High Power Distance Countries Research Articles

Chief Executive Officer's national culture and bank risk‐taking behavior: International evidence

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of the national culture of the chief executive officers (CEOs) on their risk‐taking behavior in managing the banks, leading to banks' instability using a sample of 805 CEOs for 517 commercial banks in 33 countries from 2011 to 2017. Our empirical results confirm that bank risk‐taking behavior is negatively associated with the national culture of the CEOs who score high on the individualistic culture dimension. We also find that bank risk is likely to increase under the management of CEOs coming from high power distance countries. These results have largely remained unchanged across different settings.

Human resource management system strength in times of crisis

In times of crisis, employees turn to their managers for information and guidance. When managers share distinctive, consistent, and consensual information (also known as human resource management [HRM] system strength), it is easier for employees to make sense of the information and understand what is expected from them. To date, research has mainly focused on the outcomes of HRM system strength but has remained silent on its antecedents. Thus, we know little about the factors that influence managers when sharing information with their employees. Drawing on insights from research on HRM system strength, attribution, and cross-cultural fields, we suggest that the interaction between managers’ motivation (i.e., the severity of a crisis and an organization’s reputation) and their general beliefs (i.e., national cultural values: uncertainty avoidance and power distance) can explain HRM system strength in times of crisis. To test our hypotheses, we used HLM to analyze a three-level sample of 368 bi-weekly observations nested in 34 universities within 15 countries. Results show that the positive effects of crisis severity and an organization’s reputation on the employment of HRM system strength were stronger in high uncertainty avoidance countries, but weaker in high power distance countries. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

‘I am surrounded by people who are not motivated to do research’: harnessing collegiality for developing research active academics in a teaching-focused institution

ABSTRACT In order to achieve a university status, a teaching-focused private Malaysian University College promoted collaboration as an institution-wide strategy for developing the research capacity of staff. Enhancing collegiality was key to this strategy since resources for building research capacity were insufficient. Limited research exists on the role of collegiality in developing research capacities among academics, especially in the Global South and under such constraints. In Malaysia, a high-power distance country, difficulties arise in the practice of collegiality due to hierarchy and other socio-cultural expectations. In this qualitative study, insights into and experiences of this transition were sought in interviews with 18 academics. Collegial leadership and intellectual collegiality were identified as pivotal. Collegial leadership, which addressed the relationship between academics and institutional leaders, was lacking and participants mostly felt unsupported and disengaged under the dominant top-down, hierarchical, leadership style. Intellectual collegiality, which refers to the relationships participants had or wished to have with colleagues, was also challenging in that environment but held more promise. Actively promoting this through a process of assimilation and compromise could have been prioritised. Achievable and tangible research targets could have been negotiated so that becoming research active was a shared vision.

Modeling Millennials’ Adoption Intentions of E-banking: Extending UTAUT with Perceived Risk and Trust

The rationale of this research is to analyse and observe the factors that persuade millennials’ acceptance, adoption and usage of e-banking services in the banking industry in India. This research used primary data gathered from millennials in India. The sampling technique used is judgment sampling. Statistical analysis is conducted using structural equation modeling. The study’s findings indicate that effort expectancy, trust, social influence, performance expectancy and perceived risk are the factors that impinge on millennials’ behavioural intention of e-banking. The study suggests that effort expectancy, trust, social influence and performance expectancy posit a positive association with the e-banking behavioural intention of millennials in India. On the contrary, perceived risk is in a negative association with the e-banking behavioural intention of the millennials. The study makes a novel contribution to the literature with reference to India, being a pioneer attempt to investigate the factors that affect e-banking acceptance by millennials in Indian banks by extending UTAUT with perceived risk and trust. The present study contributes to the literature on e-banking adoption in India by highlighting that trust plays a crucial role in Indian millennials’ intention to adopt e-banking technology in high-power distance country like India.

Investigating tolerance of uncertainty, COVID-19 concern, and compliance with recommended behavior in four countries: The moderating role of mindfulness, trust in scientists, and power distance

Consumers' compliance with recommended behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic helps contain the spread of the virus and positively impacts marketplace outcomes. This study investigates the effect of consumers' tolerance of uncertainty on COVID-19 concern, compliance with recommended behavior, and panic buying intentions, across four countries (Germany and USA with a low power distance index; India and The Philippines with a high power distance index; N = 1272). We test the moderating role of power distance, mindfulness, and trust in scientists, among these relationships. Our results show that tolerance of uncertainty is negatively associated with COVID-19 concern, and COVID-19 concern is positively associated with compliance and panic buying intentions. In high power distance countries, tolerance of uncertainty is negatively associated with compliance. The negative association of tolerance of uncertainty with COVID-19 concern is more pronounced at low levels of mindfulness, and consumers with high COVID-19 concern and high trust in scientists demonstrated the highest compliance. Our findings reveal that stressing the importance of mindfulness, though positive overall, might not yield more compliance. Interventions to make consumers more concerned about the consequences of the pandemic and, at the same time, enhancing their trust in scientists, can lead to higher levels of compliance.

