Collectivism, Individualism, and Cohesion in a Team-Based Occupation

Abstract Cultural individualism, collectivism, and cohesion have been researched primarily on a national level. This exploratory study used a grounded theory research design and ethnographic interview methodology to investigate these concepts on an occupational level. Integrating social influence and social identity theories, research questions were generated and examined empirically. Different groups of computer programmers were observed to display individualism or collectivism, indicating the possibility that individualism and collectivism might exist on an occupational level as well as on a national level. In addition, cultural cohesion was identified as a separate construct from collectivism. This research suggests a framework for further empirical study, along with a set of research propositions about individualism, collectivism, and cultural cohesion on an occupational level.

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