systems, Law,
Leadership, Operations Management, Human Resource Management / Organizational Behavior, Political
Economy, Strategy, Supply Chain, and Negotiation.
The identification of identities was based on the description of the case study. We included the
following identities in our compendium and analysis: Age, Asylee and Refugee Status, Gender, Immigrant/
First-generation, Ability Status, Political Views, Race/Ethnicity, Religion/ Spirituality, Sexual Orientation,
and Socio-economic Status. For the cases with diverse protagonists, when not made explicit in the case
study description, we tried to confirm whether the individual was diverse in terms of race/ethnicity and
gender through online research. However, without self-identification of the referenced individuals, these
categories are subject to further inquiry. Not all cases disclosed how each protagonist identifies themselves
and we did not make any assumptions based on their name. We recognize that people’s diverse identity
may be hidden, may be fluid or undefined, and/or cannot be simply categorized into “one bucket”. We also

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recognize this exercise is limited as the description is likely not inclusive of the various identities a certain
individual identifies with.
For each category, we calculated percentages of occurrence from the overall number of case studies.
The percentages are based on the percent the topic is present throughout the 215 cases for DEI-related cases
or 215 cases for diverse protagonist cases.

FINDINGS

Protagonist Identities in Published Case Studies

Before diving into an analysis of the case studies we collected in our Case Compendium, we provide
estimates for protagonists of different identities in published case studies more broadly. Of our search terms,
the greatest number of results on Harvard Business School Publishing for “main cases” was for “woman”
at 550 results (or 2.8% of main cases on the platform). Adding results from the words “gender” and “she”
brings the total “main case” results to 1826 (or 9.45% of total cases). Based on this, we can estimate 9.45%
of cases have protagonists identifying as female on HBP. “African American” and “Black” revealed 256
results (or 1.3% of main cases on the platform). These numbers match with prior estimates outlined in the
background section. This does not necessarily correlate to percent of cases with protagonists that identify
according to these identities, but illustrates if those identities were mentioned in the case descriptions and
serves as an estimate.

Findings in Case Studies With Diverse Protagonists

We catalogued 215 case studies with diverse protagonists. Diverse protagonists are defined case studies
portraying people that are not in the predominant and/or most powerful identity groups of a particular sector.
In North America, the word “diversity” is often strongly associated with racial diversity or gender diversity.
Those are just two dimensions of human reality and two different identities. Diversity also includes
differences in sexual orientation, income, ability, and other various domains.
Within the cases identified and entered in our case compendium (including cases from HBP among
other publishers), we find similar rates to those identified in the search results. Of the 215 catalogued case
studies, 83.72% portray a protagonist with Gender diversity and 28.84% portray a protagonist with diversity
of Race / Ethnicity. Most case studies that had identity/ies of focus on Gender diversity had White female
protagonists, while most case studies with race / ethnicity diversity were about men. Various case studies
highlight more than one identity: 40 case studies (18.60%) explicitly highlight a protagonist with diversity
reflecting both Gender and Race / Ethnicity. Only 4.65% of the case studies provided examples of Sexual
Orientation diversity. Only 0.93% of the case studies highlighted a character with Political Views, Religious
/ Spiritual, Abilities, Socio-economic diversity.

TABLE 1
DIVERSE PROTAGONISTS CASE STUDIES: IDENTITY/IES OF PROTAGONISTS

Identity of Protagonist Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)

cases (#)
Age 12 5.58%
Asylee and Refugee 2 0.93%
Gender 180 83.72%
Immigrant/First-generation 0 0.00%
Abilities 2 0.93%
Political Views 2 0.93%
Race / Ethnicity 62 28.84%
Religious / Spiritual 2 0.93%

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Sexual Orientation 10 4.65%
Socio-economic 2 0.93%
Not specified / General 0 0.00%

Disciplines
The majority of disciplines that included diverse protagonists were Human Resources / Organizational
Behavior (40%), Entrepreneurship (25.58%), Marketing (8.37%), General Management (6.51%), and
Business Ethics (5.12%). None of the case studies included disciplines of Business Information Systems,
Law, and Political Economy.

TABLE 2
DIVERSE PROTAGONIST CASE STUDIES: DISCPLINE

Discipline Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)

cases (#)
Accounting and Finance 11 5.12%
Business and Government 6 2.79%
Relations
Business Ethics 11 5.12%
Business Information Systems, 0 0.00%
Economics 5 2.33%
Entrepreneurship 55 25.58%
General Management 14 6.51%
Human Resource Management / 86 40.00%
Organizational Behavior
Information Systems 1 0.47%
International Business 1 0.47%
Law 0 0.00%
Leadership 3 1.40%
Marketing 18 8.37%
Operations Management 7 3.26%
Political Economy 0 0.00%
Strategy 5 2.33%
Supply Chain 2 0.93%
Negotiation 1 0.47%
N/A 0 0.00%

Industries and Sectors

The most commonly referred industries were Financial Services (21.86%), Information (16.74%),
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (14.88%), Manufacturing (8.84%), and Education, Health Services, and
Social Assistance (8.37%). Few case studies highlighted the industry sector of Natural Resources and
Mining (1.86%). Only 1 case study (0.47%) focused on the industry of Construction.