Innovation in Isolation? COVID-19 Lockdown Stringency and Culture-Innovation Relationships.

In a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, several countries implemented lockdown procedures to varying degrees. This article sought to examine the extent to which country-level strictness, as measured by the Government Response Stringency Index (2020), moderated the relationship between certain cultural dimensions and estimates of national innovation. Data on 84 countries were collated for Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (2015), and from the Global Innovation Index (2020). Owing to the robust relationships between innovation and the dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and individualism, these were used in moderation analyses. In general, power distance was inversely related to innovation, whereas individualism was directly related to it. Results indicated that collectivist and high power distance countries showed lower innovation, irrespective of levels of government stringency as a response to COVID-19. On the other hand, among individualistic and low power distance countries, lower innovation was associated with increased stringency (e.g., blanket restrictions on movement). Higher innovation was observed when such countries had a less severe government response. The dimension of uncertainty avoidance was not significantly associated with innovation at the country level. The implications of lockdowns on general innovation, its inputs, and outputs are discussed in the context of cultural dimensions and country-level policies.

Organizational Dehumanization and Emotional Labor: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Vietnam and the United Kingdom

This study examined cross-cultural differences in the relationships between organizational dehumanization and both job satisfaction and turnover intentions through emotional labor (i.e., surface acting). In particular, we expected that power distance, that is, a critical value usually discussed as part of the national culture, would mitigate the deleterious effects of both organizational dehumanization and surface acting on job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Data were collected from employees in two countries that differ in power distance, namely Vietnam ( N = 235) and the United Kingdom ( N = 334). First, we found that perceptions to be dehumanized by one’s organization were indirectly related to poor job satisfaction and more turnover intentions through surface acting, regardless of the country. Second, our results showed that the deleterious effects of both organizational dehumanization and surface acting on work-related outcomes were weaker in Vietnam (a high power distance country) than in the United Kingdom (a low power distance country). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed from the perspective of organizational dehumanization and emotional labor literature.

Demographic Correlates of Acculturation and Sociocultural Adaptation

A cross-sectional survey study of international (n=207) and domestic (n=173) students revealed, as expected, that international students had higher acculturative stress than domestic students, but this difference did not vary by marital status or length of stay. Also, women from high Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) and high Power Distance (PD) countries (vs. low UA and high PD countries) had greater social interaction acculturative stress (e.g., difficulty making friends). Thus, cultural background plays an important role in students’ adaptation and university counselors might need to collaborate with academic staff to help international students adjust. Female students from high UA and high PD countries may be especially in need of assistance to cope with acculturative stress.

Effects of antismoking messages from media on adolescent smoking: The roles of family, school, and culture

Considering the context of family, school, and culture, this paper examines the effectiveness of antismoking messages from public media in influencing adolescents' smoking intention. Specifically, it proposes a model of the impact of antismoking messages on teen smoking intentions, in which media and its interactions with family and school serve as antecedents, adolescents' perceived personal attractiveness and social attractiveness as mediators, and the country-level power distance as the moderator. Utilizing representative data from teenagers in 23 countries, the findings suggest that media exerts a significant impact on adolescents' smoking-related personal attractiveness and social attractiveness, which in turn, affect their smoking intention. In addition, the effectiveness of media is contingent upon the channels of family and school in such a way that the impact of media on adolescents becomes stronger if family and school also deliver antismoking messages. Furthermore, power distance across different countries provides an important context for the individual-level effects. Antismoking messages from media channels are influential in low-power distance countries but not in high-power distance countries; however, family and school channels have a stronger moderating effect in high- vs. low-power distance countries.

Understanding the effects of empowering, transformational and ethical leadership on promotive and prohibitive voice

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare the direct and indirect effects of transformational, ethical and empowering leadership (EL) on promotive and prohibitive voice behavior. The study also explores the mediating effects of leader-member exchange (LMX) and moderating effects of individual power distance orientation (IPDO) in the hypothesized model. The research conducted attempts to identify the most suitable leadership style for encouraging promotive and prohibitive voice behavior in service sector organizations in India.Design/methodology/approachPurposive and snowball sampling was used for data collection. Necessary condition analysis (NCA) was conducted to identify the most suitable style for encouraging promotive and prohibitive voice behavior. The results NCA were later verified using the structural equation modeling technique.FindingsResults of the study displayed the supremacy of EL style in promoting high-quality LMX and “promotive and prohibitive” voice over transformational and ethical leadership in Indian service organizations. Considering the overall results of the study, EL appears to be the most suitable style for encouraging promotive and prohibitive voice in a high power distance country like India.Research limitations/implicationsSelf-reported measures utilized in the study might have affected the findings and hence, should be interpreted with caution.Practical implicationsResearchers propose the adoption of EL style for encouraging promotive and prohibitive voice in Indian service sector organizations. The researchers also highlight the noteworthy impact of LMX and IPDO on promotive and prohibitive voice behavior, which makes it a point for the leaders to work toward lowering IPDO amongst followers to promote both promotive and prohibitive voice behavior for the growth of an organization.Originality/valueThe study is the first one to conduct a comparative moderated mediated examination to analyze the effects of transformational, ethical and EL in encouraging promotive and prohibitive voice behavior in Indian organizations.

