Crab Syndrome in Business Life and Collectivist/Individualist Culture

Abstract

In the business world, employee competition can cause individual and organizational issues, potentially fueled by the \"crab syndrome,\" where individuals view others as obstacles to success. In a workplace, it is thought that the manifestation of crab syndrome in employees may be caused by the culture they have. This study aims to determine the impact of collectivist/individualist culture on the crab syndrome. In this study, the one of quantitative techniques, the survey technique was used. Data was collected through surveys from different public institution employees. The analysis revealed that the collectivist culture had a positive, but statistically insignificant effect on the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components of the crab syndrome. Based on this result, it can be said that having a collectivist or individualist culture does not significantly influence individuals experiencing the crab syndrome. Considering that businesses can be affected by the cultural environment they operate in, it can be stated that this phenomenon is independent of the culture (collective or individualist) prevalent in the society.