Disability and Business

MASTER THESIS WITHIN: Accounting

NUMBER OF CREDITS: 30 hp

PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Civilekonomprogrammet

AUTHOR: Lovisa Leis Ljungmark

TUTOR: Timur Uman and Argyris Argyrou

JÖNKÖPING January 2021

1.1.1

Disability and Business

i

Table of Contents

1

Introduction ... 1

1.1

Background ... 1

1.2

Problem ... 4

1.3

Purpose ... 5

1.4

Research Questions ... 5

1.5

Keywords ... 5

2

Methodology ... 6

3

Current state of the field ... 8

3.1

Journal outlets ... 8

3.2

Research methodologies ... 9

3.3

Theories ... 9

3.3.1

Laws and regulations ... 10

3.3.2

Stakeholder theory ... 10

3.3.3

Critical Disability Theory ... 11

3.4 Data geography ... 11

3.5

Models ... 12

3.6

Research questions ... 12

3.7

Consensus ... 15

4

Synthesis through SWOT analysis ... 18

4.1

Explanation ... 18

4.2

Strengths ... 18

4.2.1

General ... 18

4.2.2

Theories ... 18

4.2.3

Methods ... 19

4.2.4

Concepts ... 19

4.3

Weaknesses ... 20

4.3.1

General ... 20

4.3.2

Theories ... 20

4.3.3

Methods ... 20

4.3.4

Concepts ... 21

4.4

Opportunities ... 21

4.4.1

General ... 21

4.4.2

Theories ... 22

4.4.3

Methods ... 22

4.4.4

Concepts ... 22

4.5

Threats ... 22

4.5.1

General ... 22

4.5.2

Theories ... 23

4.5.3

Methods ... 23

4.5.4 Concepts ... 23

4.6

Social and ethical implications ... 24

5

Final chapter ... 26

5.1

Discussion ... 26

ii

5.3

Future research ... 28

5.4

Conclusion ... 29

6

References ... 31

Tables

Table 1: Journal outlets

Table 2: Research methodologies and theories

Table 3: Data geography

Table 4: Models

Table 5: Research question and purpose

Table 6: Concepts

Appendix

Appendix 1 Spreadsheet on Disability Reporting

Appendix 2 Spreadsheet on Disability Disclosures

Appendix 3 Spreadsheet on complete Literature Review

Acknowledgements:

I want to thank my two supervisors Timur Uman and Argyris Argyrou for their support

during this year and also how they encouraged me for choosing this unusual topic. I also

want to thank my family for always supporting me. My last thanks are to all friends and

other supporters who knew about this thesis and encouraged me to keep writing.

iii

List of Abbreviations:

Pwds= People with disabilities

DD= Disability Disclosures

DR= Disability Reporting

SR= Sustainability Reporting

CSR= Corporate Social Responsibility

UN= United Nations

UN CRPD= UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability

SDGs= UN Sustainability Development Goals 2030

EU= European Union

SCB= Statistics Sweden (statistiska centralbyrån)

OECD= Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

ADA= American Disability Act

SWOT= Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

CEO= Chief Executive Officer

V500= the Valuable 500

CDT= Critical Disability Theory

ST= Stakeholder Theory

1

1

Introduction

1.1

Background

The phenomenon of disability is nothing new (Barnes et al., 2002). There are around

one billion people with disabilities (pwds) in the world; this amounts to around 15 % of

the world population, according to the World Bank (2020). The general definition of

disability is from the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities (CRPD) from 2006, which states that “Persons with disabilities include

those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which

in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in

society on an equal basis with others”. The EU Commission states that integration of

pwds is a part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda (EU Document

52011DC0681).

People with disabilities have had a long and tortuous road toward social inclusion,

economics and political structures. Many of the changes in the field of disability came

from the people themselves. Today is more about the recognition of both commonalities

and diversity of all people in the society (Barnes et al., 2002). Despite this, there are still

many challenges facing pwds.

One of these challenges that have a major impact on the quality of life for pwds is the

exclusion from the labour market.

Excluding people with disabilities from the labour

market would cost more for the society (Barnes et al., 2002). The OECD report (2010)

states that pwds can be a way for countries to cover future labour shortage. However,

there is still many barriers for example Darcy et al. (2016) talks about the lack of career

mobility for pwds and that pwds are overlooked due to the lack of awareness of their

abilities and potential. Another barrier is the corporate culture according to Gustafsson

et al. (2018). Employers who are sceptic to hiring pwds as new employees are more

prepared to support existing employee´s impairment (Darcy et al., 2016).

A major obstacle for pwds to get employment is the perceptions and attitudes that

employers have towards pwds. According to Statistic Sweden (SCB), about every fourth

person with a disability who is working has been a target for discrimination; the main

2

reason is negative attitudes from the employer (SCB Report, 2018). Women with

disabilities have multiple disadvantages due to both gender and disability, which is why

the employment rate in Sweden is higher for men with disabilities (SCB report, 2018).

So what is required to get pwds into the labour market. Bliksavær (2018) talks about the

importance of education amongst pwds, since there are few that have a higher degree.

The willingness to hiring and accessibility investment depends to certain amount on

managers’ attitudes and on an open culture in the corporation (Hemphill & Kulik,

2016). Employers who have a direct personal experience of disability are more open

towards employing and helping pwds at work. Despite the potential to offer individuals

with various impairments employment, employers are reluctant to provide equality of

opportunity for pwds in accounting firms (Ferguson & Duff, 2011). For people with

disabilities to be employed, Waterhouse et al. (2010) talks about the importance of

knowledge and leadership, and that the leadership must come from the top and show

commitment to the diversity employment expressed through the firm´s values and not

only on the firm´s policies.

