Communal Organizational Culture as a Source of Business-Success Sustainability in Kibbutz Industry—Two Case Studies

Abstract

This article explored the source of the organizational success of two kibbutz factories. This stood in stark contrast with most kibbutz industries, which abandoned their cooperative and communal attributes and became hierarchical and bureaucratic. This movement away from founding principles was the result of the massive privatization process that the kibbutz movement had been undergoing since the 1990s. This research followed the case study approach, with a comparative analysis of the two kibbutz firms. The author interviewed fifty respondents and supplemented the data with document analysis. The findings in the two factories reflected their ability to assimilate capitalist features into their organizational culture while preserving much of their kibbutz nature, expressed in various cultural features. These factories preferred kibbutz members over outsiders and maintained much of the original organizational democracy and equality among managers and workers. In addition, the firms demonstrated concern for the well-being of all the workers. This mixture of expertise and professionalism, along with internal democracy, equity, and communal concern, could be an example for other factories seeking business success. One important theoretical implication of this research is that an organization whose members identify with their organizational roots can better achieve long-term business success. Finally, this article offers practical implications for managers seeking to design a strong organizational culture.