Islamic work ethics and individualism in managing a globalized workplace: does religiosity and nationality matter?

Muhammad A. Alam*, Nadeem Talib

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The integration of work ethic theories with religious beliefs and Hofstede's national culture typology implies that Islamic work ethics peculiarly support social symbiosis and collectivism. On the contrary, present globalized workplace is pragmatically driven by individualism. To sort out these concerns, this cross-cultural study links Islamic work ethics to individualism at globalized workplace and examines the moderating influence of employee religiosity and nationality. A stratified sample of 307 employees from leading multinational corporations operating in United States, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and Pakistan participated in the study. The study found a strong positive relationship between Islamic work ethics and individualism, and no significant interaction effect of employee nationality and religiosity was observed. Together, the findings suggest that Islamic work ethics advocate a great deal of individualism, and can benefit the multinational corporations in managing their diversified workforce with a view to get maximum advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)566-582
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Management and Organization
Volume22
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • globalization
  • individualism
  • Islam
  • nationality
  • religiosity
  • work ethic

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