Power Distance and Diversity Training Programs: A Multilevel Framework Linking Training Design, Employee Responses, and Effectiveness

This study examines how power distance (PD) at the national and individual levels may shape diversity training program (DTP) design and employees’ psychological responses. Specifically, it explores how national PD values may shape organizational DTP design characteristics and how individual PD orientations influence employees’ psychological responses. The study synthesizes conceptual, theoretical, and empirical research published between 2000 and 2026 to identify recurring themes across DTP design, cultural values, and employee psychological responses, which informed the development of a multilevel conceptual framework. The proposed framework distinguishes between organizational DTP design characteristics, employee psychological responses, and perceived DTP effectiveness across national and individual levels of analysis. A number of propositions are then developed to guide future research and inform culturally responsive DTP design practices. The findings suggest that DTPs may operate differently across cultural and organizational contexts, with PD representing an important yet underexplored contextual dimension shaping these differences. Perceived DTP effectiveness is further proposed to depend on the alignment between organizational DTP design characteristics and employees’ individual PD orientations. The study contributes to DTP research by highlighting the importance of aligning organizational DTP design characteristics with employees’ individual PD orientations when designing culturally responsive DTPs.