Unlearning at the Individual Level: An Exploratory Case Study in a High Power Distance Country

This paper presents a case study that addresses factors that influence unlearning at the individual level. These factors were studied in a public sector organization located in a country characterized by high power distance. The case organization went through a change process of a daily routine caused by the introduction of a new technology. Data were collected through semi structured face-to-face interviews with shop floor agents in the state of Santa Catarina/Brazil. The results highlight the strong influence of the support of formal leaders on the unlearning process of individuals, suggesting that managers operating in a high power distance environment have to make bigger efforts compared to their counterparts in small power distance settings to promote unlearning processes of employees. The study advances the limited body of knowledge regarding unlearning in general and unlearning at the individual level in particular. It also stresses the influence of the national cultural dimension on the unlearning process of individuals.

Unlearning at the Individual Level: An Exploratory Case Study in a High Power Distance Country

This paper presents a case study that addresses factors that influence unlearning at the individual level. These factors were studied in a public sector organization located in a country characterized by high power distance. The case organization went through a change process of a daily routine caused by the introduction of a new technology. Data were collected through semi structured face-to-face interviews with shop floor agents in the state of Santa Catarina/Brazil. The results highlight the strong influence of the support of formal leaders on the unlearning process of individuals, suggesting that managers operating in a high power distance environment have to make bigger efforts compared to their counterparts in small power distance settings to promote unlearning processes of employees. The study advances the limited body of knowledge regarding unlearning in general and unlearning at the individual level in particular. It also stresses the influence of the national cultural dimension on the unlearning process of individuals.

HRM and innovation: the mediating role of market-sensing capability and the moderating role of national power distance

This paper examines the mechanism through which HRM practices promote firms’ innovation and how this relationship differs across cultures. Based on a data-set of 3755 firms from 13 countries, this study finds that in most countries employee-oriented HRM practices that dedicate attention to employee needs and interests are positively related to firms’ market-sensing capability, which is the capability to continuously learn about their markets. Market-sensing capability is in turn significantly related to firms’ product and process innovation. Cross-country examination further reveals that in high power distance countries employee-oriented HRM practices have a stronger positive effect than in low power distance countries. This study highlights the importance of HRM in supporting the use organizations make of external knowledge, which is critical for organizational innovation. Bringing an external perspective, we complement existing literature that emphasizes the role of HRM in integrating internal knowledge. Our cross-cultural findings contribute to the understanding of cultural contingency in HRM theories.

Managing CEO communication and positioning

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the practices of positioning Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and other top executives in the public sphere and approaches to manage their communication activities.Design/methodology/approach– A neo-institutional framework is used to explain the growth of CEO positioning in mediatisated societies. Research questions are derived from previous research and tested in a quantitative online survey with 512 heads of corporate communication in 21 countries across Europe and a qualitative survey with 42 communication leaders in 12 countries.Findings– The majority of companies position their CEOs and/or other top executives, but only a minority guide these activities through a sound management process. European CEOs are primarily presented based on their functional and ethical competencies. A minority of communication leaders prefer the uniform positioning of their CEOs in different markets; others argue for localised approaches. More companies in high-power distance countries have a specific communication strategy for their CEOs, compared to companies in low-power distance countries. Significant differences were also identified between listed and privately owned companies.Research limitations/implications– The study indicates the importance of CEO positioning from the perspective of corporate communication leaders. Investigating the expectations and experiences of CEOs themselves might provide additional insights.Originality/value– The paper presents the first large-scale study on CEO positioning, informs practitioners on the state of practice in Europe and identifies knowledge that can be integrated into education of business and communications students alike.

Opening the Black-Box between HRM and Firm Innovation: The Moderating Effect of Power Distance

This paper examines the mechanism through which human resource management (HRM) promote firms’ product and process innovation. Based on a dataset of 3,755 firms from 13 countries, we find that in most countries HRM practices that are supportive of employees and facilitate communications between management and employees enhance firms’ market-sensing capability, which in turn significantly contributes to product and process innovation. Furthermore, a cross-country examination reveals that in high power distance countries these HRM practices have a stronger positive effect than in low power distance countries. This study contributes to the HRM-innovation literature by demonstrating the necessity to incorporate markets as sources of knowledge. Furthermore, we join the discussion on the generalizability of management theories and contribute to the international management literature.

