In a newly published research paper, professor Karl Wennberg and colleagues from Spain, Russia and Lithuania writes about what is known and what is unknown in research on Cultural Diversity in Top Management Teams. By systematically analyzing and coding all of the research on the topic published until 2020, Wennberg and colleagues finds that more culturally diverse top management team can be either an asset or a liability for an organisation depending on, among other things, how multinational the organization is, the degree of competitiveness it faces, and how well the CEO and the team is able to find joint ways of discussing and handling conflicting views. They also find that cultural diversity in top management is an important ‘signal’ to current and future employees that diversity in background is valued in the organization, with implications for talent management and employee retention.

However, current research frequently relies on relatively simple research models of input-output form, meaning that there is still a dearth of knowledge about cause and effect when it comes to cultural diversity, as well as in-depth knowledge how organizations in an increasingly global world with increasingly diverse workforces proactively can manage and foster an appreciation for diversity. In a related recent podcast (in Swedish), Wennberg discusses these and related pointers and then need for researchers and educators to move away from the old question whether cultural diversity matters or not, towards focusing on questions such as how and why it matters.