So why should companies hire pwds. Apprentices with disability are shown to be equal

or superior to their non-disabled colleagues when it comes to work attitude and

attendance. If an employer has worked with pwds before they are more likely to do it

again in the future (Waterhouse et al., 2010).

Participation in the labour market is employment which is the cornerstones of an active

citizenship for pwds. People with disabilities look positively on their experience of

employment, as it provides them with an enhanced social and personal identity as well

as status and income. Work for pwds brings a sense of belonging but the individuals

with disabilities complaints that there is a lack of advancement opportunities (Ferguson

& Duff, 2011). Social inclusion for pwds is among others to be employed and to be

accepted and recognized as an individual beyond one´s disability (Gustafsson et al.,

2018).

3

It is clear that people with disabilities today are facing many challenges throughout their

lives, not least when it comes to working. Promoting the equal inclusion of people with

disabilities has many positive effects. For individuals living with disabilities it is a vital

part of being included in society and to have a higher quality of life. For companies,

people with disabilities can be a valuable asset such as being more loyal to the company

and lower the risks of accidents. And for society, it is more costly to exclude people

with disabilities than it is to accommodate their needs as part of the population as a

whole.

4

1.2

Problem

Disability is both a personal experience and a global phenomenon, with widespread

economic, cultural and political implications for the society as a whole (Barnes et al.,

2002).

The UN states that non-discrimination of pwds is a human right and pwds should be

accepted in the labour market. However this is not the case. For example, the OECD

countries have an employment rate for people with disabilities at 44 %, while people

without disabilities have an employment rate of 75 % (OECD report, 2010).

The UN CRPD states that disability should be integrated in companies CSR strategies.

Some companies use their Sustainability Reports to present their initiatives taken on

disability. However, there is a lack of direct disability reporting in businesses. This

could be explained by the disinterest of investors and shareholders, the absence of

disability in the GRI standards.

Pwds in a workforce could be seen by others as a result of diversity quotas or the

professionals with disabilities are judged on the basis of disability rather than their

expertise (Darcy et al., 2016).

Disability as an academic research area began in the 1950´s in the field of medicine;

however it was not until the late 1960´s and 1970´s that disability became a research

area for the social science field (Barnes et al., 2002).

The 1990´s brought an upswing of interest in the general area of disability by the social

scientists in universities and colleges all across the world. There are now specialist

journals in most of the developed nations, such as the Scandinavian Disability Journal

(Barnes et al., 2002). The academic interest in disability as a field could be explained by

how it raises both theoretical and empirical questions. For example discussion on topics

such as how and when to inform others about their disability, since it can lead to being

overlooked in the workplace (Barnes et al., 2002 and Marshall et al., 2020).

According to Burke et al. (2013) a major problem is the misconceptions that employers

have towards hiring pwds. The article also states that more research is needed in the

area of employers and disability. This literature review focuses on disability in business

5

and economics which is another part of the bigger picture Burke et al. (2013) was

talking about.

1.3

Purpose

The topic of diversity has gained popularity in recent years and many public companies

disclose more about its workforce. The diversity of gender and ethnicity are very

common to see in companies reports. However, disability is nearly still invisible in

these types of reports (Williams, 2017). Although disability is more discussed today on

the global leadership agenda, disability is still in the shadows of other diversity topics.

For example the UN global goals for sustainable development 2030 (SDGs) only

mention disability eleven times. Comparing this to gender where there is a special goal

for gender equality and gender it is mentioned in almost all of the goals.

The purpose with this paper is to map and organize the literature on disability reporting

and disability disclosures (DD) in the fields of business and economics. More

specifically, this paper aims to examine the articles in the review (see appendix 3)

through seven themes: journals outlets, research methods, theories, data geography,

models, research questions and concepts (Li et al., 2020). These findings will be further

analysed using a SWOT perspective.

1.4

Research Questions

How disability is described in business and economics literature and what are the

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of this review?

1.5

Keywords

6

2

Methodology

The search was performed in September 2020, using the SCOPUS database. The search

keywords were “disability reporting” and “disability disclosures”. With disability

reporting I mean how companies describe their disability agenda. With disability

disclosures I mean how pwds acknowledge and communicate their disability to their

employers.

The limitations were “articles only” and only in the fields of “business and economics”.

This resulted in 30 articles for disability reporting and 30 articles for disability

disclosure. These articles were then downloaded into two separate excel sheets, which

included authors, journal, title, year, keywords and abstract (see appendix 1 and 2).

The procedure was to read through all abstracts and then decide which articles should be

included in the review (see appendix 1 and 2).

When going through the abstracts I looked for articles that had a direct link to business

such as employment, management and work. This led to the 23 articles chosen for this

literature review. The articles that were excluded were more about disability in society

or about the health care sector. Articles that did not have any data such as reviews were

also excluded.

Based on above I combined the articles for disability reporting and disability disclosures

to a new spreadsheet (see appendix 3). I read all 23 articles and as far as possible

completed the spreadsheet with information regarding purpose, theories, methods and

findings.

Chapter 3 in this review is based on seven themes suggested by Li et al. (2020). These

themes are journals outlets, research methods, theories, data geography, models,

research questions and concepts. I choose these seven themes as they represent a broad

perspective of the literature and have been used as a guide in many previous literature

reviews.

7

Chapter 4 in this review is a SWOT-analysis of the literature in the review and is based

on the article by Jackson et al. (2003). I choose to use a SWOT perspective as this field

is limited to only a handful of articles and SWOT gives a clearer picture on how the

field is looking at this particular moment

.

This chapter also looks at employment for

8

3

Current state of the field

3.1

Journal outlets

As shown in table 1 most of the articles are in journals that publish articles about social

responsibility and labour issues. In this review the oldest article is from 1996 in the

Journal of Education for Business. The newest articles are from 2020.