68 Journal of Business Diversity Vol. 21(3) 2021

 TABLE 3
DIVERSE PROTAGONIST CASE STUDIES: INDUSTRIES AND SECTORS

Industries and Sectors Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)
cases (#)
Natural Resources and Mining 4 1.86%
Construction 1 0.47%
Manufacturing 19 8.84%
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 32 14.88%
Information 36 16.74%
Financial Services 47 21.86%
Professional and Business Services 23 10.70%
Education, Health Services, and 18 8.37%
Social Assistance
Leisure and Hospitality 8 3.72%
Other services (except Public 0 0.00%
Administration)
Public Administration 8 3.72%
N/A 12 5.58%

Geographic Breadth
We categorized the case studies based on geography and country of focus. Cases where the scenario
was focused on 2 or more countries were categorized as Global (7.91%). Although most retrieved cases
took place in the United States (66.05%), cases focused internationally mostly took place in Switzerland
(2.33%), India (1.86%), and Japan (1.86%). Some case studies (11.63%) did not disclose a particular
geographical location.

TABLE 4
DIVERSE PROTAGONIST CASE STUDIES: GEOGRAPHIC BREADTH

Geographic Breadth Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)

cases (#)
Australia 1 0.47%
Belgium 1 0.47%
Canada 2 0.93%
Denmark 1 0.47%
Finland 1 0.47%
France 3 1.40%
Germany 2 0.93%
India 4 1.86%
Japan 4 1.86%
New Zealand 1 0.47%
Niger 1 0.47%
Nigeria 1 0.47%
Peru 1 0.47%
South Africa 1 0.47%

Journal of Business Diversity Vol. 21(3) 2021 69

South Korea 1 0.47%
Spain 1 0.47%
Switzerland 5 2.33%
United Arab Emirates 1 0.47%
United States 142 66.05%
Global 17 7.91%
N/A 25 11.63%

Findings in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Related Case Studies

We catalogued 215 case studies on DEI-related case studies. These include case studies that incorporate
scenarios reflecting challenges of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace or diversity-informed
decisions of a company. This section outlines trends in case study identity/ies of focus, topics, target
segment / population, geographic breadth, industry, and discipline.

Identity/ies of Focus
We explored the identity/ies that case studies focused on. For example, was the case study focused on
issues specifically related to women, to African Americans, or perhaps to individuals with lower socio-
economic status? The most common identity of focus in DEI-related cases is “gender” (40.93%) followed
by race / ethnicity (20.00%), and sexual orientation (15.35%). In 6.05% out of 215 case studies the identity
of focus includes both gender and race / ethnicity diversity. Only 2.33% of case studies include discussions
related to diversity of abilities, first-generation / immigration status or socio-economic status. None of the
cases include veterans as an identity of focus. Many of the case studies (30.23%) discussed DEI-related
challenges and opportunities at a high level without focusing on particular identity/ies.

TABLE 5
DEI-RELATED CASE STUDIES: IDENTITY/IES OF FOCUS

Identity/ies of Focus Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)

cases (#)
Gender 88 40.93%
Race / Ethnicity 43 20.00%
Socio-economic 5 2.33%
Sexual Orientation 33 15.35%
Age 11 5.12%
Abilities 5 2.33%
Religious / Spiritual 8 3.72%
Asylee and Refugee 3 1.40%
Immigrant/First-generation 5 2.33%
Political Views 2 0.93%
Veterans 0 0.00%
Not specified / General 65 30.23%

Target Segment/Population
This category was created to analyze trends in the target population or segment that the case study
focuses on. The most common target segments / populations include entry and mid-level employees in the
Workplace (54.88% of DEI-related cases), Corporate Boards / Leadership (15.35%), followed by
Marketplace (10.23%), General Population (7.91%), and Entrepreneurs (5.12%). The case studies that
focused on entry and mid-level employees in the workplace generally addressed a specific DEI challenge

70 Journal of Business Diversity Vol. 21(3) 2021

or opportunity such as a diversity task force to increase diversity in hiring or develop a mentorship program
for diverse employees, for example. Case studies that targeted the marketplace included topics such as
diversity-informed product development / services and diversity-informed branding and marketing. Case
studies targeting the “general population” were varied but included, for example, women around the world,
women in a specific country, disenfranchised groups, among others.
Very few cases mentioned DEI-related challenges and opportunities occurring in the Supply Chain
(1.40%) and among Investors (0.93%). For example, a case delving into investing and DEI is “Fairview
Capital” (Rogers & Collins, 2018). The case focused on “the first U.S. private equity fund of funds that
focused on investing in private equity and venture capital funds managed by African-Americans and other
minority investment managers. This case study focuses on Fairview's strategic decisions that ultimately led
to the growth and expansion of its investment portfolio to over $3 billion.” For some case studies (5.12%)
it was not clear whether there was a specific target segment but rather appeared to examine the topic of DEI
broadly.

