Individualists, collectivists and the organizations they create: a typology of four organizational alternatives

Purpose Owing to the near absence of research on collectivist organizations, this article proposes a conceptual framework of four types of organization, two formed by individualists and two by collectivists, that are described using eight organizational characteristics. Its purpose is to respond to the question “How do the characteristics of organizations created among collectivists differ from those of otherwise comparable organizations created among individualists?” Design/methodology/approach Weberian ideal-type analysis of secondary data from previously published case studies and organizational research develops idealized theoretical descriptions. These descriptions form a conceptual framework that enables comparisons among the characteristics of the different organizational types. Findings Four organizational types are identified: collectivist-democratic, collectivist-hierarchical, individualist-hierarchical and individualist-democratic. The four types are described using eight organizational characteristics of interest to organizational researchers: authority, rules, social control, social relations, recruitment and advancement, incentive structure, social stratification and differentiation. Comparisons among the types indicate, for example, that collectivist organizations are maintained through ingroup bonds that take the place of the individualized inducements of individualist organizations. Originality/value Previous research has identified the collectivist-democratic type but has not extended theoretical consideration to the larger framework of four organizational types. Consequently, theory has not accorded collectivist organization due consideration, nor has it compared collectivist organizations with individualist alternatives. One consequence of this theoretical gap is that research has considered only a restricted range of responses to the dilemma of collective action, a fundamental threat to organizational well-being.