Those journals that have the most articles are the International Journal of Human

Resource Management with three articles all from the 2010´s, and the Equality,

Diversity and Inclusion with two articles. Most articles are from 2010´s with 13 articles.

Based on our analysis we can assert that the articles that this review is based on do not

have a big impact on the larger academic field, because most of them have below 100

google scholar citations

.

However there are three that have impacted the field with over

100 google scholar citations. These three are Kruse and Schur (2003) with 272 citations,

Keider (1999) with 244 citations and von Schrader et al. (2014) with 139 citations.

Table 1 Journal outlets

Journal name

No. Publication

1990`s

2000`s

2010`s

2020´s

Total

International Journal of Educational Management (IJEM)

1

1

Australian Journal of Career Development

1

1

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

1

1

2

Personnel Review (PR)

1

1

Journal of Business and Psychology

1

1

Social Responsibility Journal (SRJ)

1

1

Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management

1

1

International Journal of Human Resource Management

3

3

Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals (CDTEI)

1

1

Human Relations

1

1

Advances in Developing Human Resources (ADHR)

1

1

Economic and Labour Relations Review

1

1

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal

1

1

International Business Management

1

1

Journal of Labor Research

1

1

Journal of International Education in Business (JIEB)

1

1

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal

1

1

Industrial Relations

1

1

Journal of Human Resources (JHR)

1

1

Journal of Education for Business

1

1

9

3.2

Research methodologies

The first article is from 1996 with three more in the 1990´s and 2000´s. This is followed

by 13 articles in the 2010´s and six articles from 2020. This trend shows that the field

gained momentum in the 2010´s.

As shown in table 2 the qualitative method is used most frequently with 57 %, followed

by the archival method with 31 %.

There are 13 articles which are using a qualitative method, which is based on

interviews, surveys or focus groups or a mix of these. For the seven articles that are

using an archival method, most are based on sustainability reports, diversity disclosures

in annual reports, databases or other studies from the government. Two articles are

based on case studies and one article does not use any method at all.

3.3

Theories

As shown in table 2 not many articles are based on theories. There are six articles that

are based on theories, such as: critical disability theory, stigma theory, labelling theory,

Table 2 Methods and Theories

Research methods

No. Publication

1990`s

2000`s

2010`s

2020´s

Total Percentage

*

Quantitative

0

0

Qualatative

1

8

4

13

57

Archival

1

1

3

2

7

31

Case studies

1

1

4

Mixed (case study and interview)

1

1

4

Other

1

1

4

Total

2

2

13

6

23

100

*precentage is rounded up

Theories

No. Publication

1990`s

2000`s

2010`s

2020´s

Total Percentage

(a)

Laws and regulations

1

1

5

1

8

34

Labeling theory (conteracting labeling theory)

1

1

4

Hiereachy of disability

1

1

4

Grounded theory , Stigma theory

1

1

4

Stakeholder theory

1

1

2

8

Legitimacy theory (b)

1

1

4

Critical disability theory

1

1

4

Resource dependency theory (b)

1

1

4

None

1

1

5

1

8

34

Total

2

2

14

6

24

100

(a) precentage is rounded up

10

legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory. One article is based on the hierarchy of

disability and the model by Stone and Colella in 1996.

Eight articles were without any theoretical framework and are only based on their

empirical data. Eight articles are based on the laws and regulations and of the nation and

the UN CRPD.

3.3.1 Laws and regulations

There are eight articles that are based on regulations often quotes the disability act of

that nation. Some of the policies are the UN CRPD (2006), Australian disability

discrimination act (1992), Employment equity act in South Africa (1998) and the

American Disability Act (ADA) (1990).

3.3.2 Stakeholder theory

Two articles are based on stakeholder theory (ST). ST is based on groups or individuals

who can affect or are affected by the achievement of firm´s goals (Freeman, 1984 qtd

Homburg & Bornemann, 2013). ST is a theory concerned with the relationship between

an organisation and its stakeholders. ST emphasises on organisations accountability and

the rights of the stakeholders (Lawrence & Fernando, 2014). ST focuses on the question

which stakeholders deserve management attention? ST role is to give insight on the

company´s role in the broader aspect of social perspective (Marais, 2012). The ST`s

framework focus on recognizing relevant constituencies for prioritizing and integrating

Stakeholders interests into the decision making (Crane & Ruebottom, 2011).

The key aspect of CSR is identifying key stakeholders and if managed engagement

effective could provide the company with a competitive advantage (Dobele et al., 2014).

CSR involvement is typically fuelled by various stakeholder demands. A catalyst for a

firm´s attitude towards CSR can be influenced by the pressure from its stakeholders.

The stakeholders can control the CSR activities taken by a company by controlling the

flow of resources (Park, 2014).

11

3.3.3 Critical Disability Theory

One article uses the critical disability theory (CDT). CDT is a framework that analyses

disability issues. The theory centres on disability and challenges that comes with the

ableist assumptions which shape society. With ableist assumptions I mean the social

prejudice against pwds, for example that pwds are lazy.

CDT sees disability as a social construct and not as the result of the impairment

(Hosking, 2008).

3.4 Data geography

As shown in table 3, 15 articles have its empirical data collected from a specific region

and 8 articles do not include the search region. Of these 15 articles one covers the whole

world. There is an over representative of the developed nations with over 50 %. The

developing nations are under 10 %. The eight articles that do not specify what area the

data is collected from are at around 35 %.