Obama's Bag: High Quality with No QC at Barrington

This case describes an American leather firm in China that has obtained a reputation for high productivity, excellent quality without QC inspectors, and very low turnover, in spite of offering only industry average compensation. Though many scholars and practitioners contend that “soft” management practices are ineffective in a high power distance country such as China, Barrington has successfully adapted programs such as “character first” and “open door policy” to create a high-involvement culture with a mix of control and commitment human resource management practices. Barrington now faces the need for rapid growth in a highly competitive, low entry barrier niche market, and management is concerned about how to maintain the intimate company culture. The teaching notes provide background for reviewing Barrington's challenges in evolving a healthy corporate culture and management-labor relationships within the context of China's unique historic, cultural and political contexts dynamics. Yet another perspective upon these challenges is given by briefly addressing the similar experiences of China's Asian neighbors, as well as the implications of some scholars' arguments that, even in the West, commitment HRM may be more prevalent in theory than in practice. After discussing Barrington's HRM practices of control, commitment, or hybrid, and their potential influence upon employee motivation and job satisfaction, students argue the pros and cons of the rapid expansion strategies that Barrington is considering to cope with intensifying competition and their potential influence upon the firm's company culture.

Workplace Guanxi: Its Dispositional Antecedents and Mediating Role in the Affectivity–Job Satisfaction Relationship

This paper examines dispositional sources of workplace guanxi and the mediating role of workplace guanxi on the affectivity and job satisfaction relationship. Data were collected from 808 respondents in multiple industries in a city in China’s northeast. The study found that both positive affectivity and negative affectivity have an effect on supervisor–subordinate guanxi and co-worker guanxi, which supports the proposition that workplace guanxi has a dispositional source. Supervisor–subordinate guanxi has a positive relationship with job satisfaction, although co-worker guanxi is not significantly related to job satisfaction. The research also found a mediating role of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on the affectivity and job satisfaction relationship, which suggests that supervisor–subordinate guanxi can extend the influence of affectivity to job satisfaction. Taken together, these results suggest that in a high power distance country such as China, supervisor–subordinate guanxi plays a more important role than co-worker guanxi in influencing job satisfaction. Theoretically, this study suggests the as yet unexplored possibility of dispositional antecedents of workplace guanxi and the role of workplace guanxi on the relationship between dispositions and workplace attitudes such as job satisfaction.

Bribery in International Business Transactions

Globalization leads to cross-border business transactions between societies with very different norms and regulations regarding bribery. Bribery in international business transactions can be seen as a function of not only the demand for such bribes in different countries, but the supply, or willingness to provide bribes by multinational firms and their representatives. This study addresses the propensity of firms from 30 different countries to engage in international bribery. The study incorporates both domestic (economic development, culture, and domestic corruption in the supplying country) and international factors (those countries’ patterns of trade and involvement in international accords) in explaining the willingness to bribe abroad. The propensity to provide bribes was the lowest when corruption was not tolerated in the multinational firms’ home countries, when the firms’ countries were signatories of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) anti-bribery convention, and when those countries traded heavily with wealthier nations. Further, these findings are maintained when controlling for levels of economic development and cultural values in the supplying country. In terms of culture, firms from high power distance countries showed a somewhat greater propensity for providing bribes in transactions with less-developed nations.

Influence of cultural dimensions on online interactive review feature implementations: A comparison of Korean and U.S. retail web sites

This study examines the nature of online consumer-generated communications, focusing especially on consumer reviews of leading retail Web sites in South Korea and the U.S. The current investigation adopts a two-pronged approach that utilizes both the user control concept and a cross-cultural perspective. The active implementations of consumer review features in Korean Web sites found in this study indicate that people in high power distance countries can adopt information technology rapidly to facilitate horizontal communication. As a result, we were able to support and expand the traditional view looking at the differences between Northeast Asian business culture and Western business culture.

Do Cross‐Cultural Values Affect Multisource Feedback Dynamics? The Case of High Power Distance and Collectivism in Two Latin American Countries

In this investigation we report results of a study designed to test the effect of cross‐cultural values on multisource feedback (MSF). With the participation of a sample of 501 managers from Venezuela and Colombia, two collectivistic and high power distance countries, results of the study indicate that cultural values distort the evaluations involved in MSF systems. Specifically, unlike reports of studies conducted in individualistic and low power distance environments, we found that (a) peers are the least discrepant source of information, (b) subordinates tend to provide the highest evaluations across feedback sources, and (c) there is an excessive emphasis on people‐oriented behaviors. Results are discussed in light of the conflict between our findings and those in existing literature. The practical implications of MSF in multi‐cultural workplaces are addressed.