Equity or equality? a conceptual examination of the influence of individualism/collectivism on the cross‐cultural application of equity theory

Abstract

Conceptually examines the effect of individualism/collectivism on the tenets of equity theory. It is the view of the authors that the equality principle of reward allocation in collectivistic cultures is not a separate method of distribution, but a subset of the theoretically grounded equity principle appropriately integrating the cross‐cultural individualism/collectivism value. To support this position, the authors reduce equity theory to its fundamental elements and illustrate how in dividualism/collectivism separately affects each component. The derived model and subsequent discussion should provide researchers with a theoretical frame work for future empirical studies.

Citation

Fadil, P.A., Williams, R.J., Limpaphayom, W. and Smatt, C. (2005), "Equity or equality? a conceptual examination of the influence of individualism/collectivism on the cross‐cultural application of equity theory", Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 17-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527600510798114