12

3.5

Models

As shown in table 4 most articles do not use any statistical model to analyse the results,

11 articles focus more on what was said. Three articles use t-test and/or z-test, two

articles use chi-square test and two articles use ANOVA. The article with the highest

sample size is Kruse and Schur (2003) which collected data from a survey done by

American households over a three year period. The article with the smallest sample size

is Vickers (2009) which is an interview regarding workplace bullying.

3.6

Research questions

As shown in table 5 there are three categories that represent the business spectrum with

1) employment, 2) business and 3) other.

When dividing the research questions into the categories; 1) employment with nine

articles, 2) business with eight articles and 3) other with six articles.

Table 4 Statistical Models

Model type

No. Publication

1990`s

2000`s

2010`s

2020´s

Total

Frequency distribution (a)

1

1

t-test or / and z-test (a), (b)

1

1

1

3

chi-square test (a) , (b)

1

1

2

normal standardized test

1

1

hazard model

1

1

Anova test (b)

1

1

2

measuring carateristics and percentage of disability disclosure

1

1

sharpio-wilk test

1

1

correlation matrix, panel regression

1

1

constant compeartive , no test's performed

1

1

open coding thematic approach, iterative approach to review

codes and indentify themes

1

1

content analysis of key themes, cross referenced with litterature

1

1

no statistical model used

2

9

11

Total

4

2

15

6

27

(a) one study 1990's are using three different statistical model

frequency distribution , t-test and chi-square test (Parry et al.,

1996)

13

Table 5 Research directins

Resarch question / purpose

Main findings

Reference

Category 1 Employment

The aim of this study was to identify issues

relevant to disability disclosure discussions

while developing a novel educational tool

for employers

Create a safe place without stigma. How to ask about the disability. How to respond

when disclose. Found the stimulation tool helpful.

(Lindsay et al., 2020)

The focus of this paper is to examine

opportunities to better address the most

commonly stated issue by PWDs in the

United Kingdom as firm barriers to

employment.

Our study is important as it highlights an up‐to‐date urgency for improving reporting

and integrated policy–firm practices that are hindering minority groups in their

capacity to contribute to society and support themselves. We extend existing

knowledge by drawing attention to managerial accountabilities as bottom‐up

mechanisms of change.

(Khan et al., 2019)

to examine whether people with

disabilities experienced any explicit

attitudinal barriers upon entering into

employment.

It is important that human resource personnel who are responsible for the

recruitment and selection of people with disabilities have the knowledge, skills and

understanding relating to disability. Without awareness of employment integration

barriers, people with disabilities will either be unproductive in employment or

resign.

(McKinney & Swartz, 2019)

It does so by problematizing the

assumption that MHCs necessarily

correspond with identities that are

marginalized or victimized within

employment and society.

The findings presented here lend support to a pedagogic agenda to advance

knowledge by encouraging both policy-makers and HR practitioners to embrace an

open culture towards both common mental health experiences and MHCs.

(Elraz, 2018)

Can trade unions be effective

representatives of disabled employees?A

key aim of the paper is to understand trade

union actors’ attitudes towards such an

initiative and to understand the work of

those engaged in activities, from a range of

perspectives.

the findings demonstrate trade unions, even in times of declining memberships,

ongoing employer resistance and government intervention in employment

relations, retain the capacity to make a positive difference to the working lives of

disabled employees

(Richards & Sang, 2016)

This paper presents the findings of a survey

of individuals with disabilities focused on

identifying and better understanding the

factors that influence the disclosure

decision.

for managers to grather experience on disability in the workforce and an inclusive

culture.

(von Schrader et al., 2014)

This paper studies the relationship

between having a disability and

unemployment duration by focusing on

individuals registered at Portuguese job

centers.

Moreover, while the characteristics of the various groups of disabled people show

many differences when compared with those of non-disabled people, our

decomposition analysis takes differences in observable characteristics into account.

Reemployment probability differentials are largely explained by differences in

returns and in unobservable effects rather than by differences in characteristics. This

suggests that, not just the characteristics of disabled people per se, but their

interaction with the work environment is crucial to determine their disadvantage in

the labour market.

(Sciulli et al., 2012)

This paper seeks to explore what disclosing

illness and disability in the workplace

means to workers with chronic illness and

disabilities

Understanding pwds perferred identity and that identity in the context of work is

difficult, since there are very little research on this. With outdated laws that states

that a pwd should be happy with "reasonable accomodations" does not help them

working.

(Charmaz, 2010)

Has the ADA affected the employment of

people with disabilities?

More people reported work disabilities following the implementation of the ADA in

1992. This reflects both an increase in reported functional/ADL limitations and a

greater likelihood that those with such limitations reported a work disability. 2.

Among those reporting work disabilities, there was an increase in the percentage

reporting severe limitations and an inability to work. 3. Employment trends in the

first few years after the ADA was passed differ by disability measure: Employment

rates declined among those reporting work disabilities but improved among those

reporting any or severe functional/ADL limitations who do not report a work

disability. 4. Workers with disabilities appear to be especially sensitive to labor

market tightness—they may in fact tend to be the “last hired, first fired”—but the

differences are not strong for many of the disability measures, and accounting for

labor market tightness does not change the estimated overall employment trends.

14

Category 2 Buisness

This study aimed to explore the situation

regarding disclosure rates of disability

within the Australian Public Service (APS).

This study demonstrated that disability in the APS is potentially related to important

demographic variables, and that there is a disparity in disclosure of disability

depending on the data source used to identify disability.

(Gray, 2020)

This paper investigates the extent to which

disability type contributes to differential

evaluation of employees by managers. In

particular, the authors examined

managerial prejudice against 3 disability

diagnoses (i.e. psychiatric, physical

disability and pending diagnosis) compared

to a control group in a returnto-work

scenario.

