How can Cooperation be Fostered? The Cultural Effects of Individualism-Collectivism

Abstract

Studies oi cooperation are abundant in the social sciences, but organizational researchers are calling for integrating the numerous conceptions oi cooperation and meeting the new challenges of cultural difierences. In this article we develop a culturally contingent model of cooperation. We difierentiate various mechanisms from cooperative behaviors and theorize about how culture afiects behavioral cooperation through mechanism selection or modification. Delineating cultural effects, we derive patterned ditferences in the instrumental and expressive motives oi individualists and collectivists and propose six culturally contrasting cooperation mechanisms. Finally, we discuss directions ior future research and consider implications for practice. We thank Michael Bond, Chris Earley, Harry Hui, and John Wagner ior their comments on earlier versions oi this article.

How consumer acculturation influences interpersonal trust

“…For example, the individualism-collectivism dimension has been found to affect the nature of cross-cultural relationships (Chen, Chen, & Meindl, 1998;Kale & Barnes, 1992;Zhang, Beatty, & Walsh, 2008) and differences have been found in trust between individualist and collectivist cultures. Fukuyama (1995) compares trust in several societies and distinguishes high-trust versus low-trust cultures.…”

A Psychosocial Approach to Understanding Underground Spaces

“…The challenge for any future underground development is to identify these characteristics, recognize their effects on the community, and design the environment or the work practices to take these into account. For example, cooperation can be fostered within a company in different ways to take into account individualism or collectivism (Chen et al, 1998). In the current section, we discuss what these characteristics are, how they may impact the culture shared among the users of underground spaces, and potential interventions that could be employed to overcome these characteristics (see Table 1 for a summary).…”

Strategic Alliance, Information and Communication Technology, and Customer-Related Performance: The Role of Industry Characteristics

“…However, this suggestion has been contested by other researchers. For example, although Wong and Tjosvold (2006) contended that only collectivist cultures value integrated interaction among partners, Chen, Chen, and Meindl (1998) found that only individualists develop trust to enhance cooperation. Given that Indonesia is a country with a collectivist culture, the relationship between strategic alliance and ICT in Indonesia may be different from other countries; therefore, further investigation into whether the engagement in SA in Indonesia also leads to the use of communication technology, such as the use of the intranet and Internet, is warranted.…”