Hofstede's Framework Research Articles

글로벌 웹 콘텐츠의 문화 특성 연구 - 한국, 미국, 일본, 중국 4개국을 중심으로

온라인 콘텐츠에 대한 사용자의 역할이 커지고 있는 흐름 속에서, 사용자의 의식구조, 욕구, 취향을 반영하는 콘텐츠에 대한 문화 특성 연구가 필요한 시점이다. 다양한 콘텐츠가 활발하게 생산, 소비되는 글로벌 웹 포탈에서 콘텐츠를 중심으로 하는 문화 특성을 살펴보는 것은 사용자를 이해하는 좋은 기회가 될 수 있기 때문이다. 이에 본 논문은 문화적 요소를 연구하는 대표 모델인 Hofstede와 Schwartz의 프레임워크를 기반으로 특정 국가에 따라 선호하는 콘텐츠가 있는지를 살펴보고, 선호의 차이가 곧 문화적 차이로 연결되는지 분석하고자 한다. 이를 위해 분석을 위한 콘텐츠 유형을 도출하고, 유형별로 문화 모델을 접목하여 국가에 따른 콘텐츠 문화 차원 지수를 도출한다. 접목한 문화 차원 모델은 양방향성이 추가된 확장형 모델로서 향후 콘텐츠 제공자나 생산자에게 새로운 아이디어를 제공할 것으로 기대된다. When the user's role is getting more important in contents communicated online, we must know that the cultural trait of content that is reflecting user's mental model, needs and tastes. An attempt to study about cross-cultural characteristics focused on contents of global website give us the best chance to understand user. This paper takes a look if there are any linkages between certain country and its preferable contents and analyze that whether this preference is result from the cultural differences or not. This analysis is based on Hofstede's and Schwartz's framework. So, this content analysis examines cultural influence on the contents of global website in Korea and U.S and Japan and China. The results provide CIC(Cultural Index of Content) which is extended framework adding interaction. We expect that it can help service providers and content creators to have some new ideas.

Potential Problems in People Management concerning Information Security in Cross-cultural Environment — The Case of Brazil

This paper discusses the potential problems due to cultural differences, which foreign companies may face in Brazil concerning information security. Top 3 investing countries in Brazil, namely US, Netherlands, and Japan are examined. Potential problems concerning the management of people in information security are developed by using Geert Hofstede's framework and based upon the authors' experience in global business activities. To evaluate the magnitude of potential of problems, a recently proposed measure called Level of Potential (LoP) is adopted. A survey was conducted in Brazil to evaluate the severity of potential problems and the practicability of LoP. To examine the practicability of LoPs, the logical LoPs are compared with their surveyed severities. Our results show that LoP can predict problems to a certain extent in the Brazilian business environment. The results reveal that Japanese companies may face problems least, while the Dutch ones face the difficulties most. The problem of “Using previous company's confidential information” is a problem with the highest severity among the potential problems since “teaching others” is encouraged by employees' belief.

National culture and national adoption and use of mobile telephony

The study investigates the effects of national culture on the five-year adoption growth rates of mobile telephones using both Hall's cultural classifications and Hofstede's multicultural framework. Results indicate that polychronic cultures are more conducive to the adoption of mobile telephones, as hypothesised. Individualism and uncertainty avoidance were also found to be negatively related to mobile adoption growth rates. Findings from the study provide insights into the role of national culture in explaining differences in the adoption rates and will help global marketers formulate more effective marketing and communication strategies by accommodating for cultural influences during the adoption/diffusion process.

