Applying Alterity or Otherness as an Organizational Tool: The Case of Avocado-the New Green Gold of the Colombian Economy

Anthropology offers a new perspective of study to other disciplines such as business and management, becoming a relevant field to face challenges in a global context. Hence, the following research proposes a tool for organizational management based on organizational Alterity or Otherness. In the first phase, we review some gaps in the study of anthropology in a management context. Then we provide an overview of the alterity, beginning with its origins in antiquity, and passing through its current conception. After that, we conduct a literature review about alterity in organizations. We follow a sequential mixed method approach that begins with a bibliometric analysis and ends with content analysis. In this phase, we define, typify, and understand how to analyze alterity or otherness in organizations. Indeed, based on these findings, we propose a tool for business management based on organizational alterity or otherness. Then, we verify our device in the case of Colombian avocado exportation. To show that we can transform an external threat into an opportunity, understanding organizational other. This tool offers a chance for a company's internal context, understanding collaborators' behavior, and the external context of a corporation-specifically for marketing and international business practitioners-characterizing their market.