Call for Chapters: Research Handbook on Workplace Dignity
Editor:
Dr. Kristen Lucas, Professor
Management & Entrepreneurship Department
University of Louisville (USA)
Email: kristen.lucas@louisville.edu
Publisher:
Edward Elgar (anticipated Summer 2028)
Volume At-a-Glance:
The Research Handbook on Workplace Dignity is designed to provide a state-of-the-art review of the scholarly study of workplace dignity-clarifying theoretical foundations, consolidating empirical findings, and mapping methodological approaches. Bringing together leading experts and emerging voices in the field, it will be a resource appropriate for graduate-level courses on the topic of workplace dignity as well as a primer for established researchers.
· Comprehensive – Provides an overview of theory, dominant themes, and methods of research on workplace dignity.
· Multivocal – Features contributions from authoritative experts in the field and new voices.
· Global in Scope – Features multiple contexts, including culturally nuanced understandings.
Proposed Structure and Sample Chapters:
The volume is proposed to be organized as follows:
I. Theoretical/Foundational Perspectives
Dignity is a complex phenomenon that is composed of multiple, often contradictory, meanings that have evolved over centuries. Further, it is a concept that frequently is inadvertently taken as synonymous with many of the conditions that might give rise to dignity judgements (e.g., civility, meaningful work, autonomy). Therefore, providing conceptual clarity about what dignity is – as well as what it is not – is a critical matter.
This section will provide broad coverage of the dominant theoretical/foundational principles of workplace dignity. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
· Relational Dignity [author confirmed]
· Structural Views of Dignity [author confirmed]
· Inherent, Earned, and Status Dignity
· Dignity and the Humanistic Management Paradigm
· Differentiating between Dignity, Face and Honor Cultures
II. Threats
Workplace dignity primarily has become understood through its absence, rather than its presence. While there are a host of ways dignity can be threatened at work, these ways generally tend to coalesce around three broad categories: inequality, instrumentality, and disrespect.
This section will provide integrative reviews of various threats. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
· AI & Algorithmic Management [author confirmed]
· Inequality
· Instrumentality
· Disrespect
III. Vulnerabilities & Vulnerable Populations
One of the recurring themes in workplace dignity research is that some people are more vulnerable to dignity threats than others. Whether vulnerabilities are materially, socially, culturally, or institutionally based, they shape not only who encounters threats but also how those threats are experienced and how difficult they are to overcome.
This section will provide integrative reviews of the most prominent dimensions of vulnerability within workplace settings. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
· Caste & Dignity [author confirmed]
· Immigrant Vulnerability
· Dirty Work
· Identity (Race, Gender, Class, Ability, etc.)
IV. Responses to Threats
Although threats may be pervasive, humans are not passive "recipients" of indignity. Workers draw upon a variety of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strategies to protect, reclaim, and reaffirm their sense of worth when it is undermined; to resist and/or retaliate against violators; and to work strategically to change the fundamental conditions that can garner them more dignity.
This section will provide insights into dominant patterns of responses to dignity violations-from intrapersonal to collective and from constructive to destructive. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
· Mindfulness [author confirmed]
· Identity Work / Sensemaking
· Organizing for Dignity
· Entrepreneurship as a Route to Dignity
· Resistance & Misbehavior
V. Enacting Dignity at Work
Increasingly, organizations are attending to dignity as a primary concern. This section will shift gears from the "dark side" of dignity threats and vulnerabilities to look at actions that can and are being taken to bolster dignity at work.
These chapters may include a mix of case studies, conceptual essays, and empirical examinations of pro-dignity work. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
· Designing AI for Dignity
· Dignity in Practice
· Leading with/for Dignity
· Dignity-focused HRM practices
VI. Methodological Approaches
How dignity is examined also is a critical matter. There has been a rapid evolution of methods over the past 20 years. At the start, research was primarily ethnographic and privileged researchers' a priori meanings of dignity, with a shift to interview methods that privilege participants' emergent meanings of dignity. More recently, advances such as scale development have enabled survey and experimental methods. And large-language models are enabling new approaches to studying dignity discourses.
This section will provide overviews of the predominant methods of dignity research, including information on what questions are able to be asked, best practices for using specific methods, and highlighting exemplar studies. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
· Interviewing [author confirmed]
· Ethnography
· Textual Approaches
· Quantitative Approaches
· Research Ethics
Specifics:
· Chapters may be written as theoretical/conceptual articles, integrative reviews, or new empirical research studies.
· Chapters must be original work
· Chapters should be approximately 8,000 words
· Citation style of the final publication is APA (7th edition)
Important Dates:
· Rolling Basis: "Mini proposals" due to Editor for review (both expressions of interest in writing a chapter drawn from the proposal and suggestions of new chapter ideas are welcomed). Invitations to submit full chapter will be issued, usually with 14 days of mini-proposal submission.
· September 1, 2026 – October 1, 2026: Full draft of chapter due to Editor
· December 15, 2026 – January 15, 2027: Peer‑review feedback returned
· May 1, 2027: Revised chapters due
· August 1, 2027: Final decisions/requests for minor revisions are issued
· October 1, 2027: Final manuscript submitted to Editor
· Summer 2028: Handbook published
Guidelines for Mini-Proposals:
If interested in contributing, please send an email that includes the following information:
· Name, Title, and Institution of author(s)
· ORCID ID, if available
· CV and/or link to Google Scholar page
· Chapter(s) of interest
· Abstract: 200-500 word abstract of proposed contribution. Please be specific about proposed approach: theoretical/conceptual, integrative review, empirical study, etc.
Reviews:
Chapters will be peer-reviewed prior to acceptance for publication. All contributing authors are encouraged to serve as a peer reviewer for other submissions to the volume. Reviewing will be limited to 1 or 2 chapters.
Questions and Inquiries:
Please address any questions or concerns to Kristen Lucas at kristen.lucas@louisville.edu.
------------------------------
Kristen Lucas
Professor, Management & Entrepreneurship
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY USA
kristen.lucas@louisville.edu------------------------------