National differences in intrinsic and extrinsic work values

Abstract

In this article, we develop a new approach to further understand cross-national differences in work values by examining the effects of post-industrialization, an important social institution, on work values. We hypothesize that post-industrialization is positively related to intrinsic work values and negatively related to extrinsic work values. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, we control for national culture and test our hypotheses on 30,974 individuals from 25 countries. Results showed partial support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we find that post-industrialization is negatively related to both extrinsic and intrinsic work values. We discuss the counterintuitive findings for intrinsic work values. However, the study provides support for our fundamental assertion that social institutions, and in our case, post-industrialization, are important in understanding cross-national differences in work values. We discuss the implications of our study for future research and for practicing managers.