TABLE 6
DEI-RELATED CASE STUDIES: TARGET SEGMENT/POPULATION

Target Segment / Population of Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)
the Case Study cases (#)
Workplace 118 54.88%
Corporate Board/leadership 33 15.35%
Marketplace 22 10.23%
Supply chain 3 1.40%
Investors 2 0.93%
Entrepreneurs 11 5.12%
General Population 17 7.91%
Unions 2 0.93%
Academic Leadership 4 1.86%
Students 6 2.79%
Military Official 1 0.47%
N/A 11 5.12%

Topics
To analyze trends related to topics of DEI-related case studies, we categorized DEI-related topics in
the following high-level buckets: Diverse Board / org Leadership Gaps / Solutions, Diverse Employee
Representation Gaps / Solutions, Compensation & Benefits, CSR / Foundations, Culture, Diversity and
Entrepreneurship Gaps / Solutions, Diversity-Informed Branding / Marketing, Diversity-Informed
Investment & Partnerships, Diversity-Informed Product Development / Services, Labor Rights /
Governmental Policy, Navigating Personal Career, and Violence and Harassment.
The five most common primary topics in DEI-related case studies are culture (in 34.88% of case DEI-
related case studies), followed by Diverse Employee Representation Gaps / Solutions (21.40%), Navigating
Personal Careers (8.84%), Compensation and Benefits (7.44%), Diversity and Entrepreneurship Gaps /
Solutions (6.98%), Diverse Board / Organizational Leadership Gaps / Solutions (6.51%), and Diversity-
informed Branding / Marketing (4.19%). Of the 215 DEI-related case studies, the least common topics
include Labor Rights (0.47%), CSR / Foundations (2.79%), and Violence and Harassment (4.65%). We
define organizational culture, following the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), as
consisting of shared beliefs and values established by leaders and then communicated and reinforced
through various methods, ultimately shaping employee perceptions, behaviors and understanding.

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 TABLE 7
DEI-RELATED CASE STUDIES: DEI TOPIC

DEI Topics Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)

cases (#)
Diversity and entrepreneurship 15 6.98%
gaps / solutions
Diverse employee representation 46 21.40%
gaps / solutions
Culture 75 34.88%
Compensation & Benefits 16 7.44%
Navigating personal career 19 8.84%
Diversity-informed branding / 9 4.19%
marketing
Diversity-informed investment & 12 5.58%
partnerships
Diversity-informed product 10 4.65%
development / services
CSR / Foundations* 6 2.79%
Labor rights (Governmental 1 0.47%
policy)
Diverse board / org leadership 14 6.51%
gaps / solutions
Violence and Harassment 10 4.65%
N/A 16 7.44%

For each case study, we also categorized and analyzed DEI sub topics. The sub-topics included:
Allyship, Changing Norms, Childcare/Eldercare, Discrimination & Unconscious bias, Dual Career Couple,
Economic Empowerment, Hiring & Recruiting Practices, Mentorship & Sponsorship, Parental Leave, Pay
Equity, Professional Development Programs for Diverse Employees/ERGs, Promotion & Evaluation
Practices, Quotas and Incentives, Retention of Older/ Younger Employees, Return to Work, Sexual or
Verbal Harassment, Strategy, Work-life Balance & Flexible Work, Other, and N/A.
The most common sub-topics include Strategy (14.88 % of DEI-related cases), Hiring and Recruiting
(16.28%), Discrimination and Unconscious Bias (15.35%). Many of the case studies were categorized as
“N/A” (31.63%). Given our analysis was based on the abstracts of case studies (as outlined in the
methodology section), it was not always clear or obvious what the sub-topic(s) were or if the case study
had subtopics beyond the primary topic, hence being categorized as N/A. The least common sub-topics
included Changing Norms (3.72%), Allyship (3.26%), Quotas (2.33%), Parental Leave (2.79%), Pay Equity
(1.86%), Retention of Older / Younger Employees (1.86%), Childcare / Eldercare (1.40%), and Dual Career
Couple (0.47%). All of these topics are prevalent in popular discourse, corporate reports and media which
further highlights a gap between trends in industry / society and business school case studies.

