Individualism-Collectivism and Co-operation: A Cross-Society and Cross-Level Examination

Abstract

We examined the influence of Individualism and Collectivism (I‐C) on co-operation in workgroups at three levels (societal, organizational, and personal). Data were from 153 American business students representing an individualistic society and 207 Vietnamese counterparts (a collectivistic society). Participants role-played managers for a simulated company with either a collectivistic or individualistic organizational culture in a computerized social-dilemma game. Societal cultures did not moderate the interaction effect between organization-level I‐C and person-level Individualism. Those high on individualism pursued their own gains in a dominantly individualistic organizational culture, yet behaving co-operatively in a collectivistic organizational culture. Interestingly, societal cultures moderated the effect of organizational culture on co-operation, such that the positive relationship between organization-level I‐C and co-operation was weaker in a collectivistic society (Vietnam) than in an individualistic society (the United States). The results indicate the need for an integrative, cross-level approach to better understand the determinants of co-operation across societies, organizations, and individuals.