Cultural transition in a kibbutz industry from clan to hierarchical control attributes

This article describes changes in a kibbutz factory as an outcome of social change in the kibbutz community and in Israeli society. The study estimates the cultural transformation in the specific kibbutz industry and analyzes the transition from its original clan culture to a Weberian hierarchic structure. The findings serve as a basis for comparing the impact of cultural change in various kibbutz industries and other types of enterprises as well. When founded, the plant operated according to socialist values: Equity, democracy, rotation among managers and familial features. From the 1980s, when the kibbutz underwent privatization, its factory also shifted away from strict socialist principles. After a financial crisis in the 1990s, the factory experienced a period of decline and finally closed. Later, a private individual from outside the kibbutz bought and reopened the factory, drastically changing its organizational culture as the business became a stratified hierarchic organization.