Reconsidering the exploration of power distance:an active case study approach

Abstract

In this paper, we present what we call an “active case study” and we theorize speci1cally on the relevance hereof for an exploration of power distance (as conceptualized by Hofstede (Culture’s Consequences:International Di5erences in Work-Related Values, Sage, Beverley Hills, CA, 1980)). As Hofstede conceives it, the notion of “power distance” enables an understanding of the predominant ideas about inequality prevalent in a (national) culture, which in turn infuse work relationships. An active case study approach—as we elucidate in the paper—implies an acknowledgement on the part of those organizing the research of the manner in which their intervention might a5ect the way “respondents” experience their work relationships. We suggest that our proposed active case study approach o5ers novel possibilities for exploring power distance and should be added to the repertoire of approaches used to examine this in organizational life. We develop our argument in this regard by o5ering a detailed account of the application of this approach to a Taiwanese organization (the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau in Taiwan).