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 TABLE 8
DEI-RELATED CASE STUDIES: DEI SUBTOPIC

DEI Subtopic Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)

cases (#)
Allyship 7 3.26%
Changing Norms 8 3.72%
Childcare / eldercare 3 1.40%
Discrimination & unconscious bias 33 15.35%
Dual Career Couple 1 0.47%
Economic empowerment 8 3.72%
Hiring & recruiting practices 35 16.28%
Mentorship & sponsorship 3 1.40%
Parental leave 6 2.79%
Pay equity 4 1.86%
Professional development 16 7.44%
programs for diverse employees /
ERGs
Promotion & evaluation practices 15 6.98%
Quotas and incentives 5 2.33%
Retention of older / younger 4 1.86%
employees
Return to work 3 1.40%
Sexual or verbal harassment 13 6.05%
Strategy 32 14.88%
Work-life balance & flexible work 12 5.58%
Other 1 0.47%
N/A 68 31.63%

Disciplines
The majority of the cases focused on DEI-related issues are in the disciplines of Human Resource
Management / Organizational Behavior (58.60%) and General Management (11.16%). Entrepreneurship
(8.84%) and Marketing (6.05%) were also some of the most common disciplines in the case studies. Among
the least common disciplines, 0.93% of the case studies had the discipline of Supply Chain. Furthermore,
0.47% had the discipline of Economics as well as International Business.

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 TABLE 9
DEI-RELATED CASE STUDIES: DISCIPLINES

Discipline Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)

cases (#)
Human Resource Management / 126 58.60%
Organizational Behavior
General Management 24 11.16%
Entrepreneurship 19 8.84%
Marketing 13 6.05%
Strategy 11 5.12%
Accounting and Finance 6 2.79%
Business and Government 7 3.26%
Relations
Business Ethics 17 7.91%
Business Information Systems, 0 0.00%
Economics 1 0.47%
Information Systems 0 0.00%
International Business 1 0.47%
Law 0 0.00%
Leadership 4 1.86%
Operations Management 0 0.00%
Political Economy 0 0.00%
Supply Chain 2 0.93%

Geographic Breadth
We categorized the case studies based on geography and country of focus. Cases where the scenario
was focused on 2 or more countries were categorized as Global (13.02%). Although most retrieved cases
took place in the United States (46.51%), cases focused internationally mostly took place in Asia. Out of
215 DEI-related case studies, 5.58% of cases mentioned a company based in India and/or with locations in
India. Some case studies (18.60%) did not disclose a particular geographical location.

TABLE 10
DEI-RELATED CASE STUDIES: GEOGRAPHIC BREADTH

Geographic Breadth Number of occurrences in 230 Percentage of 230 cases (%)

cases (#)
Australia 1 0.47%
Bangladesh 1 0.47%
Belgium 1 0.47%
Canada 6 2.79%
China 1 0.47%
Denmark 1 0.47%
India 12 5.58%
Italy 1 0.47%
Japan 4 1.86%

74 Journal of Business Diversity Vol. 21(3) 2021

Lebanon 1 0.47%
Netherlands 2 0.93%
Niger 1 0.47%
Nigeria 1 0.47%
Singapore 2 0.93%
South Korea 1 0.47%
Spain 2 0.93%
Switzerland 4 1.86%
United Arab Emirates 2 0.93%
United Kingdom 4 1.86%
United States 100 46.51%
Global 28 13.02%
N/A 40 18.60%

Industries and Sectors

The most common industries are Financial Services (21.40%), Information (14.88%), and Professional
/ Business Services (12.09%). The least common industries are Leisure and Hospitality (2.33%), Natural
Resources and Mining (1.40%), and Education, Health Services, and Social Assistance (all at 4.19%).
Within education in particular, the main DEI topic(s) of focus were Employee Representation and Culture.
Of these case studies 14.42% did not take place in a particular industry, but were general.

TABLE 11
DEI-RELATED CASE STUDIES: INDUSTRIES AND SECTORS

Industries and Sectors Number of occurrences in 215 Percentage of 215 cases (%)
cases (#)
Natural Resources and Mining 3 1.40%
Construction 0 0.00%
Manufacturing 16 7.44%
Trade, Transportation, and 30 13.95%
Utilities
Information 32 14.88%
Financial Services 46 21.40%
Professional and Business Services 26 12.09%
Education, Health Services, and 9 4.19%
Social Assistance
Leisure and Hospitality 5 2.33%
Other services (except Public 1 0.47%
Administration)
Public Administration 13 6.05%
N/A 31 14.42%

LIMITATIONS

During the discovery, selection, and categorization process of the research, we encountered various
limitations. First, our list of DEI-related case studies and case studies with diverse protagonists is not

