Hybrid harmony: The role of socio-technical system for cross-cultural behavioral variations to profile adversarial resistance

This study presents a review of 85 peer-reviewed publications of cross-cultural variations in consumer behavior. The objectives of this study are to systemize conceptual and methodological approaches to research of cross-cultural variations in consumer behavior; to present an extended understanding of consumer behavior in related industries; to identify conceptual and methodological gaps and empirical issues in these studies; and by fulfilling the objective of this paper to develop an agenda guiding further research in a systematic manner. This literature review reveals the lack of a unified conceptual approach to defining cross-cultural variations and the absence of a unified terminology related to cross-cultural research. It also highlights methodological areas susceptible to common method bias, which hinders the establishment of equivalence in studies of cross-cultural variations in consumer behavior. This review accentuates the “cross-cultural variations” concept in consumer behavior research, covering both the differences and similarities that are the subject of cross-cultural studies. Furthermore, the current study outlines relevant contributions for theoretical and potentially managerial implications based on the study’s insights.

People’s habits, their aspirations in life, the roles they fill, how they relate to other people, their perception of things, the products they feel they need and the nature of their consumption patterns reflect, more or less, the influence of culture. This paper, therefore, examines the literature on the nature of nature of culture and cross-cultural variations in consumer behaviour. In this paper, we analyze the marketing implications of cultural differences and similarities that exist between the people of two or more nations. The review mainly examines some theories of culture, variations in cultural values, cultural variations in nonverbal communications and, finally, marketing implications of cross-cultural variations that exist between people of different nations. Key words: Cross-Cultural variations; Consumer behaviour; Marketing strategy

Recent studies argue that cross-cultural variation in human cooperation supports cultural group selection models of the evolution of large-scale cooperation. However, these studies confound cultural and environmental differences between populations by predominantly sampling one population per society. Here, we test the hypothesis that behavioral variation between populations is driven by environmental differences in demography and ecology. We use a public goods game played with money and a naturalistic measure of behavior involving the distribution of salt, an essential and locally valued resource, to demonstrate significant variation in levels of cooperation across 16 discrete populations of the same small-scale society, the Pahari Korwa of central India. Variation between these populations of the same cultural group is comparable to that found between different cultural groups in previous studies. Demographic factors partly explain this variation; age and a measure of social network size are associated with contributions in the public goods game, while population size and the number of adult sisters residing in the population are associated with decisions regarding salt. That behavioral variation is at least partly contingent on environmental differences between populations questions the existence of stable norms of cooperation. Hence, our findings call for reinterpretation of cross-cultural data on cooperation. Although cultural group selection could theoretically explain the evolution of large-scale cooperation, our results make clear that existing cross-cultural data cannot be taken as empirical support for this hypothesis.

Job satisfaction is a critical factor influencing employee motivation and organizational outcomes, yet its role as a mediator between leadership, organizational support, and work motivation remains underexplored, particularly in developing economies. This study aims to examine how job satisfaction mediates the relationship between leadership styles, organizational support, and work motivation through a systematic literature review of empirical studies published between 2015 and 2024. The review analyzed 17 peer-reviewed articles selected from academic databases using predefined inclusion criteria, focusing on empirical studies involving job satisfaction as a mediator. Findings reveal that job satisfaction consistently serves as a psychological bridge, linking leadership styles, such as transformational and transactional, and organizational support to enhanced employee motivation, commitment, and performance, particularly in Southeast Asian contexts like Indonesia and Malaysia. The review highlights diverse industry settings, including hospitality and public services, emphasizing the broad applicability of the mediation model. This study concludes that job satisfaction is a pivotal mechanism for translating organizational strategies into positive employee outcomes, offering a framework for future research to explore causal pathways and cross-cultural variations in organizational behavior.

