Intra-cultural Variation and Job Autonomy in 42 Countries

Abstract

Intra-cultural variation (ICV)—dispersion of individuals within a culture—is not often the focus of international management compared to the cultural mean. However, researchers in international management and multi-level modeling have acknowledged the theoretical uniqueness of ICV, and have pled for its use in theory building and empirical testing. Responding to such a call, this paper explains at the societal level the theoretical importance of ICV of job autonomy. It also demonstrates, using secondary data from 42 countries, that the ICV of job autonomy influences organizational and social outcomes beyond the cultural mean of job autonomy. Specifically, the cultural mean and ICV of job autonomy exert different effects on job satisfaction and life satisfaction. The effect of the cultural mean is positive and that of the ICV is negative. Moreover, the effect of the ICV is independent of and similar in magnitude to that of the cultural mean. Research implications for international management and multi-level research are discussed.