Consequences of Power Distance Orientation in Organisations

The cultural milieu has a profound influence on employee behaviour in the organisations. In an increasingly diverse workplace and in a more globalised business world, managers, to be effective, need to appreciate behavioural implications of cultural values that employees, organisations, and societies hold. One of the most cited frameworks to understand behaviour of people across the national cultures was proposed by Hofstede (2001). In this paper, we take a look at the behavioural implications in the organisations of power distance (status differences), which is one of the five cultural dimensions in Hofstede's framework. Specifically. we explore the impact of power distance orientation on employee participation, nature of job descriptions, organisational communication and decision-making, discipline and control, deference to senior employees, management development, and organisational structuring and adaptation. We conclude that: (1) employees in a high power distance context are unwilling to participate in decisions and are content with their managers making decisions and giving them instructions, which they follow passively. (2) jobs are narrowly and tightly specified, giving the employees limited discretion. (3) communication takes place vertical downwards, with no or little horizontal communication. Overall communication is anemic. A large communication gap exists between superiors and their subordinates because it is hard for the subordinates to air their views. (4) power distance gives managers unlimited power and control over subordinates. Employees, in turn, have an unquestioning, submissive attitude. (5) older and senior employees get respect from junior employees not because of former's competence but because of age and long tenure in the organisation. (6) in a high power distance culture, decisions are made by a few at the top autocratically Further, because of little resistance from lower level employees, decisions are made and implemented faster in a high power distance organisation. However, because of lack of input from lower level employees as well as poor communication and information sharing, quality of decisions is poorer in a high power distance organisation. (7) high power distance organisations are prone to unethical behaviour. This is because top managers have not to justify or defend their decisions to lower level employees or to the larger organisation. Unethical behaviour gets covered up or goes undetected. And (8), in a high power distance organisation, managers tend to micromanage and even minor decisions go to the top. Thus, higher level managers are inundated with routine decisions.

A test of the validity of Hofstede's cultural framework

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the reliability and validity of Hofstede's cultural framework when applied at the individual consumer level.Design/methodology/approachMBA students and faculty in the behavioral sciences were asked to review Hofstede's cultural instrument and to indicate which dimension (power distance, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity) each particular item was intended to reflect. Subjects were also asked to respond to each item, thus indicating their underlying values. The reliability of each dimension was computed, and the data were factor analyzed to determine whether the various items loaded in a manner that is consistent with Hofstede's framework, thus providing evidence as to discriminant and convergent validity.FindingsThis study presents evidence that Hofstede's cultural instrument lacks sufficient construct validity when applied at an individual level of analysis. Overall, a majority of the items were lacking in face validity, the reliabilities of the four dimensions were low, and the factor analyses did not result in a coherent structure.Research limitations/implicationsIt is hoped that these findings will eventually lead to a reliable and valid measure that captures the richness of the various cultural dimensions and can be deployed at the individual and sub‐group levels of analysis. Such a measure would be valuable for market segmentation, and for understanding why consumers from diverse regions and cultures react differently to various marketing tactics.Originality/valueGiven the diversity of the world marketplace, it is essential that marketers have a robust measure of culture so that our understanding of consumer behavior can keep pace with a rapidly changing environment.

Combining Multicultural Management and Diversity Into One Course on Cultural Competence

There can be little debate that culture—the multiple characteristics and backgrounds that shape individuals’ and organizations’ identities, perceptions, attitudes, and behavior—strongly influences the success of business enterprises today. Intergroup conflict constantly threatens the ability of both domestic and global firms to operate efficiently, cooperatively, and fairly. Did a merger between a Japanese-owned firm and an American-owned firm fail because of inferior products and inappropriate pricing or because the managers were personally incompatible and the organizations’ operating styles too disparate? Did a company’s efforts to advance women into management fail because the women were not up to the challenge or because the work environment undermined their performance or perceived performance? Business educators cannot simply teach undergraduate and graduate students that cultural differences matter. They must equip students to understand how cultural differences work and thus how to turn cultural competence into a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, undergraduate and graduate courses in multicultural management (also called “cross-cultural management”) tend to fall short of this goal. We identify cultural management skills required for success in today’s business environment, then examine gaps between those target competencies and current teaching in multicultural management, and the source of those gaps in the courses’ conceptual foundations. We suggest improving these courses using concepts from, among other places, “domestic” diversity management courses. In fact, we propose to improve both types of courses by merging them into a unified course designed around the border-erasing concept of cultural competence. WHAT MANAGERS NEED TO KNOW

