THE CONCEPT OF EGO-ALTRUISM: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT (SEAM)

Abstract

The concept of ego altruism has emerged progressively from multiple intervention-researches carried out by ISEOR Research center according, to the SEAM methodology. A dynamic temporal analysis is necessary to better account for the fluctuations in the behaviors of all actors around the two poles of egocentrism and altruism. The originality of the concept comes from its dialectic character: each actor adopts a behavior partly guided by his/her personal interest, partly guided by the interest shown to others: colleagues, managers and companies. This concept, positioned in the paper towards to related theories, sheds light on individual and collective behavior. The major managerial implications of the concept concern the need for management actions to act in concert with the actors, on their ego-altruism “cursor”. Specific applications in human resources management are also presented: recruitment, integration, and competencies and skills development.