The current research illustrated how types of disability affected managers’

evaluations of employees in the return-to-work context. The results suggest that,

apart from managers’ evaluations of organizational commitment of employees with

psychiatric disabilities, perceptions of employee trustworthiness and aggressive

behavior toward co-workers do not differ by disability type. This emphasizes the

potential importance of a pending diagnosis categorization in jurisdictions in which

specification of a reason for work absence is required, but disclosure of the nature of

the disability is not mandated.

(Lyubykh et al., 2020)

RQ 1: What are the shared autistic

applicantorganizational experiences, or

tensions, during hiring?

RQ 2: What are the shared autistic

employeeorganizational experiences, or

tensions, on the job and with work tasks?

RQ 3: What are the shared experiences, or

tensions, of autistic employee-manager

interactions?

What we take away is a more nuanced understanding of what it is like to be autistic

in the workforce and what challenges are present both

from the point-of-view of autistic employees and managers of autistic employees.

(Whelpley et al., 2020)

This study explores diversity reporting by

New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) listed

companies, arguing that diversity goes

beyond gender and includes differences in

age, ethnicity, sexuality, religious beliefs

and physical disability.

Diversity in organisations is overshadowed by unifocal gender-based approaches.

This study expands theoretical understanding by providing empirical evidence that

deep, in-depth or diversity in totality cannot be achieved without achieving gender

diversity objectives and vice versa.

(Ghauri et al., 2019)

The purpose of this paper is to determine

the current state of play for workplace

diversity disclosures, specifically disability

by investigating the recently revised

Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)

Corporate Governance Principles and

Recommendations.

Organisational workplace change is required if disability diversity is to be truly

recognised. Whilst introducing diversity disclosures and ensuring compliance with

corporate regulatory frameworks is necessary (such as through the ASX Principles

and Recommendations), it is merely the first step towards reform in bringing deeper

change within organisational structures

(Williams, 2017)

This article examines the working

experiences of women with chronic illness

where the attitudes of managers were less

understanding.

Managerial attitudes were important indicators of success for participants. It is hard

to manage both work and illness if the workplace is not suportive.

(Werth, 2015)

the objective of this research is to look at

the respondents view related to the

workplace environment

findings shows that the most reported illness in the workplace are in the upper

extermities.

(Makhbul, 2012)

The purpose of this paper is to present a

case study of a woman diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis (MS) who was bullied out

of her workplace.

bullying and discrimination towards pwds is common in workplace, and disclosing a

disability can lead to other criterias be put on you. The concepts of sexism and

racism are well known and well documented but not when it comes to pwds.

15

3.7

Consensus

As shown in table 6, there are nine articles that do not have any specific definition of

disability, five articles use a general definition based on the laws of the nation. Four

articles use a more specific definition of disability such as focusing on types of

disability. Two articles use the UN CRPDs definition and two articles use the ADAs

definition. One article uses a diversity definition.

Table 6: Concepts

Category 3 Other

What are the key issues associated with

disability disclosure from an FE

teacher/staff perspective?

Regarding the dilema about disclosing disability it depends on age, experience and

employment duration.

(Marshall et al., 2020)

Technological innovation (TI) has become a

competitive advantage to firm

sustainability and survival; however,

stakeholders struggle to embrace this

revolution. There is a fear that technology

innovation leads to massive job loss.

Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to

investigate TI, employee disability (EDI)

and financial performance.

The findings show that technology innovation has a positive association with EDI. It

further indicates EDI with TI improves the financial performance (ROA and ROE) of

firms. Also, the study shows that EDIs in the service and manufacturing sector are the

critical contributors when combined with TI towards an increase in financial

performance.

(Oware & Mallikarjunappa, 2020)

Research Question 1: Do programmatic

characteristics and demographic factors

(location of program [rural, suburban,

urban], number of faculty and students,

faculty specializations, courses offered)

influence perceptions among EPPs of

student preparedness across critical

transition domains?

Research Question 2: How do EPP faculty

perceive the degree of preparation of their

program graduates with regard to transition

content?

Research Question 3: How do faculty

perceptions of importance of transition

content affect the prevalence of transition

content within teacher education

coursework?

Research Question 4: Do faculty provide

instruction in key transition content areas,

and if so, how is this content conveyed to

students?

we were interested in pursuing a better understanding of what content faculty

specifically teach related to transition, and the instructional methods by which this

content is conveyed. These results were descriptive in nature, and offer intriguing

results as to the means by which EPPs provide instruction, with the predominant

content focused on involving families and students during transition planning, with

readings and lectures being the most frequently reported instructional methods.

(Morningstar et al., 2018)

Persons with disabilities (PWD) are

regarded as “the Other” and

are sequestered from “normative” society

because of their “Otherness.” “Othering”

results in discrimination and the systemic

preclusion of PWD. Ableism is the belief

that being without a disability, impairment,

or chronic illness is the norm.

The disabled experience and differently abled voice must be restored through

relationally “being” with others and authentic dialogue. What is needed is a shift

from the deficit model of authentic leadership to a social paradigm of authentic

leadership, welcoming of bodily and psychic difference. This will better enable both

leaders and employees to craft an authentic profile in the workplace.

(Procknow et al., 2017)

disability index and overreporting

For the particular case of disability applications, results in this study suggest that

using a typical "biased" disability measure is preferable to using none at all when

making inferences about the effects of public policy on work.

(Kreider, 1999)

Are educators in higher education

adressing the ADA and if ADA is adressed is

it theoretical or pratical?

Using more current materials and have an ongoing assessment of what they are

trying to acomplish. When it comes to the ADA some may be because the lack of

communication between higher education and businesses. Many students will

16

Definition of disability

Refrence

none

(Marshall et al., 2020)

Disability is any limitation, restriction, or

impairment that lasts for more than six months

(Gray, 2020)

none

(Lindsay et al., 2020)

Disability represents an umbrella term for a

physical or mental impairment that results in

participation restrictions or activity limitations.