Management innovation and cultural adaptivity in international online banking

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is both to determine Citibank's response to cultural diversity in the dynamic, highly competitive global market for online banking facilities and services, and whether or not international online bank web sites are constructed in a manner sensitive to the culture of their host country.Design/methodology/approachThis paper takes the perspective of managing innovation for shareholder wealth maximization where consumer behavior is mediated through the technology acceptance model (TAM) belief constructs. The incorporation of variables reflecting Hofstede's four‐factor framework in 45 country‐specific web sites operated directly by Citibank are compared with those variables in 189 web sites of indigenous banks.FindingsThe results suggest that culture has an important influence on international online banking web sites and that Citibank has adapted the form and content of its web sites to local cultural influences in a manner comparable to that of the indigenous banks. Further, the role of each of Hofstede's four cultural dimensions is seen to influence the form and content of online bank web sites. This finding confirms earlier research about the role of culture in the TAM.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study are constrained by the extent to which the Hofstede framework actually captures the relevant dimensions of culture and the extent to which the measures of web site cultural attributes used in this study are valid. Further, the results are also limited by the fact that 23 of the Citibank web sites were located in countries for which Hofstede data were not available and by the small size of this study.Practical implicationsSuccess in the burgeoning and highly competitive online banking environment requires bank management to adapt their web sites to local cultural conditions. Small differences in language, the portrayal of individuals, and the background used in the site can significantly impact the acceptance of this distribution channel by the target population. This study confirms the importance of the cultural values of individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance with respect to consumer acceptance of online banking.Originality/valueThese findings provide guidance for bank managers as they expand their online banking operations into the international arena. They also support research confirming the importance of culture in determining international consumer behavior within the TAM.

Exploring the dynamics of customer value in cross‐cultural business relationships

PurposeA recent development in customer value research is building theory that can help the field go beyond understanding what customers currently value to exploring how customers' perceptions of value change. This paper seeks to extend this emerging theory of customer value change to a global context by conceptually exploring the role of national culture as a key moderator of this phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachThe literature examining the role of national culture in business is reviewed for insights pertaining to buyers' tendencies for change in general and for clues suggesting how customers' embedded values in various cultural contexts might undergo value change in systematically different ways. Specifically, this paper employs Hofstede's cultural framework to explore how the lens of national culture might influence the value change process.FindingsBased on this integrative review, several links between the cultural dimensions in Hofstede's framework and value change theory are found to be supported by the literature. These connections suggest a moderating role for national culture, given the tendency for cultural factors to shape buyers' interpretation of environmental change drivers and their resulting feelings of tension which research shows are closely associated with customers' desired value changes from suppliers.Originality/valueThis paper offers several theoretical propositions and conceptual models for future empirical validation. These new insights into an emerging theory of customer value change can provide the building‐blocks for a number of future research directions designed to help managers exercise strategic foresight for changing global markets.

Global internet use and access: cultural considerations

Purpose – This study seeks to investigate the role and effect of national culture on internet use and access across countries and whether this is moderated by socio‐economic factors, specifically levels of education.Design/methodology/approach – Hofstede's multidimensional framework serves as the conceptual basis for the study. Hierarchical multivariate regressions are conducted to test the hypothesized effects using a large‐scale secondary dataset representing socio‐economic structure and the penetration of the internet for 58 countries.Findings – The results provide supporting empirical evidence linking nearly all of Hofstede's cultural dimensions to nations’ internet penetration either as main effects or as interactions with countries’ educational levels.Research limitations/implications – Limitations include the use of secondary data for a limited number of countries. Only the adoption and usage of one technological innovation – the internet – was investigated and only one social‐economic variable was...

Conceptualising the link between national cultural dimensions and B2B relationships

PurposeThe main purpose of the paper is to examine the possible links between some selected dimensions of national culture and business‐to‐business (B2B) relationships.Design‐methodology/approachSince this paper proposes a conceptual model, a qualitative approach is taken to gather required information mainly through a search of the literature.FindingsIt is argued that the effect of trust on B2B cooperation would be stronger in the collectivist culture than in the individualist culture. Furthermore, the negative consequence of power would be relatively insignificant in the collectivist culture because collectivist network tends to maintain harmony. It is possible to use power coercively in a high‐power distance culture because in such a culture, cooperation is assumed to be power induced. However, opportunism is likely to raise a barrier to reap the benefits that cooperation generates in such cultures.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, only two of the six dimensions originally proposed by Hofstede in 1980 are adopted for this paper. So, the proposed conceptual model only represents a partial conceptualisation of the Hofstede's framework. Secondly, this paper included only the relationship among three constructs (trust, power, and cooperation) drawn from the relationship paradigm reported in the literature. Therefore, the paper conceptualises a partial view of possible exchanges.Originality/valueThis paper helps broaden an understanding of relationships involving power, trust, and cooperation and can be considered an advancement in research because of its approach to study relationships between the above variables in an international setting proposing culture as having moderating effects on those relationships.

