The Misconstruction of Hofstede's Uncertainty Avoidance Dimension: The Fallacy of Ecological Operation without Construct Validity at the Individual Level

Abstract

ABSTRACTUncertainty avoidance (UA) is a key cultural dimension with high relevance for international marketing. Hofstede constructed UA at a national level from the variables stress, rule orientation, and employment stability. Using the 2010 European Social Survey (N = 42,964; 27 countries), we aim to empirically cross-validate the aggregation of these three variables into one categorical bipolar dimension looking at construct validity, reliability, interrater agreement, and a pairwise comparison on the ranked country means with Ryan REGWQ. Alas, the three variables do not exhibit even minimal internal construct consistency, which makes any ecological aggregation at a higher country level meaningless. We therefore recommend not using Hofstede's UA for international marketing decisions.