Background: The current study was done to assess the cross-cultural difference in physical activity and sedentary behavior among girls from culturally, environmentally, and geographically diverse countries residing in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted among expatriate girls (N = 275), aged 9–16 years. Participants were from India (n = 65), Pakistan (n = 88), Egypt (n = 50), Sudan (n = 49), and other nationals (n = 23). They were randomly selected from different schools in Riyadh and their Body Mass Index (BMI) and screen time was assessed. Physical activity (PA) and leisure-time activity was assessed using Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) and the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GSLTPAQ) respectively. Results: Out of 275, 65.8% were active and 34.2% were insufficiently active as per the GSLTPAQ, and half of them were moderately active and only 22.2% were extremely active as per PAQ-C. No statistical significant differences in their BMI status, screen time, or the levels of PA among expatriate girls. Conclusions: This study shows that the expatriate female school children in Saudi Arabia demonstrated a similar pattern in their BMI, sedentary time spent, and PA levels.

Alloparenting, or the investment in young by individuals other than the biological parents, occurs among a wide array of insects, birds, and mammals—including humans. Human female reproduction is characterized by notable features that distinguish it from both the general mammalian pattern and that of apes. Here, we explore the evolutionary roots of these reproductive traits and situate them within the larger context of alloparental investment. We take a biocultural perspective incorporating life history theory, reproductive biology, and cross-cultural variation in child-rearing behaviors. Distributed childcare, long considered a hallmark of human evolutionary history, also has strong contemporary resonance around the world in a variety of ecological and social contexts. Alloparents, and their notable contributions, are central to what makes us (and our reproductive lives) human.

Van Lange et al. argue that variations in climate explain cross-societal variations in violence. We suggest that any approach seeking to understand cross-cultural variation in human behavior via an ecological framework must consider a wider array of ecological variables, and we find that income inequality and sex ratio are better predictors than climate of cross-societal variations in violence.

This conceptual article suggests that crosscultural variation in politeness behaviors, that is, differential culture‐specific norms for treatment of face, comprises an important dimension of crosscultural organizational behavior. The gentle and respectful handling of others' face is a vital social behavior in any cultural context. However, research shows that cultures have evolved differential norms for treating face. These differential norms are at the heart of many crosscultural communication problems. This article provides a conceptual framework explicating the above, reviews empirical literature on crosscultural variation of politeness norms, and suggests important implications for organizational theorists and for managers interested in crosscultural communication. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

As prescribed by the culture of natural science, theories of social psychology are essentially intraindividual mechanisms or information-processing structures that, when activated by stimulus conditions, determine cognitive and behavioral responses. Such theories are conceived to operate independently of the sociocultural context in which people exist. We argue that without being connected to the biology of the organism, or to features of the ecology or social structure that are common to humankind, there is no a priori basis for assuming such theories to be universal. Further, for theories to be universal, the meaning of the stimulus conditions has to be constant across cultures, but since culture is the ultimate source of meaning, we cannot take meaning constancy for granted. On the other hand, cross-cultural variations in social behavior may be "surface" expressions of deep structure norms that are universal. Finally, we examine universalistic conceptual frameworks and models, which provide dimensions along which cultural comparisons can be made, to suggest and test general hypotheses.

The study aimed to examine variations in the use of International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) diagnostic categories for mental and behavioural disorders across countries, regions and income levels using data from the online World Psychiatric Association (WPA)-World Health Organization (WHO) Global Survey that examined the attitudes of psychiatrists towards the classification of mental disorders. A survey was sent to 46 psychiatric societies which are members of WPA. A total of 4887 psychiatrists participated in the survey, which asked about their use of classification, their preferred system and the categories that were used most frequently. The majority (70.1%) of participating psychiatrists (out of 4887 psychiatrists) reported using the ICD-10 the most and using at least one diagnostic category once a week. Nine out of 44 diagnostic categories were considerably variable in terms of frequency of use across countries. These were: emotionally unstable personality disorder, borderline type; dissociative (conversion) disorder; somatoform disorders; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of alcohol; adjustment disorder; mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of cannabinoids; dementia in Alzheimer's disease; and acute and transient psychotic disorder. The frequency of use for these nine categories was examined across WHO regions and income levels. The most striking differences across WHO regions were found for five out of these nine categories. For dissociative (conversion) disorder, use was highest for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) and non-existent for the WHO African Region. For mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of alcohol, use was lowest for EMRO. For mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of cannabinoids, use was lowest for the WHO European Region and the WHO Western Pacific Region. For OCD and somatoform disorders, use was lowest for EMRO and the WHO Southeast Asian Region. Differences in the frequency of use across income levels were statistically significant for all categories except for mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of alcohol. The most striking variations were found for acute and transient psychotic disorder, which was reported to be more commonly used among psychiatrists from countries with lower income levels. The differences in frequency of use reported in the current study show that cross-cultural variations in psychiatric practice exist. However, whether these differences are due to the variations in prevalence, treatment-seeking behaviour and other factors, such as psychiatrist and patient characteristics as a result of culture, cannot be determined based on the findings of the study. Further research is needed to examine whether these variations are culturally determined and how that would affect the cross-cultural applicability of ICD-10 diagnostic categories.