A quarter century of Culture's Consequences: a review of empirical research incorporating Hofstede's cultural values framework

Since Geert Hofstede's Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values (Sage, 1980) was published, researchers have utilized Hofstede's cultural values framework in a wide variety of empirical studies. We review 180 studies published in 40 business and psychology journals and two international annual volumes between 1980 and June 2002 to consolidate what is empirically verifiable about Hofstede's cultural values framework. We discuss limitations in the Hofstede-inspired research and make recommendations for researchers who use Hofstede's framework in the future.

Crossvergence and cultural tendencies: A longitudinal test of the Hong Kong, Taiwan and United States banking sectors

Abstract Cultural attitudes in two, sometimes assumed similar, regions of Greater China (Hong Kong and Taiwan) were compared and examined within the context of an often assumed, dissimilar region (the United States) for the banking industry during 1985 and 2000. The potentially dynamic nature of national culture, as opposed to a more static approach that is often assumed in management research using a Hofstede framework, is examined. The evidence of relative sample convergence, particularly in relation to collectivism and uncertainty avoidance, along with select, individual region static positions for cultural dimensions provide support for the crossvergence theory [Ralston, D., Holt, D, Terpstra, R., Kai-Cheng, Y., 1997. The impact of national culture and economic ideology on managerial work values: a study of the U.S., Russia, Japan and China. Journal of International Business Studies 28, 177–207]. Pragmatically the research suggests organizational policies and practices should be updated for maximum effectiveness in relation to crossverging realities and that culture is not static. Academically the research cautions use of approaches that rely on dated rankings for cultural indicators as a basis for current examination since relative cultural positions among regions and nations are also not static.

Advertising appeals and cultural values in television commercialsA comparison of Hong Kong and Korea

PurposeThe objective of this study is to investigate to what extent advertising appeals in Hong Kong and Korea are different, and whether the differences between the two countries can be attributed to the differences in nations' cultural characteristics. Hypotheses are drawn in relation to the two dimensions of Hofstede's framework – uncertainty avoidance and masculinity/femininity.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 803 prime‐time television commercials from the two countries was analyzed using Cheng and Schweitzer's classification of advertising appeals.FindingsThe results show that femininity is an important variable for explaining differences in advertising between Hong Kong and Korea. Both Hong Kong and Korean advertising show no difference in values of high uncertainty avoidance, although an appeal of high uncertainty avoidance was used more often in Korean advertising. However, values of low uncertainty avoidance are more prevalent in television commercials in Korea, a country of high uncertainty avoidance, than Hong Kong, a country of low uncertainty avoidance. It is also found that the correlation between product categories and cultural values is society‐based.Originality/valueThis study reveals that Hofstede's framework does explain cross‐cultural differences between Hong Kong and Korea and provides empirical evidences for the impact of value paradoxes on advertising in both countries, suggesting that Hofstede's framework and the value paradoxes provide a possible theory for testing the relationship of the society and its advertising content within a culture as well as across cultures.

Cultural Differences, Information and Code Systems

This paper explores an alternative way of framing information systems research on the role and impact of national culture. It argues that the widely accepted structural framework of Hofstede reduces interpretation to a simplistic categorical description which in many cases ignores differentiation within cultures. The alternative model suggests, that national culture can be better understood by seeking out the dominant codes that frame the discourse pervasive in a culture and understanding how that discourse affects the obvious social codes of ritual, custom and behavior and the textual codes which express the nature of that culture. This framework is applied to two different case studies—one in New Zealand and one in Thailand—to demonstrate its applicability.