Journal of Business Diversity Vol. 21(3) 2021 75

exhaustive. While we reviewed up to 10 search pages per query (which are ranked by relevance and
popularity) and conducted a more extensive search on HBP, we recognize other cases exist and were not
categorized or analyzed. However, based on the algorithms of the platforms, we feel confident that we were
able to collect the most popular, relevant and utilized cases.
The classifications and organization of published case studies vary based on the publisher. Most of our
case studies were retrieved from Harvard Business Publishing. In their website, case studies are classified
by Disciplines, Objectives, Subjects, Geography, and Industry. Other websites did not classify their case
studies in the same format and case studies in The Case Centre website did not include any specific
information about the Disciplines, Objectives, Subjects, Geography, and Industry of each case study. To
ensure consistency between cases on different websites, each case abstract was manually reviewed
regardless of which website it was retrieved from. To ensure all cases were categorized accurately, the
description of each case study was closely examined to identify the appropriate Disciplines, Objectives,
Subjects, Geography, and Industry of each case study. The description of the case studies was also helpful
in identifying additional information to include in cases where the Disciplines, Objectives, Subjects,
Geography, and Industry were already disclosed. There may be some discrepancies and subjectivity
therefore in the categorization of these topics.
One of the greatest challenges of our research was the creation of categories to include in our section
for Identity/ies of protagonists and Identity/ies of focus. Only individuals were identified in categories of
racial/ethnic diversity or gender diversity, unless another identity was explicitly included in the description
of the case. In which case we included these other diverse representations of identity (e.g., sexual
orientation, ability status). We recognize this is limited as the description is likely not inclusive of the
various identities a certain individual identifies with.
When not made explicit in the case study description, we tried to confirm diversity in categories of
race/ethnicity and gender binary through online research, but without self-identification of the referenced
individuals, these categories are obviously subject to further inquiry. Not all cases disclosed how each
Identity/ies of focus identify themselves and we did not make any assumptions based on their name. We
recognize that people’s diverse identity may be hidden, may be fluid or undefined, and/or cannot be simply
categorized into “one bucket”.
We did not make specific identifications – such as Hispanic, Persian, Caucasian – and instead created
broader denominations such as Race/ethnicity diversity, given that cases would rarely mention specific
details about a person’s country of origin or nationality. Since our objective was to make a total count of
the amount of cases that would focus, disclose, or incorporate race, gender, and ethnicity, we aimed to make
each category as inclusive and comprehensive as possible. This would also help avoid bias errors in the
selection criteria and ensure more accuracy, as we would not be able to accurately affirm whether someone
identifies as Hispanic, Latino or Mexican American, for example.
Although we aimed to avoid assumptions, our own personal bias could have affected how certain case
studies were reviewed. Our educational background and lived experiences impact how we view and
categorize some cases, particularly related to DEI topics. We tried to be as objective as possible through
known categorizations and definitions, however categorizing in itself can be subjective itself. Diversity can
be context specific and, in some cases, difficult to assess (e.g., age diversity) and requires larger contextual
knowledge. We tackled this through creating metrics and clear definitions in our methodology and analysis.
Although some case studies were translated from its primary language, all of the cases were read in
English. This might also thus limit the amount of case studies drawn from other geographies not primarily
English speaking.

DISCUSSION

DEI Topics and Target Segments

Among the DEI-related cases, the majority of the disciplines are HR and Organizational Behavior
related (58.60%). The most common topics are Culture (34.88%) followed by Diverse Employee

76 Journal of Business Diversity Vol. 21(3) 2021

Representation Gaps / Solutions (21.40%). The most common sub-topics include Strategy (14.88%), Hiring
and Recruiting (16.28%), Discrimination and Unconscious Bias (15.35%).
DEI-related case studies lack the myriad of topics and scenarios where DEI challenges and
opportunities prevail in today’s society. Other critical topics are largely missing with 4.65% mentioning
scenarios of Violence and Harassment, 0.47% including Dual Career Couples, 1.40% addressing Childcare
/ Eldercare, 1.40% addressing Return to Work and 1.86% discussing Pay Equity. This topical lack among
case studies is interesting because these topics are prevalent in popular discourse, corporate reports and
media which further highlights a gap (or delay, potentially) between trends in industry / society and business
school case studies.
Relatedly, there is a focus of DEI-related cases in the Workplace (54.88%), but a lack in other key
areas. Few cases focus on DEI in the Supply chain (1.40%) or among Investors (0.93%). Additionally, only
1.86% of the 215 cases mention scenarios occurring among Academic Leadership. Addressing DEI in
academic leadership (i.e. faculty) is of increasing importance to universities. Currently, the lack of diversity
among faculty reinforces lack of DEI-related and diverse protagonists cases discussed and incorporated in
courses. Hesitancy to incorporate cases with diverse protagonists or on DEI-related topics due to uncertainty
around how to discuss and adequately address sensitive diversity topics is common.

