Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4899-4599

Date Available

5-10-2027

Year of Publication

2025

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

Business and Economics

Department/School/Program

Management

Faculty

Zhi Huang

Faculty

Daniel S. Halgin

Abstract

Institutional environments play a crucial role in shaping how stakeholders perceive and respond to firms’ diversity initiatives. While prior research recognizes the importance of these contexts in influencing the relationship between diversity practices and firm performance (e.g., Zhang, 2020), scholars have rarely adopted a dynamic perspective that accounts for rapid change in the institutional environments regarding diversity. In this dissertation, I present three studies that address how institutional dynamics (i.e., legal changes, social attitude dynamics, and political shifts) affect the relationship between firm diversity practices (i.e., LGBTQ inclusion, board gender diversity) and market performance (i.e., cumulative abnormal returns, Tobin’s Q). The three papers contribute uniquely to the field, together unpacking important mechanisms by which evolving institutional environments affect the business implications of firm diversity initiatives.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.49

Available for download on Monday, May 10, 2027

Share

COinS