Mimicry, Hybridity, and the Ontology of Marginalization: A Critical Exploration of Post-colonial Organizing

This conceptual paper examines cultural marginalization as an ontological process involving hybridization and mimicry – two interrelated phenomena fueled by neocolonial modes of organizing that disempower local workers. We theorize how mimicry and hybridity interact dynamically in neocolonial contexts to shape the lived experiences of workers navigating vast power asymmetries and cultural differences – conditions that ultimately contribute to their marginalization. Drawing on Homi Bhabha's idea that postcolonial subjects operate from an inferior positionality, we place mimicry front and center as a key mechanism through which neocolonial cultural conformity is enforced. In this dynamic, workers from the Global South adopt non-local work norms and practices, and through repeated acts of mimicry, their professional identity becomes hybridized, resulting in partial or distorted representations of dominant cultural standards. These imperfect reproductions often manifest as exaggerated or flawed behaviors that reinforce, rather than alleviate, cultural marginalization. Our process model unpacks and situates these mechanisms within contemporary neocolonial work settings, contributing to Management and Organization Studies (MOS) by advancing mimicry as a critical – yet underexplored – dimension of cultural marginalization.