Decision Making in Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures

International Implementation of Best Practices for Mitigating Insider Threat: Analyses for India and Germany

“…Conflict can arise from the violation of boundaries, norms of group loyalty and commitment, reciprocal obligations, and trust. When dealing with conflicts or problems, highcontext, collectivistic societies focus on the social aspects and implications of a problem [Guess 2004]. According to Guess, they value security (of the group), are more risk-avoiding, and follow passive, collaborative, and avoidance strategies.…”

“…When employers operate outside the collectivistic norm, it may potentially impact employees' loyalty and therefore their actions. This is an example of conflict and the results of not conforming to societal norms of trust, loyalty, and reciprocal obligations [Guess 2004]. …”

“…In collectivistic cultures, behaviors tend to be governed by in-group norms with a focus on the collective group [Guess 2004]. When developing guidelines and scenarios for a formal insider threat program, organizations should consider the collectivistic nature of India to increase the chances of having suspicious behavior reported.…”

“…Individuals who have strong collectivistic tendencies may be hesitant to report suspicious behaviors of co-workers. Because trust and loyalty-including that between employees, and between the employer and its employees-are important characteristics of collectivistic cultures organizations should consider these factors when developing, deploying, and communicating their insider threat programs [Guess 2004]. …”

“…When resolving conflict, individualistic cultures tend toward assertive tactics and achieving justice. Research conducted on the influence of individualistic and collectivistic value orientation on decision-making processes revealed that people with individualistic values try to "prevent friction by controlling the situation through deep exploration and information gathering, are achievement-orientated, have more confidence in their personal decisions, and might be more decisive and risky than people in collectivist cultures in their decisions" [Guess 2004]. …”