In search of representativeness and diversity (2020)

In an ideal world, organizations should listen to ‘all’ or ‘diverse’ stakeholders. In the real world, many organizations are criticized for not listening or for selective listening. ‘Listen more’ and ‘listen better’ are overly simplistic and impractical solutions to these criticisms. Organizational listening is easier said than done. When different stakeholder groups have different interests and demands, it is hard to find a ‘sweet spot’ in collecting, balancing, and negotiating different viewpoints. This study is built on the proposition that there are enabling and constraining factors that affect representativeness and diversity in the process of organizational listening.