Identity/ies of Focus
There is a lack of cases with protagonists that are not White men. Of the approximately 19,000 cases
on HBP, which houses the vast majority of cases used globally, it is difficult to make estimates on cases
with diverse protagonists but we do find some indications. Approximately 1.3% of cases on HBP appear in
searches for “African American” or “Black”. When searching terms on Harvard Business School Publishing
we found 1,826 cases (or 9.45% of total cases) appearing for “woman”, “gender” and “she”.
The majority of cases catalogued with diverse protagonists focus on White women. The most common
diverse protagonist cases are on White women followed by men of color. Out of 215 cases, 83.72% portray
a protagonist representing gender diversity (i.e. female protagonist) and 28.84% highlight a protagonist
representing race / ethnicity diversity (i.e., under-represented minority (URM)). Several cases have a
protagonist that is both female and a URM (18.60%). Among cases with diverse protagonists, only 4.65%
of cases included a protagonist that identifies as being LGBTQ.
The most common identity of focus in DEI-related cases is gender (40.93% of 215 cases) followed by
race / ethnicity (20%). Few cases (6.05%) focus on DEI-related issues and opportunities for both race and
gender. Many DEI-related cases do not specify a particular identity/ies of focus (30.23%). Identities beyond
gender (particularly cis female) and/or race are lacking, with some identities few and far between. In the
DEI-related case studies, only 2.33% of case studies include discussions focused on diversity of abilities
and immigrant / first-generation, and socio-economic diversity. Only 1.40% of the cases focus on
identity/ies related to asylee and refugee diversity. No cases include veterans as an identity of focus.
Among cases focused on Socio-economic status, the majority discuss poverty alleviation programs,
underserved communities, loans for low-income women entrepreneurs, and candidates from various “social
and cultural backgrounds.” Among cases addressing diversity in terms of Sexual Orientation, most mention
the topic broadly. Although some cases mention Age diversity broadly, five cases depict scenarios centered
on the recruitment/retention of younger and older employees, the role played by older/younger executives,
generational diversity, and where young couples face a career decision.

Disciplines
The most common discipline among the DEI-related case studies is Human Resource Management /
Organizational Behavior (58.60%), followed by General Management (11.16%). Among the cases with
diverse protagonists, Human Resources / Organizational Behavior is also the most common discipline by
far (40.00% of 215 cases). The second most common discipline in the cases with diverse protagonists is
Entrepreneurship (25.58% of cases). Only 8.84% of DEI-related cases are on topics of Entrepreneurship.
Among diverse protagonists, 9.47% are on Marketing, for DEI-related cases 6.05% are on Marketing.

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 Various disciplines are almost non-existent among both case study groups. Both lack cases on
Leadership (only 1.40% in diverse protagonists cases and 1.86% in DEI-related cases). There are also a
lack of cases in both case study groups among disciplines of Accounting and Finance, Supply Chain,
Political Economy, Economics, International Business and Negotiation. Of the cases with diverse
protagonists, the majority of the protagonists with gender diversity are portrayed in the discipline of
Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management / Organizational Behavior.

Industries and Sectors

The top industry among both case study groups is Financial Services (21.40% of DEI-related cases,
21.86% of diverse protagonists). The second most common industry among both groups is Information
(14.88% of DEI-related cases, 16.74% of Diverse Protagonist Cases). Among the Diverse Protagonist
Cases, the industry of Trade, Transportation and Utilities is also common (14.88% of cases).

Geography
Of the 215 DEI-related Case Studies, 46.51% take place in the United States while only 13.48% have
a global focus. Similarly, 66.05% of 215 cases with diverse protagonists take place in the United States.
Outside of the United States, the majority of DEI-related Case Studies focused internationally mostly take
place in India (5.58%). Outside of the US, the next most common cases with diverse protagonists took place
in Switzerland (2.33%), Japan, and India (both at 1.86%).

Perpetuation of Stereotypes
In addition to the lack of diversity profiles and DEI-related topics, it is important to explore the content
of cases, including language used to describe protagonists and scenarios. Indeed, many case studies
inadvertently reinforce harmful stereotypes and gender norms. A study examining case studies taught in
Stanford’s MBA Core Curriculum, found that 16% of the protagonists were female; but more, these cases
were also primarily in “pink” industries (Soule, et. al, 2019). Soule et. al also found that cases with female
protagonists reinforced stereotypes of women as communal and men as agentic. The authors found other
stereotypes reinforced in cases related to race, national origin and age as well. Similar findings were
identified in study by Sharen & McGowan (2018), which found that 20% of business school case studies
among their sample had female protagonists and those females were represented as emotional, cautious,
overwhelmed and less visionary, action-oriented, and innovative than men. In addition, female
protagonists’ credentials were mentioned more frequently as opposed to their male colleagues. Moreover,
a quarter of the reviewed case studies involved a scenario where a female protagonist questions her
competence. However, male protagonists did not have the same scenarios.
While we did not analyze text of the case studies as part of this scope, we saw how harmful norms and
stereotypes are perpetuated in cases. Indeed, in some retrieved cases, characters’ descriptions of gender,
race, and ethnicity are presented in problematic ways. For instance, the case study titled “Carmichael
Roberts: To Create a Private Equity Firm?” (Rogers & Cooper, 2017), the authors describes the protagonist
as a “rare African-American venture capitalist” instead of “an African-American venture capitalist.” The
author’s selection of the word “rare” may be in reference to fewer venture capitalists that identify as
African-American, yet defining an African American as “rare” can unintentionally commodify the
protagonist.
In another instance, the case study titled “Organizational Behavior: Management Diversity in the Large
Corporation” (Carter, 1993) has language that stereotypes women, Black people, Asians, and Hispanics in
the description by mentioning “How do you manage talented people that are different from the typical
corporate profile like women, blacks, Asians, Hispanics and others?” This case presents diverse individuals
as ‘atypical’ and as ‘others’ requiring different management approaches. The case also mentioned, “ways
that women and minorities can take responsibility for their own success in the corporate environment.”
Lastly, the case study, “Director’s Dilemma: Balancing Between Quality and Diversity” (Deb & Sharma,
2017) perpetuates the common narrative of diversity as an exception in admissions acceptances, working
against “quality”. The case study mentions “One of [the major concerns in the mind of the director of

