PERSONAL INITIATIVE AT WORK: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EAST AND WEST GERMANY.

TLDR

Personal initiative, akin to entrepreneurship and organizational spontaneity, was compared between East and West Germany. The study hypothesized that differences in initiative stem from occupational socialization—especially work control and complexity—rather than selection effects. The authors used a representative longitudinal design in East Germany and a cross‑sectional design in West Germany. Lower initiative was observed in East Germany, with work control and complexity influencing changes, supporting socialization explanations and refuting selection effects.

Abstract

Personal initiative, a concept akin to entrepreneurship and organizational spontaneity, was compared in East and West Germany. Differences were hypothesized to be the results of occupational socialization, particularly of work control and complexity, rather than of a selection effect. A representative longitudinal study was conducted in the East and a cross-sectional study in the West. Lower initiative at work was found in the East; control and complexity affected changes in initiative. The results speak for socialization and against selection.