The influence of national culture on organizational behavior: why Fanakalo in the South African mining industry is a bone of contention

Abstract

The subject area of organizational behavior offers up an important body of literature which focusses in on the influence of national culture on individuals functioning within global organizations. The central premise of this body of literature is that national culture has a direct and unwavering influence on the ways in which organizations are managed, and individuals within those organizations behave. Although not refuting this contention, this paper works to unpick two of its inherent baseline assumptions in pointing to the fact that it should not be taken for granted that national cultures are static, or superior to industry and organizational cultures. This is done by exploring the phenomenon of Fanakalo as organizational cultural element within the South African mining industry empirically, by means of in-depth interviews, as qualitatively categorized according to the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) cultural dimensions. The findings of the paper work to conclude that national culture should be seen as a dynamic, ever-changing aspect, which is not always the dominant influence vis-à-vis organizational and industry culture.