1250: Multinational LGBTQIA+ Policies in Contested International Business Environments (12682)

This symposium aims to explore three interrelated themes associated with the adoption of LGBTQIA+ policies by multinational corporations across international business environments where sentiments towards such policies may be contested. First, we will look at the management of organizational-level stigma faced by organizations serving the LGBTQIA+ community. We will also talk about how the nature of that stigma varies across institutional and country environments, and the implications of that for stigma management. Second, we will explore how contested environments potentially impact LGBTQIA+ policy adoption by MNEs. The LGBTQIA+ context provides a prototypical example of a contested environment where strong societal sentiments exist in both directions. Third, we will examine factors influencing external stakeholder reactions to company LGBTQIA+ policies once adopted. The degree to which supportive behaviors such as investing in a firm, purchasing a firm’s products or services, and seeking employment in a firm are influenced by LGBTQIA+ policies is an important input into adopting such policies in the first place. Each of these three themes will be overviewed briefly by one of our session panelists. The session chair and co-moderators will then lead a discussion of these themes by exploring pre-assigned questions to each of the panelists, followed by general Q&A from the panel audience.