Inclusive Human Resource Management Practices and Institutional Arrangements in the European Union Context

The paper investigates how Inclusive Human Resource Management (HRM) practices vary across European Union countries characterised by different Institutional Arrangements. Building on the theoretical foundations of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the study examines both organisational practices and the broader institutional context shaping gender equality, and Inclusive Human Resource Management (Inclusive HRM) practices. The paper adopts a mixed-method approach. First, a clustering method is selected, based on Visser’s Industrial Relations (IR) regimes and assessed by using institutional assets data from European Union (EU) member states. Five representative countries (Finland, Austria, Spain, Malta, and Lithuania) are then selected for empirical analysis. Then, using data from the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey (2015), a one-way ANOVA is performed to evaluate cross-country differences in five dimensions of Inclusive HRM: Autonomy, Development of Competence, Employees’ Participation, Work–life Balance, and Superiors’ and Colleagues’ Behaviour, revealing significant variation across clusters. Overall, the findings highlight the relevance of institutional configurations in shaping the adoption and effectiveness of Inclusive HRM practices. The study contributes to the understanding of how national institutional contexts influence organisational inclusion efforts.