ABSTRACT
Diversity has become a hotly debated and controversial issue as reflected in the growing literature by practitioners and researchers alike. This chapter focuses on the question of whether or not there exists in the European research community something like an evolving diversity theory or if there continues to be a rather eclectic approach of theoretical perspectives as varied as the topic of diversity itself. Recent empirical evidence suggests that the aim of diversity management campaigns of the majority of DAX 30 companies in Germany with Europe-wide and worldwide operations are indeed consistent with neo-institutionalist theory. Neo-institutionalist theory accounts for the rapid dissemination of diversity management in Germany by stressing the normative power of institutions such as the growing number of diversity officer positions, diversity task forces and diversity awareness training. The chapter derives the personnel economics which is proposed as a link between the neo-institutionalist theories and human resource management as an overarching meta-theoretical umbrella for diversity management.
