Organizations and Societal Economic Inequality: A Review and Way Forward

Abstract

We review research on the organizational causes (how do organizations contribute?) and consequences (how are organizations affected?) of economic inequality. Our review of 151 conceptual and empirical articles indicates that organizational research on economic inequality encompasses a wide range of topics at multiple levels of analysis, but also that this broad-scope literature exhibits conceptual ambiguities and lacks overarching organizing frameworks. To address these two issues, we develop an organizational perspective on economic inequality and clarify it as uneven distribution in the endowment and/or access to resources in a society, which manifests in differential abilities and opportu..