(WHO)

(Lyubykh et al., 2020)

From a clinical point-of-view, autism spectrum

disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental

disorder recognized as encompassing a wide

variety of characteristics across a broad level of

functioning. Individuals diagnosed with ASD

may be very dependent on routines and have

restrictive or repetitive patterns of behavior

and interests.

(Whelpley et al., 2020)

UN CRPD

(Oware & Mallikarjunappa, 2020)

UN CRPD

(Khan et al., 2019)

The word ‘diversity’, originated from Latin,

refers to variety, mixture, mix or multiplicity.

(Ghauri et al., 2019)

17

none

(Morningstar et al., 2018)

none

(Elraz, 2018)

Disability is a socially constructed

phenomenon. What is disabling is the political,

social, economic, and cultural climes, the

objectification of certain people and how

able-bodied people confer victimhood on perceived

deficient or diseased bodies.

(Procknow et al., 2017)

any limitation, restriction or impairment which

restricts everyday activities and has lasted or is

likely to last for at least six months

(Williams, 2017)

The five neurological impairments (dyslexia,

dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD and Asperger

Syndrome)

(Richards & Sang, 2016)

none

(Werth, 2015)

none

(von Schrader et al., 2014)

none

(Makhbul, 2012)

General Law

on Prevention and Rehabilitation of Disabled

Persons (Lei 9/89). Under this law, people are

defined as disabled if a congenital or acquired

psychological, intellectual, physiological

function or anatomical structure abnormality

results in a disadvantaged situation with

respect to what would be considered the

normal performance of an activity by age,

gender and the prevailing social and cultural

factors.

(Sciulli et al., 2012)

none

(Charmaz, 2010)

including any impairment, chronic illness or

long term health problem experienced by a

person for at least six months that is significant,

ongoing and requiring ongoing medical or

professional intervention.

(Vickers, 2009)

ADA definition

(Kruse & Schur, 2003)

Use of a "biased" disability measure in the

model leads to an upward-biased estimate of

the effect of limitation on nonwork and to a

downward-biased estimate of the effect of

income.

(Kreider, 1999)

18

4

Synthesis through SWOT analysis

4.1

Explanation

In this chapter I will analyse the content from the previous chapter as well as look at the

articles from the review, to see what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and

threats are for this area. The last section of this chapter will be about the social

implications of the field.

4.2

Strengths

4.2.1 General

The majority of articles in this review have been published after 2010, which makes this

review highly relevant. Since the 2010´s had 13 articles in total and that the year 2020

had six articles about half of what the previously decade published in total, this shows

that there is a positive trend of new articles being published and this will probably

continue to do so in the 2020´s.

A majority of articles study disability reporting and disability disclosures from an

employees’ perspective, which means that it is a focus on how pwds experience their

work environment. This focus leads to the authors being able to identify key issues and

develop ideas on how to prevent these issues from occurring in the future.

4.2.2 Theories

Although not all of the articles reviewed use formal theories, the use of formal theories

have increased in the recent years (See more in table 2; “Methods and Theories”). This

is a positive trend, since there are many strengths in using theoretical frameworks when

conducting studies on this (or any) topic. Using a formal theory makes it possible for

articles to better build on previous research, and thus create more cumulative findings

instead of findings which stand by themselves. Another advantage is that already

existing theories has usually already been tested and examined, with scholars trying to

falsify them. In having this already done, it saves the authors work, whilst also yielding

19

the articles legitimacy. This since the base of the articles is already scientifically

“accepted”.

Some articles use behavioural theories such as CDT, labelling theory, hierarchy of

disability and stigma theory. All these theories represent how the people in the society

behave towards people who do not fit “in”. This means that using these as a framework

shows the complexity in this field, since they are based on the people’s perceptions.

4.2.3 Methods

The study shows that many of the articles have a rich empirical data and that most use a

qualitative method through interviews and surveys. The qualitative method is an

appropriate method to be used in this type of studies since it is flexible and cost efficient

and it provides the authors with more detailed information in order to describe issues

that are complex (see more in table 2; “Methods and Theories”).

Some articles use the archival method through companies` sustainability reports or other

reports. This method is more used in articles about disability reporting and articles that

are more focused on the business perspective.

4.2.4

Concepts

The articles that used a more specific definition of disability, where the focus is on how

different types of disability because different types of disability generate different

attitudes and perceptions from others. For example a person with physical impairments

is treated differently from a person with mental impairments.

20

4.3

Weaknesses

4.3.1 General

One weakness of this literature review is the fact that the selection of articles that has

been reviewed is quite small, with 23 articles. Since the sample size is not being very

big the conclusions that can be drawn is limited. Reviewing more articles through

expanding the search words used in this study and including more databases could

create opportunities for new or improved conclusions.

Another weakness is that many articles do not use any either geographical collection

area, theories, statistical models or concepts. This makes it harder to generalize and

draw conclusions from this review.

4.3.2 Theories

Despite the positive trend with more articles using a formal theoretical framework in the

more recent years, it is still far from all of them that do so. Around a third of the articles

do not use any theoretical framework. This makes it difficult to place the articles in a

broader context. When it is hard to place articles in a theoretical framework, this could

lead to the article not being viewed as significant enough for later studies. The review

confirms this since it shows that not many articles have a high google scholar citation

number.

In this review 20 articles are below 100 citations on google scholar which means that

the area is still not that sought after by either the academic world or the business world.