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admissions] was what was the exact situation of IIM Kashipur in terms of quality and diversity?” The title
of the case study as well as the description implies that more diversity in a program equals less quality; this
is problematic and does not reflect the wealth of research on the business case for diversity illustrates the
business benefits.
Ultimately, it is important to acknowledge that quantity is not enough - cases and authors must also be
aware and critical of how they can be perpetuating harmful stereotypes and norms.

Identity/ies of Case Study Authors

The majority of the primary authors (those first listed) are male in both DEI-related Cases and Diverse
Protagonist Case Studies. We did not analyze or explore race / ethnicity. Of the DEI-related cases, 55.35%
of the primary authors are male while 42.33% are female authors. This doesn’t mean that women are not
included as additional authors. On the contrary, most cases have multiple authors and include gender
diversity among them. However, the primary authors are predominantly male. Since case study publications
generally require a professor / faculty member as a first author, this difference could be linked to the
representation gaps between male and female faculty in higher education. The gender gap between male
and female primary authors is greatest among the Diverse Protagonist Case Studies, with 67.91% of the
primary authors being male while only 32.09% of the cases have a female primary author.

IMPLICATIONS

This research has revealed various gaps and opportunities in case studies used in business school
curriculum. The workplace and business world is increasingly diverse and dynamic. Based on this analysis,
there are implications for case study authors and faculty, business schools and case study publications. We
outline the implications and recommendations below.

For Case Study Authors and Faculty

Case study authors and faculty can consider cases with diverse protagonists and on DEI topics, using
resources such as EGAL’s Case Compendium to identify cases. Further, case study authors should write
and publish more case studies with diverse protagonists -- particularly intersectional identities. The majority
of cases with diverse protagonists are on White women followed by men of color. Few case studies
incorporate discussion of other identities, especially identities that can be “hidden” such as people of diverse
sexual orientation. Case studies that incorporate various intersections of identities are critical.
Case study authors can write and publish on topics of DEI outside of Human Resource Management /
Organizational Behavior – and particularly across core curriculum courses. Businesses are integrating DEI
considerations across their operations, not just related to HR and the workplace. As examples, Unilever has
mandated that none of its marketing perpetuates harmful norms, and that brands must actually promote
positive norms. In recent years Google teams focused on equity and inclusion have proliferated across
product development and marketing (e.g., Equity Engineering, Machine Learning Fairness, Responsible
AI). To reflect these new realities, business schools need to keep up and have cases that incorporate
learnings that are necessary for business leaders of today and tomorrow.
Related to language, it is necessary that language written in cases does not commodify / discriminate
against certain identities, and/or perpetuate stereotypes and harmful norms. Several case studies
incorporated problematic language related to DEI. EGAL has developed a Glossary of Key Terms for
Equity Fluent Leaders as a starting point for authors - including DEI language, potentially problematic
terms and alternatives, as well as gender pronouns and rules of thumb. However, the reflection of
stereotypes and harmful norms in cases highlights a much larger issue of biases of case study authors, which
are often faculty.

For Business Schools

Business schools must encourage and incentivize faculty to utilize case studies with diverse
protagonists or case studies on DEI topics in their courses – assuming the case(s) align with their course

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and teaching goals. Many faculty use the same case studies year after year. While this can provide comfort
and expertise in facilitating a certain case, there is opportunity to explore diversifying case studies used in
classrooms to enhance inclusion and belonging among students.
Business schools can educate case study authors / faculty on topics of power, privilege, discrimination,
bias and structural inequities and how they can manifest in the classroom. The trends in case studies around
perpetuation of stereotypes and harmful norms reflects biases among case study authors who are faculty
members. This is also reflected in the lack of diverse faculty at business schools. While increasing diversity
among faculty is important, also critical is working with current faculty around these topics to ensure they
are not inadvertently reinforced in education.
Relatedly, business schools must support faculty and lecturers with specific resources and educational
opportunities to integrate DEI in the classroom. A constraint to faculty using cases with diverse protagonists
or on DEI-related topics is lack of comfort on sensitive topics of diversity. Resources and educational
opportunities to learn how to facilitate cases and incorporate DEI topics in their classrooms is important.
For example, how can faculty facilitate tough conversations around identity or navigate when different
challenges are brought up from students? We encourage business schools to provide educational support,
tools and resources for faculty on topics such as navigating tough conversations in the classroom and
supporting inclusive classroom environments for students of all identities.

