The Fit Between National Cultures, Organizing and Managing

Abstract

We hypothesize a fit between national cultural environment of the organization and contingency variables subject to managerial discretion. Such a hypothesis implies that national culture is a contextual variable in contingency theory and uses empirically derived culture contingency theory (Hofstede, 1980) to argue that national cultural characteristics affect management’s choices as to how to organize and manage people. A tightly matched population of 4400 city managers from 14 Western countries constitutes strong material for the analysis as cultural and behavioral variables were directly analyzed. Findings suggest that bureaucratic tools of management are positively correlated with uncertainty avoidance and masculinity and negatively correlated with individualism. In addition, relationship management is negatively correlated with power distance but positively correlated with individualism. Normative aspects of management are negatively correlated with uncertainty avoidance. We derive a number of important implications for organization design theory and practice.