Experimental Designs in Management Studies for Bias Assessment: Setting and Stimulus Material

Authors

  • Maria João Guedes ADVANCE, Centre for Advanced Research in Management – ISEG, ULisboa
  • Ricardo Rodrigues ADVANCE, Centre for Advanced Research in Management – ISEG, ULisboa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5661-2928
  • Luís Gouveia ADVANCE, Centre for Advanced Research in Management – ISEG, ULisboa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6518-2330

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34190/ecrm.23.1.2333

Keywords:

management studies, experimental survey, bias assessment

Abstract

This manuscript stems from an ongoing research project on gender inequality in Portuguese businesses, particularly concerning access to leadership positions. It aims to provide new insights into the constraints that limit women’s access to managerial roles – both from the worker/employee’s perspective, by exploring expectations, aspirations, and perceived barriers, and from the employer/hierarchy’s perspective, by analysing which biases in recruitment and promotion processes are likely to limit women’s rise to top management positions. Against this analytical background, this paper aims to provide a reflection on the inquiry protocol developed within the project, with particular emphasis on the quantitative approach based on an experimental design. A survey has been developed targeting professionals and directors of large, listed companies and large/medium unlisted companies, where the respondents are given the framework of hiring hypothetical applicants for a management position. The methodological protocol involves elaborating different fictitious CV profiles, representing hypothetical candidates. These profiles are constructed by varying attributes according to various dimensions, specifically gender, combined with educational and professional characteristics. Based on the process of designing the experimental setting, the aim is to reflect on the nuances, obstacles, and limitations in constructing a set of stimulus materials and manipulating the experimental conditions regarding the fictitious applicants’ characteristics (including gender), vertical segregation (‘glass ceiling’ in access to top management positions), horizontal segregation (i.e., associating candidates with typically female or male occupations) and measurement items/scales for assessing the applicants in different dimensions (e.g., perceived competence, job fit, promotion recommendation, etc.). Therefore, this paper aims to reflect on the methodological challenges and advantages of an experimental research design and data analysis strategy to address gender bias in hiring contexts and capable of sustaining an ongoing data observatory to support the definition of public policies and organisational practices aimed at promoting gender equality in top positions.

Author Biographies

Maria João Guedes, ADVANCE, Centre for Advanced Research in Management – ISEG, ULisboa

Maria João Guedes is a Senior Asociate Professor with Aggregation at ISEG-ULisboa and researcher at Advance – Center for Advanced Research and CSG – Research in Social Sciences and Management at ISEG-ULisboa. She holds a PhD in Financial Management from Imperial College Business School, London, UK.

Ricardo Rodrigues, ADVANCE, Centre for Advanced Research in Management – ISEG, ULisboa

Ricardo Rodrigues is an Assistant professor at ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, Researcher at Advance – Centre for Advanced Research in Management, and Director at CEGE – Centre for Management Studies. Currently, he is the co-coordinator of the degree in Sport Management at ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa.

Luís Gouveia, ADVANCE, Centre for Advanced Research in Management – ISEG, ULisboa

Luís Gouveia holds a PhD in Sociology from the School of Social and Human Sciences of the NOVA University of Lisbon. He is a Researcher at Advance – Centre for Advanced Research in Management and CICS.NOVA – Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH).

Downloads

Published

2024-06-26