4.3.3 Methods

Significant is that a qualitative method is used in 57% of the studies and an archival

method in 31% (see more in table 2; “Methods and Theories”) while no study has used

any kind of a quantitative method. Why is this a weakness? For example: Whilst there

are many advantages with using a qualitative method, there are also weaknesses with

having so few articles covering the more quantitative aspects of the topic. With

qualitative methods, it is possible to capture subjective experiences and non-expected

21

aspects of the problem. With quantitative methods instead, it is possible to create

knowledge with a high external validity. This is knowledge which can be generalized to

say something about a broader situation and not just the specific topic at hand. The

weakness with the existing state of the field is therefore that it does not paint a broader

picture of the problem in the same way as it could if qualitative articles where

complemented with quantitative studies on related or similar topics

.

4.3.4 Concepts

The study shows that most of the articles do not use a clear definition of disability. This

could lead to uncertainty regarding exactly what they are studying. It also makes it

difficult to compare different findings (see more in table 6; “Concepts”).

Some articles talk about the discrimination facing pwds in employment and how this

can be a factor if a person choose to disclose their disability. The lack of understanding

how pwds can be an asset to the company is also a weakness

.

4.4

Opportunities

4.4.1 General

There is a clear tendency that the number of journals has increased in the recent years

from a low level in the 1990 and early 2000 to a much higher level 2020 (see more in

table 1; “Journal Outlets”). The increase in studies made, together with an increased use

of formal methods can enable a better understanding for this field.

The fact that many articles look at DR and DD from either a business perspective or an

employee’s perspective shows that this academic field has many undiscovered

opportunities to expand on. For example the combination of both perspectives could

give the field more an overview of both what companies does and how pwds experience

the measures taken, in order to give a better picture on what works and what does not

works for pwds in their work environment .

22

4.4.2 Theories

In this review the fact that articles have not combined theories with empirical data is a

missed opportunity to create greater impact on the academic field. Later studies should

focus on combining theories and data. This could create a greater impact on the field in

general and make it more interesting as well as put it on the map. It could also create

new opportunities for creating more cumulative knowledge, and yield the articles a

greater scientific legitimacy (see more in table 2; “Methods and theories”).

4.4.3 Methods

There is a clear tendency in the past 10 years towards using formal methods in the

Journal Outlets where the use of Qualitative and Archival methods has been more and

more in use (see more in table 2; “Methods and Theories”).

4.4.4 Concepts

The fact that many articles do not have a clear definition of disability or only focuses on

the national level (see more in table 6; “Concepts”). If future research could use the UN

CRPDs definition of disability on a more frequent scale, it would be easier to review the

articles and draw conclusions. Another positive outcome of using the UN CRPDs

definition is that there would be a more focus on the international level which would

benefit the academic field.

4.5

Threats

4.5.1 General

The attention of the academic world on different issues can often be interlinked with

the shifts in the political landscape, because as the political environment changes so

does the interest for the academic field as a whole. Changes in the political agenda

could have both positive and negative implications, such as when laws change it can

23

make it easier or harder for pwds to become an active citizen. Another implication is

that when the society does not take what the academic profession has suggested, it could

lead to no future impact.

4.5.2 Theories

Around a third of the articles look at disability and businesses from the perspective of

the laws of the nation regarding disability, for example the ADA. This is a possible

threat due to the fact that nations look at disability and employment through different

lenses, such as which priority disability has on the political agenda and what support

there is for pwds. Even so the rights of pwds are supposed to be universal, but this may

not be the case in practice. When studies are based on a national level it makes it

difficult to paint a general picture of the situation since the study is more focused on one

specific country and a point in time. This also means that studies overlook the

international level of disability.

4.5.3 Methods

A threat is that since many articles that use a qualitative method are more focused on the

content of the survey or interview and uses few statistical models to analyse the results

of said interview or survey.

4.5.4 Concepts

Since there are still articles that do not have any definition of disability, five of 13

articles in the 2010´s and two of six articles in 2020. This shows that this is still a threat

in the academic field as it creates confusion over what the articles are aiming towards.

The issue of disability is not receiving a lot of attention on the international agenda, as

can be seen by the lack of mention in the SDGs. Perhaps, from an academic perspective,

it would therefore be beneficial to use an international perspective to first establish

disability rights as a vital issue to put up on the international agenda.

24

4.6

Social and ethical implications

Disability is a global problem with many pwds being on outskirts of the labour market

and the society.

In the last two years pwds has had an upswing on the global agenda with initiatives such

as the Valuable 500 (V500). The V500 is about putting disability on the global

leadership agenda and collaborating with different indexes who measure diversity to

include disability quotas. The V500 has around 200 CEOs and companies taking part

mostly from the UK and US (V500 report, 2020). However, there is still a challenge for

the disability community since businesses are more focused on the negative aspects of

disabilities rather than seeing the possibilities.

Barriers for employment require strength to overcome, this can be tiring and demanding

for a person whose body does not function at 100 %. These barriers can be a lack of

accessibility and accommodation and the inflexible welfare systems, such as social

services (Östlund & Johansson, 2018). Many articles also talk about the lack of career

advancement and promotion for employees with disabilities. A cause of this could be

the management lack of awareness and knowledge of pwds.

Since more big corporations are getting increasingly willing to hire people who can

contribute to their employment diversity and create a more open work culture, this

could contribute to opportunities for pwds to get hired. If managers get more knowledge

about disability and how pwds could be an asset to the company the success of pwds in

employment would increase and this would lead to more pwds demanding a better life

for themselves. With employment for pwds comes a greater financial and social

independence which leads to pwds achieving a higher quality of life.

