The Pijao Indians in the Colombian Andes: a legacy for organizational democracy

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the organizational and managerial practices of the Pijaos community as a segmentary organization located in the Colombian Andes, providing a cultural legacy through the effective management of power and authority, while establishing a bridge to organizational democracy (OD).

Design/methodology/approach

A review of books, papers and historiographies was conducted to collect historical data on the Pijaos.

Findings

It was found that the social organization of the Pijaos was devoid of power ambitions and abuses of authority, thanks to characteristics inherent in their economic system, parenting style, socio-political structure and authority based on rotation of leaders rather than supreme delegation under an inheritance scheme.

Originality/value

Management literature has not considered the ancestral Amerindian communities of the southern continent to rescue their organizational practices and relate them to the new management trends, as organizational democracy, which not only operates based on flat structures but also considers the rotation of individuals holding positions of power.

Citation

Perilla Maluche, R.B. (2025), "The Pijao Indians in the Colombian Andes: a legacy for organizational democracy", Journal of Management History, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-12-2023-0134