A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Participative Decision-Making in Organizations

Despite considerable awareness about various forms and meanings of participative decision-making (PDM) in different parts of the world, there is less agreement on the causes of variation in PDM. This article argues that among other exogenous (e.g. sociopolitical, legal, historical) forces, the socio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human relations (New York) 2003-04, Vol.56 (4), p.453-473
Main Authors: Sagie, Abraham, Aycan, Zeynep
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Cognition & reasoning
Collectivism
Cross cultural studies
Crosscultural Analysis
Crosscultural studies
Cultural studies
Culture
Decision making
Employee involvement
Employees
Globalization
Human relations
Individualism
Industrial democracy
Influence
Organizational behavior
Organizational behaviour
Organizational Culture
Organizations
Participation
Participative Decision Making
Social psychology
Sociology
Sociology of organizations and enterprises. Bureaucracy and administration
Sociology of work and sociology of organizations
Sociopolitical factors
Workplace diversity
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Summary:Despite considerable awareness about various forms and meanings of participative decision-making (PDM) in different parts of the world, there is less agreement on the causes of variation in PDM. This article argues that among other exogenous (e.g. sociopolitical, legal, historical) forces, the sociocultural context plays an important role in the observed differences among PDM approaches and practices across nations. Similarly, subcultures and organizational cultures may influence PDM within nations. Two cultural dimensions: individualism-collectivism and power distance, are linked with four widespread employee participation approaches: face-to-face PDM, collective PDM, pseudo-PDM, and paternalistic PDM. The attributes of each PDM form, including the cultural determinants, underlying beliefs, the types of decisions made, and the relationship between a specified form and other PDM meanings (e.g. self-managing teams) are elaborated.
ISSN:0018-7267
1741-282X
DOI:10.1177/0018726703056004003