A Non-Essentialist Model of Culture: Implications of Identity, Agency and Structure within Multinational / Multicultural Organizations

Abstract

This paper, opens, briefly clarifying paradigms of essentialism and non-essentialism (also known as anti-essentialism) and shows evolving dimensions of dominant models of culture: Hofstede (5), Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (7) and GLOBE (9) – referred to as the paradigm of 5-7-9 cultural dimensions in this paper – 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 paper 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.

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