Title: Racial diversity initiatives in professional service firms
Description: Diversity continues to be a key focus for organizations, driven by globalization and our understanding of the benefits associated with a diverse workforce. While it is critical for managers and researchers to understand the processes and outcomes associated with diversity, much work remains to be done in this important area of scholarship. This paper proposes a qualitative research project that will examine the racial diversity initiatives of eight professional service firms in an effort to identify the organizational elements that are critical to the success of diversity initiatives and differentiate successful from less successful initiatives. A conceptual framework is proposed that highlights the process through which diversity initiatives become successful and offers insight into how organizations can more effectively recruit and retain a diverse workforce.