An Empirical Study on the Impact of Culture on Audit-Detected Accounting Errors

This study draws on the theoretical framework of Hofstede's model to examine the impact of different cultural dimensions on audit-detected accounting errors. Based on the accounting errors detected in 80 foreign enterprises of different cultures operating in China, we test the direct effect of the cultural dimensions, power distance and individualism, on the magnitude of accounting errors. The results indicate that power distance and individualism have significant explanatory power in describing the differences in the relative magnitude of errors. Centralization of power in a few individuals, management override of controls, and less competent personnel are important attributes of a large power distance enterprise that contribute to larger errors. Enterprises of an individualist culture, which are characterized by higher personnel turnover and more reliance on accounting numbers for individual performance evaluation, are found to have larger errors. These results should be useful for auditors in assessing the likelihood of material errors from a cultural perspective.

Culture and conflict: Japanese managers and Thai subordinates

This article presents the findings of research on the application and adaptability of Japanese management practices in a different cultural context, Thailand. The national characteristics of Japan and Thailand based on Hofstede's conceptual framework, Japanese human resource management approaches and the specific Japanese business practices and social concepts were analyzed. Possible conflicts between the Japanese management and Thai staff based on the different perceptions of the Japanese management style were assessed. Data were collected from ten Japanese manufacturers using a sample of 100 employees (50 Japanese managers and 50 Thai subordinates from the same group of companies). The results shows an interesting pattern of Japanese managers adapting more to Thai culture and as well as Thai subordinates adapting to the Japanese style of management and human resource system.

Work-Related Values of Managers and Subordinates in Manufacturing Companies in Germany, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, and the US

ABSTRACT This paper is based on a survey of over 4,000 respondents from ten manufacturing companies in two Western countries (the US and Germany), and four countries of the former Soviet Union (Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic). The study is using Hofstede's framework and instrumentation, and explores work-related culture dimensions of managers and employees in the ten companies. The study results point to within and between country variation in cultural dimensions, differences between managers and their subordinates, and the influence of demographic factors on culture. This is one of the first studies to address work-related cultural values in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic, and one of few studies that allow inferences about the degree of variation within and between countries of the former Eastern Bloc and the countries of the West.

Learning Styles of Undergraduate Business Students: A Cross-Cultural Comparison between the US, India, and Korea

An understanding of learning styles is important both for social scientists and for those interested in improving educational environments for students. This study uses Hofstede's cross-cultural framework and Kolb's experiential learning model to examine the cross-cultural differences in the learning styles of students. Using survey data from a total of 623 undergraduate business students from three countries (US, Korea and India), we find that the learning styles of students differ across the three cultures. The findings indicate that students from the US prefer reflective observation and concrete experience, while students from India prefer active experimentation and abstract conceptualization. In contrast, students from Korea prefer reflective observation and abstract conceptualization.

Gender portrayal in Hong Kong and Korean children's TV commercials: A cross‐cultural comparison

This study examined gender portrayal in a sample of 345 television commercials broadcast during children's programmes in Hong Kong and Korea using content analysis. Literature suggests that Hong Kong culture differs from Korean culture on the dimension of Masculinity/Femininity proposed by Hofstede. The differences between the two countries provide a valid test of theory, and suggest hypotheses about the gender portrayal in children's advertising. The results of the study showed, contrary to expectations from Hofstede's framework, that the gender portrayal of central characters and the level of gender stereotyping in Hong Kong commercials was similar to those of Korean commercials. Possible explanations include the emerging homogeneous youth market using a standardized advertising strategy, and the rising concern for women's rights in Korea.

Leadership styles and work‐related values of managers and employees of manufacturing enterprises in post‐communist countries

AbstractThis survey‐based study used the theoretical framework of full‐range leadership developed by Bass and Avolio, the cultural value framework of Hofstede, and two additional cultural value dimensions—fatalism and paternalism—to compare leadership styles and work‐related cultural values of more than 2,900 managers and employees in nine manufacturing firms in Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgystan. Significant differences among the four countries existed on several dimensions of cultural value and leadership style, as well as in cultural values between managers and nonmanagerial employees. This is one of the first studies to address cultural value dimensions in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic; the author draws inferences about the relationship between culture and leadership and discusses implications of this relationship for HRD practices in the former USSR. The author presents implications for Western HRD practitioners working with managers and employees from the former USSR.