A non-essentialist model of culture: Implications of identity, agency and structure within multinational/multicultural organizations

Abstract

This article, opens, briefly clarifying paradigms of essentialism and non-essentialism (also known as anti-essentialism) and shows evolving dimensions of dominant models of culture, namely, Hofstede (5), Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (7) and Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) (9) – referred to as the paradigm of 5-7-9 cultural dimensions in this article that tend to essentialize culture. This can lead to ethical concerns restricting the capacity of agency for choice and identity, which are necessary for the democratization of organizations. It then presents a model of culture within the paradigm of anti-essentialism, adapting the model presented by Nathan (2010), within the topic of multiculturalism based on Dilthey’s works on social interactionism and meaning in history, shows that the model can pave the way for the democratization of organizations and discusses the implications of organization culture in terms of agency, identity, and structure within multinational/multicultural organizations. This article concludes by encouraging further research, possibly within Critical Management Studies (CMS) along with qualitative research methods, to enhance the non-essentialist model of culture within organizational studies.