For Case Study Publications

Case study publications have an important role to play. They can review case study applications and
descriptions for problematic language that reinforces stereotypes and harmful norms, and flag this type of
language. Further, publishers should incentivize and encourage new case studies. In particular, this includes
case studies written on DEI-related topics outside of the workplace and HR and case studies on diverse
protagonists. For female protagonists, encourage case studies outside of gendered industries and domains.
Lastly, publishers can encourage diversity in terms of who is writing case studies. The majority of case
studies - including with diverse protagonists and on DEI topics - are written by men. We have not assumed
their race or other aspects of their identity that can be hidden. We encourage case study publications to
explore how to incentivize more diversity in case study authors and perspectives.

CONCLUSION

It is critical that the education system is able to respond to the needs of its students and the evolving
business needs, as well as the world more broadly. There is both a gap and an opportunity related to business
school case studies. Advancing equity fluency among current and future business leaders is critical for
sustainable, successful businesses in an increasingly interconnected world.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper benefitted from the helpful review of Professor Laura Kray at the University of California,
Berkeley. We would also like to acknowledge the broader team at the Center for Equity, Gender, and
Leadership at Berkeley Haas for their support.

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APPENDIX

The categorizations used in the analysis are outlined below.

Description of Case Study

The majority of case studies included a description, which was utilized to analyze and categorize its
Target Segment, Identity/ites of Focus, Main Diversity and Inclusion Topic, and Geographic Location.

Learning Objective
The majority case studies included the learning objective of the case study, which was also utilized to
analyze and categorize its Target Segment, Identity/ites of Focus, Main Diversity and Inclusion Topic, and
Geographic location. When case studies did not include a learning objective, the description of the case
study was mostly utilized to determine such information.

Discipline
Accounting and Finance, Business and Government Relations, Business Ethics, Business Information
Systems, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, General Management, Information Systems, International
Business, Marketing, Operations Management, Human Resource Management / Organizational Behavior,
and Strategy.

Potential Core Courses Appropriate to Use

Applied Innovation Elective, Brand Management, Business History, Career Planning/Advancement,
Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Strategy, Data and Decisions, Economics for Business
Decision-Making, Ethics and Responsibility in Business, Financial Accounting, Fundamentals of Design
Thinking, General Management, Growth Strategy, International Business, Introduction to Finance,
Leadership Communication, Leading People, Macroeconomics in the Global Economy, Marketing
Strategy, Negotiations, Operations, Organizational Culture, Organizational Development, Portfolio
Management, Social Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Leadership. This category emerged from
understanding if disciplines could be linked to courses provided by the Haas School of Business. Potential
Core Courses were selected based on UC Berkeley’s MBA Curriculum. To ensure each case study was
categorized appropriately, courses were selected based on the description of the case, the key words listed
in the “Subjects” section disclosed within the Case Study, and by cross-referencing the syllabus of each
course with the description of the case study. (Verify if there is a leadership course that was added from
another university’s curriculum).

Identity/ies of Protagonists
Age Diversity, Asylee/Refugee Diversity, Gender Diversity, Immigrant/First-generation Diversity,
Physical and Psychological Diversity, Political Views Diversity, Racial/Ethnic Diversity,
Religious/Spiritual Diversity, Sexual Orientation Diversity, Socio-economic Diversity, N/A. To avoid
excluding certain diversity identities, categories such as “Age Diversity”, “Gender Diversity”, “Religious
Diversity” were created. Although it is not an exhaustive list of all possible identities a person can relate to,
this section was done with the aim of understanding trends and gaps in the way profiles are portrayed in
case studies. To ensure the research was the least biased as possible, each case study was categorized based
on the description provided. Given that it is not possible to accurately define a protagonists’ gender,
religion, and age based on a search engine search, the categories of “Religious Diversity”, ”Political
Diversity”, “Refugee/Asylee Diversity” etc were not selected unless the description disclosed this
information. If we were unable to confirm such information, we did not include the category.

Industry
Our list for Industry Sector was retrieved from the United States Department of Labor which grouped
industries in the United States into ten main categories including: Natural Resources and Mining,

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Construction, Manufacturing, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, Information, Financial Services,
Professional and Business Services, Education and Health Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Other
Services.

Publishers’ Name
ABI/Inform Global, Asian Case Research Journal, Asian Case Research Journal, Babson College Case
Studies, Berkeley Haas School of Business, Business Case Journal, Business Source Complete, California
Management Review, Darden Business Publishing, Emerald Insight Case Studies, Harvard Business
Publishing, IMD Case Studies, Ivey Cases (University of Western Ontario Free Cases), Journal of Business
Case Studies, Journal of Business Cases and Applications, Journal of Case Research in Business and
Economics, Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, LearningEdge at MIT Sloan, MarketLine
Advantage, Stanford Business School Case Database, The Asian Business Case Centre, and The Case
Center.

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