Led by Professors Daniela Aliberti, Rita Bissola, and Barbara Imperatori, the study investigated how professionals who experience ethnic or cultural discrimination in corporate settings respond — and how those experiences can evolve into new forms of agency and entrepreneurship for change.
The collaboration contributed to two significant outputs:
Both pieces illuminate how individuals within organizations engage in what the authors call “social-symbolic work” — the discursive, relational, and emotional labor through which people confront inequality and shape more authentic ways of being at work.
In many advanced corporate environments, diversity and inclusion efforts remain largely symbolic.
This gap creates tension between the values organizations promote and the real experiences of their people.
Many professionals still face subtle or systemic exclusion, navigating their careers through self-regulation, identity balancing, and emotional containment.
The study explored how these personal tensions can become catalysts for innovation — tracing the journey from “insider activism” to “outsider entrepreneurship,” when individuals build new spaces of equity, belonging, and impact beyond traditional corporate frameworks.
Innovamey joined the project as both research contributor and case study, bridging academic inquiry with real-world transformation. Through interviews and reflective dialogues, Innovamey helped interpret how identity, ethics, and purpose act as strategic levers for innovation.
The collaboration reinforced the foundations of We.Work, Innovamey’s methodology for culture and transformation. Like the “social-symbolic work” explored in the study, We.Work turns identity and purpose into practice — helping teams translate awareness into collective movement and measurable change.
Our contribution focused on three main areas:
Bringing a field-based understanding of how sustainability, DEI, and culture act as real drivers of business and organizational innovation.
Offering qualitative insights on how personal stories of bias, transition, or change can evolve into new models of entrepreneurship, leadership, and consulting.
Demonstrating that inclusion and equity, when embedded in culture and strategy, are not compliance exercises but engines of systemic transformation.
“Working with Aram allowed us to explore how personal identity and professional purpose can merge into a single form of social innovation. Her journey embodies the ‘social-symbolic work’ we theorize — where change doesn’t come from policies alone, but from people who dare to transform their own story into a driver of systemic impact.”
The study shows how personal and professional transformation are intertwined: authentic leadership arises when individuals align their stories, values, and impact goals.
Through subtle or visible forms of soft contestation, balancing, and reshaping work, professionals reframe their identity and challenge cultural norms from within.
When organizational barriers persist, many channel their experience into new ventures, consultancies, or networks — moving from “insider” to “outsider” change agents who bring innovation back into the system.
The study shows how personal and professional transformation are intertwined: authentic leadership arises when individuals align their stories, values, and impact goals.
This collaboration exemplifies the power of connection between academic insight and real-world application. When research meets practice, data gains purpose, and ideas turn into action. The encounter between the language of academia and the language of transformation creates a shared ambition: to shape organizations that move beyond compliance, where inclusion is not just a policy but a source of innovation, creativity, and sustainable growth. It’s where knowledge becomes culture — and culture becomes change.
