Command Culture and Generation Z’s Egalitarian Expectations: A Conceptual Analysis of Intergenerational Cultural Conflict in the Indonesian National Police

Abstract

Background: The entry of Generation Z into the Indonesian National Police (Polri) has brought more egalitarian work values, such as participatory communication, transparency, and competency-based recognition, which have the potential to clash with a command culture that emphasizes hierarchy, discipline, and obedience. Although both topics have been extensively studied separately, there remains a limited body of research that conceptually explains the mechanisms of their interaction in giving rise to intergenerational cultural conflict. Objective: This study aims to conceptually analyze the relationship between command culture and Generation Z’s egalitarian expectations within the Polri environment, as well as to develop a conceptual framework explaining the mechanisms underlying the emergence of intergenerational cultural conflict. Method: This study employs a conceptual paper approach using a narrative literature review method. Literature was collected from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis Online, and Google Scholar for the period 2016–2025, and then analyzed using thematic synthesis and conceptual analysis. Key Findings: The findings shed light that intergenerational cultural conflict is influenced by value incongruence between command culture and Generation Z’s work values. The five primary sources of conflict identified include orientation toward authority, communication patterns, reward systems, orientation toward technology, and leadership expectations. These conflicts have the potential to affect organizational communication, trust in leadership, cross-generational collaboration, innovation, and the organization’s ability to adapt. Contribution: This study offers a conceptual framework that integrates command culture, Generation Z’s work values, and intergenerational cultural conflict into a single analytical model. This framework positions value incongruence as the primary mechanism linking command culture to intergenerational cultural conflict and serves as a foundation for empirical research on the Indonesian National Police (Polri) and other command-based organizations.