Academy of International Business conference 2026 in Manchester

Elisabeth Bethge presented her research paper, “Between Commitment and Consequence: How DEI Policies in Academic Journals Shape Knowledge Production and Societal Relevance,” at the Academy of International Business Conference 2026 in Manchester. The study examines how diversity, equity and inclusion policies in academic journals influence patterns of scholarly knowledge production.

Her project focuses on academic journals as central gatekeepers in science. Journals not only decide which articles are published; they also shape who participates in academic debates, which topics become visible, and which forms of knowledge gain recognition. Drawing on neo-institutional theory, the study distinguishes between broad DEI principles and more concrete DEI practices.

The findings suggest that a degree of decoupling can be observed between symbolic commitments and substantive outcomes. While many journals adopt broad DEI principles and publicly present themselves as committed to diversity, these general commitments are not significantly associated with gender-related openness in authorship. Instead, concrete editorial practices appear to be necessary for observable changes in knowledge production.

At the same time, the study shows that even DEI pratices do not automatically affect all dimensions of diversity. While effects are visible in relation to gender-related authorship patterns, no comparable effect was found for international collaboration. However, journals with more favorable gender-related authorship patterns and higher levels of international collaboration tend to show greater societal relevance, measured through public policy influence.

The study contributes to debates on academic publishing, journal governance and the societal relevance of research. It shows that DEI policies should not only be understood as public statements of commitment, but as organizational practices that need to be embedded in editorial routines and governance structures. The findings also point to intersectionality as a key challenge: while journals may address diversity along single dimensions, such as gender, they often remain less attentive to how inequalities overlap across gender, nationality, institutional background and therefore access to international collaboration.