Researching managerial values: a cross-cultural comparison

Abstract

This study focuses on the outcome of acculturation on the personal value system of managers. Specific focus is placed on Chinese managers across different countries, taking into consideration the moderating influence of cultural heritage and national environment. The influence of culture is controlled by taking sampled Chinese managers across three countries: the Peoples' Republic of China (PRC), the United States of America (USA), and Singapore. Following the approach of past studies, our measures of Chinese personal value systems include integration, Confucian work dynamism, human-heartedness, and moral discipline. Results from a mail survey of 462 Chinese managers indicated significant differences among the managers in the three nations in all the measures. In particular, Singaporean Chinese managers displayed most dissimilar values with their PRC counterparts, while showing more common values with the American Chinese managers. The findings support the cultural convergence theory, which stipulates that through imperatives of industrialization and modernization, personal value systems of managers are likely to become increasingly similar.