25

We live in a technological boom right now. This means that there are many advances in

tools and digital aids to support people with difficulties impeding them to participate in

society. Today´s digital society can provide people with opportunities but it can also

lead to people who are not comfortable using this technology to being excluded from

the society. The technological era has provided pwds with an opportunity to perform

their jobs since it could mean better and cheaper aids and support.

The political landscape is also another way to see the opportunity of employment for

pwds. If the government bring forward laws that will help pwds into the labour market

or the trade unions actively support pwds it may look different in a few years. But the

political landscape could also be seen as a threat since many of the laws and regulations

on the rights of pwds have aspects in them that are outdated. For example, the American

Disability Act (ADA) was written in 1992. Therefore, many of these legal frameworks

are based on ideas and norms that may not reflect today's fast changes in society. For

example, many of these laws are based on ideas such as that pwds should remain happy

with “reasonable accommodations” or “a tolerable life”. When these kinds of laws are

not updated, it results in it being hard for pwds to get into the labour market.

26

5

Final chapter

5.1

Discussion

This review show that the academic field of disability is mostly focused on the social

aspects of business and economics. Although the field began in the 1990´s it only

started to gain momentum in the last 20 years. The results also show that most studies

used a qualitative method and that most did not have any theoretical framework. Some

articles were based on the laws, two uses stakeholder theory and one use critical

disability theory. Some articles did not disclose which region the data was collected

from and those who did disclose was mostly from developed countries. The most

common category of topic was employment followed by business. Finally the result

shows that the majority does not use any definition of disability.

The result from the SWOT analysis shows that there are both positive and negative

aspects of this review. For example how the studies are conducted in regards to its

methods and theories can make them more or less relevant in a larger population.

Another ongoing theme in the SWOT is how the political, academic and business

interests correlate to the demand for the topic.

The 23 articles included in this review do not give a clear picture of the field. This is

because they do not use a complete structure with theory, method, analyses and

conclusion. The study also proves that there is an overrepresentation of developed

nations and that most of these articles do not have a big impact on the academic field.

The results of this review shows that in four of the seven themes; theories, geography,

models and concepts, there are a high number of articles that are listed as having none

in the tables, such as not listing theoretical framework used, where the data was

27

collected, which statistical models was used or writing the definition of disability used.

These gaps do not help the credibility of the field because the gaps mean it is harder to

use the articles as a reference for future research.

The results of the SWOT analysis for this review show that this is a complex topic, with

aspects that are both positive and negative, for example the rich empirical data that

many articles have is strength but on the other hand theories may suffer as a result

which is a weakness. This review shows that the SWOT analysis was a good tool to use

since it gave a clearer picture on the topic as a whole. The results prove that this is an

overlooked area in the academic world.

The results show that there is a complexity when it comes to practice because there is a

lack of awareness about how pwds and employment actually works. Many articles talk

about when an employer has hired pwds before they are more likely to do it again but if

it is for the first time the perceptions employers have are likely to affect the process.

Waterhouse et al. (2010) talks about the importance leadership have on employment of

pwds, and many articles in this review also talk about employers’ attitudes and pwds. If

the leadership gained more knowledge about disability and the undiscovered potential

this people have, managers may have a different view on pwds. Many articles do not

prove that the attitudes that employers have, such as pwds are lazy and that they require

more sick leave and help from co-workers are true, the articles mostly prove the

opposite. However, this is not the case in practice. If there were more education about

disability, the community of pwds could demand a better quality of life.

Articles talks about the perceptions and attitudes of the society and how this creates

barriers for pwds in work. This is also the biggest reason for bullying and discrimination

of pwds in the workplace. Since it is a problem for the society, the government needs to

put more resources towards education about what disability is and what the

commonalities and differences between pwds and “nondisabled people” are.

28

5.2

Limitations

The first limitation of this review is that it is only disability disclosures and disability

reporting in economic and business journals. The second limitation of this review is that

there are few articles about disability in the business and economic field. Another

limitation is that most articles in this review are on the national level. Another limitation

is that since many articles do not use any type of statistical analysis this makes it

difficult to describe the field in detail.

5.3

Future research

Future research should focus on combining theory and empirical data. When it comes to

disability and business there are still misconceptions from the society. Another thing to

research is how disability quotas affect the hiring of pwds but also how pwds are

viewed in a corporation as a result. Disability is more on the global agenda now and

future research could look into how this affects pwds in the labour market especially

after the Valuable 500 initiative where CEO:s from leading corporations commit to

make disability more accepted and part of the firms diversity agenda (V500 report,

2020). Future research should also look more into the different types of disability and

how this affects employability. Future research could also look at disability and gender,

disability and bullying. Another interesting topic would be to look at how colleagues’

behaviour changes when a person disclose their disability.

29

5.4

Conclusion

This study aims to answer the question how disability is described in business and

economics literature and what is the SWOT of this review?

This study concludes that disability is described weakly in business and economics

literature. This entails that since many articles have gaps in them; this makes it hard to

generalize the results, which means that it is difficult to draw general conclusions of the

review.

Since the methods used in this review are mainly qualitative or archival, it creates two

major opposites. This means that disability is described on the one hand as a very

subjective experience or on the other hand from a more objective business perspective.

A majority of articles in this review are based on data collected from the developed

world. This implies that the spotlight is on how disability is experienced in the

developed regions rather than in the developing regions of the world. This leads to an

injustice since pwds has different opportunities depending on where they live in the

world. When articles are based on laws rather than on theories this problem arises again.

The fact that countries view support for pwds differently, for example the views on

accessibility, accommodation and affordability, means that there are variations in how

much support pwds get from the government.

A majority of the articles look at disability from the employees´ perspective rather than

a wider business perspective. The fact that many articles focus on employment means

that the authors of articles in this review are more interested in the individual

experiences of work rather than on what businesses report on disability.