Comparison is fundamental to evolutionary anthropology. When scientists study chimpanzee cognition, for example, they compare chimp performance on cognitive tasks to the performance of human children on the same tasks. And when new fossils are found, such as those of the tiny humans of Flores, scientists compare these remains to other fossils and contemporary humans. Comparison provides a way to draw general inferences about the evolution of traits and has long been the cornerstone of efforts to understand biological and cultural diversity. Individual studies of fossilized remains, living species, or human populations are the essential units of analysis in a comparative study; bringing these elements into a broader comparative framework creates a means of testing adaptive hypotheses and generating new ones. With this book, Charles L. Nunn intends to ensure that evolutionary anthropologists and organismal biologists have the tools to realize the potential of comparative research. Nunn provides a wide-ranging investigation of the comparative foundations of evolutionary anthropology in past and present research, including studies of animal behavior, biodiversity, linguistic evolution, allometry, and cross-cultural variation. He also points the way to the future, exploring the new phylogeny-based comparative approaches and offering a how-to manual for scientists who wish to incorporate these new methods into their research.

A Modeling Approach that Integrates Individual Behavior, Social Networks, and Cross-Cultural Variation

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Suicide notes (SN) are potentially valuable sources of information about the psychological states of the suicidal person. It was hypothesized that there was a significant relation between suicide rate and note-leaving rate and that the incidence of note-leaving was increased during prolonged economic recession. During 21 years (1981-2001) in Kobe, of a total of 18 558 violent deaths, 5161 were due to suicide (27.8%), with 3417 male cases (66.2%) and 1754 female cases (33.8%). For each year the annual suicide rates and note-leaving rates were calculated, and this represents the percentage of committed suicides in which SN were left, among all suicide victims. In spite of the prolonged economic slump, the note-leaving rate remained almost constant (23.4-36.2%). Pearson's correlation coefficient showed no significant correlation between suicide rate and note-leaving rates (r = 0.27, P = 0.23). The finding that the incidence of note-leaving remains constant despite increasing suicide rates may suggest that the reasons for suicide do not affect note-leaving. There are cross-cultural, ethnic, and racial variations in suicidal behaviors. Although this finding may be specific in Japan, further studies of SN are needed to help clarify the suicidal states of mind.

This paper reports on a theory-based empirical investigation of cultural considerations in the appropriation of affordances and on the development of technological intersubjectivity in a computer supported collaborative learning environment. Socio-technical affordances are "action-taking possibilities" and "meaning-making opportunities" in a socio-technical system relative to the capabilities of an actor. Technological intersubjectivity is a technology-mediated interactional social relationship between two or more participants. The basic premise of this research project is that social affordances of technologies vary along cultural dimensions. To empirically evaluate this premise, an experimental study was conducted. The experimental study design consisted of three independent groups of dyads from similar or different cultures (American-American, American-Chinese, and Chinese-Chinese) doing collaborative problem-solving in a knowledge-mapping learning environment. Participants interacted through an asynchronous computer interface providing multiple tools for interaction (diagrammatic workspace, embedded notes, threaded discussion). Based on theories of culture and empirical findings in cultural psychology documenting cross-cultural variations in behavior, communication and cognition, several research hypotheses were advanced. Statistical results show that members of different cultures appropriated the resources of the interface differently in their interaction, and formed differential relations with and impressions of each other. However, analysis of the individually written essays show no statistically significant differences in learning outcomes. Implications for technology enhanced learning are discussed.