How Organisations Include People with Disability in the Italian Context: An Exploratory Study

In HRM literature disability has aroused interest from scholars, yet it remains an under-researched topic. In particular, there is a dearth of literature addressing how organisations in different countries respond to the increased demand for equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities. This contribution investigates how a sample of companies include people with disabilities in Italy where there is a legal requirement to hire them according to the Italian law 68/99. In particular, adopting a qualitative research approach, this contribution investigates how a sample of 30 HR managers in medium-large companies conceptualise, manage and include people with disability through policies and practices. The results show that managers consider disability mainly a problem to be resolved trying to be compliant with the law. To fulfil the legal obligation, companies adopt specific recruitment and selection policies, but find themselves ill-prepared to include people with disability in the next stages of the HR process. A weak disability management process, together with high-cost perceptions, hides the possibility to fully integrate them, suggesting that the success of their inclusion is often determined by contingent factors. At the end of the contribution, an exploratory typology of four different approaches adopted by these companies is sketched out and some managerial implications are suggested to promote an effective inclusion.