ICT-Enabled Inclusive Practices:Exploring the Role of Managers’ Initiating Structure and Considerations in Enhancing Knowledge Management Capability

Abstract

This study examines the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in promoting organizational inclusion, especially in globally dispersed firms addressing discrimination. Drawing on the resource-based view and contingency theory, it explores ICT-enabled practices in job access, orientation, and enculturation, their impact on knowledge management capability (KMC) and firm performance, and the moderating effects of managers’ initiating structure and considerations. Survey data from 329 managers and employees across diverse industries were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that ICT-enabled inclusion practices enhance KMC, which in turn improves firm performance. KMC is found to mediate this relationship. However, the study uncovers that managers’ inclusive initiating structure unexpectedly weakens the link between ICT practices and KMC. These findings offer new insights into how ICT supports workplace inclusion and highlight the critical role of managerial leadership—particularly initiating structure and consideration—in shaping the effectiveness of ICT-enabled inclusive initiatives.</p