Populism Expectations and Supplier Diversity

Diversity is often viewed as a booster mechanism for social development by creating equal opportunities and improving performance and people’s confidence. However, this assumption disregards the potential pitfalls of diversity, which, paradoxically, might increase conflicts of interest. It can lead to detrimental outcomes on both individual and business levels such as innovation reduction, miscommunication, and lack of collaboration. Moreover, public demands can empower populist governments that claim to speak for the people when it comes to protecting the quality of life, values, and development. This claiming can be translated into policies that can inhibit diversity initiatives. This entry elucidates some circumstances in which this paradox is likely to occur by taking the supply chain field as a focal example. It also enlights how policymakers, stakeholders, and practitioners can incite the conflict or conciliate and appease diversity issues in supply chain management.