Hofstede's Dimensions Of National Culture Research Articles

A Literature Review on the Relationship Between Hofstede’s National Culture Framework and Occupational Safety

According to data released by ILO, 340 million occupational accidents leading to economic losses, injuries, and deaths occur annually. In the literature, national culture, whose importance gradually increases with the working environment increasingly multicultural, was indicated as one of the factors that affect occupational safety. In this study, 20 articles examining the relationship between national culture and occupational safety over Hofstede's national culture dimensions were identified. These studies were reviewed in terms of the safety factor they examined, the method used, the sector and the results obtained. In addition, the studies were discussed in detail in terms of the effect of national culture on occupational safety. Accordingly, safety performance and safety attitudes were the most studied safety dimensions, questionnaires were the most used method and construction, aviation, oil and gas, and shipping sectors were the most examined sectors. Most of the studies were identified to be in favour of the negative effect of IDV on occupational safety, the negative effect or ineffectiveness of MAS, and the positive effect of UAI and LTO. However, there was a total disagreement about the impact of PDI. This study is expected to provide a better understanding of the national culture and occupational safety relationships, thereby guiding decision-makers in policy development and regulation related to occupational safety.

How National Culture Influences the Speed of COVID-19 Spread: Three Cross-Cultural Studies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 222 countries and territories around the globe. Notably, the speed of COVID-19 spread varies significantly across countries. This cross-cultural research proposes and empirically examines how national culture influences the speed of COVID-19 spread in three studies. Study 1 examines the effects of Hofstede's national cultural dimensions on the speed of COVID-19 spread in 60 countries. Drawing on the GLOBE study (House et al., 2004), Study 2 investigates how GLOBE cultural dimensions relate to the speed of the pandemic's spread in 55 countries. Study 3 examines the effect of cultural tightness in 31 countries. We find that five national cultural dimensions - power distance, uncertainty avoidance, humane orientation, in-group collectivism, and cultural tightness - are significantly related to the speed of COVID-19 spread in the initial stages, but not in the later stages, of the pandemic. Study 1 shows that the coronavirus spreads faster in countries with small power distance and strong uncertainty avoidance. Study 2 supports these findings and further reveals that countries with low humane orientation and high in-group collectivism report a faster spread of the disease. Lastly, Study 3 shows that COVID-19 spreads slower in countries with high cultural tightness.

What determines a country's proactiveness during a pandemic?

What determines a country's proactiveness during a pandemic? The answer to the question lies the focus of this article. This study attempted to determine the extent to which Hofstede's national cultural dimensions are associated with a country's proactiveness. Proactiveness is about acting in advance for the desired outcome(s). The present study accounted for the country's proactiveness as the number of tests conducted per thousand people in the initial phase of the pandemic to prevent an outbreak. For this, data from 64 countries was used and found that cultural dimensions such as power distance, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance influence a country's proactiveness in the pandemic outbreak's initial phase. Low power distance, low masculinity, and high uncertainty avoidance are related to increased proactiveness. National cultural dimensions explain approximately 66% of the variance in proactiveness. The study findings suggest that national culture influences a country's efforts during the pandemic, implying the need to consider the country's cultural orientation for the effective design and implementation of preventive measures. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

한국⋅일본문화와 베트남 관광수요의 인과성― Hopstede의 국가문화차원이론을 중심으로 ―

The purpose of this study is to investigate the causality between national culture and international tourism demand. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, an empirical analysis was conducted on the causality between Korean and Japanese culture and Vietnamese tourism demand based on the Hofstede National Cultural Dimensions. Prior to the empirical analysis, Korean and Japanese culture were compared and analyzed based on the Hofstede's six cultural dimensions, and Cultural distance representing cultural differences between countries was measured. Korean culture and Japanese culture showed the greatest difference in cultural dimensions of masculinity and individualism. As a result of measuring the cultural distance between Korea and Japan, which are tourism destination countries, and Vietnam, the country of origin for tourists, it was found that Korean culture is closer to Vietnamese culture than Japanese culture. In this study, based on the gravity model, the effect on tourism demand in Vietnam visiting Korea and Japan was analyzed by setting GDP and exchange rate as an economic factor and cultural distance as a cultural factor. As a result of the analysis, it was found that all the variables used in this study model had a valid effect on the demand for Vietnamese tourism visiting Korea and Japan. n this study, cultural distance variables, which were a major concern, were found to have a negative (-) effect on the demand for Vietnamese tourism visiting Korea and Japan. In other words, it can be estimated that the farther the cultural distance is, the more negatively it affects tourism demand. In particular, cultural distance variables, which are cultural factors, were estimated to have a greater influence on tourism demand in Vietnam than economic factors such as GDP and exchange rates. These results can be interpreted that for Vietnamese tourists visiting Korea and Japan, culture is an important factor in choosing tourist destinations, and culturally similar destinations are selected.

The roles of national culture in affecting quality management practices and quality performance - multilevel and multi-country analysis

PurposeThis study investigates the role of national culture on the implementation and effectiveness of quality management practices. Specifically, the authors examine the dual roles of two of Hofstede's national culture dimensions (individualism and indulgence) in driving the implementation of people management practices and in moderating the relationship between people management and product quality performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors’ dataset combines a survey of 976 firms from 22 countries with Hofstede's national culture index. A multi-level analysis, at firm and country levels, is used for investigating the interplay between two dimensions of national culture (individualism and indulgence) on people management practices and product quality performance.FindingsThe authors' findings show the negative relationship between indulgence (at country level) and people management practices (at firm level) while individualism (at country level) strengthens the relationship between people management and product quality performance (at firm level). Furthermore, the finding shows that the joint interaction between individualism and indulgence (at country level) moderates the relationship between people management and product quality performance (at firm level) where the relationship is strongest when individualism is high and indulgence is low.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the interplay between national culture and management practices is important for managers in making decisions on the practices managers should implement under different cultural contexts to gain the expected outcomes.Originality/valueThe authors' results challenge the universalist view that suggests that quality management practices (in this case people management practices) can be applied in any context effectively to achieve high product quality performance by showing that facets of national culture influence the implementation and effectiveness of people management practices and performance. The results also provide a fresh perspective on the role of indulgence, given that it is the newest dimension in Hofstede's framework. The authors also extend previous studies which commonly only examine the main and not interactive effects of different dimensions of national culture.

Consumer Lifestyle Forming Under the Influence of National Culture

Research Question: This paper examines the influence of femininity and collectivism as a dimension of Serbian national culture on activities, interests and opinions, i.e., consumer lifestyle components. Motivation: Consumer lifestyle is largely shaped by the effects of the culture to which consumers belong. Starting from the relevant Kotler & Keller (2017) consumer behaviour model that demonstrates the previously given fact, as well as identified research gap related to investigating the influence of Hofstede's national culture dimensions on activities, interests and opinions as lifestyle components, the study gives useful insights into the importance of knowing and respecting cultural differences when defining marketing strategies that aim to shape or influence a particular consumer lifestyle. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing a new idea for developing a research framework that could be used in cross-cultural or consumer behaviour studies. Idea: The basic idea of this study is to empirically test the relationship between national culture dimensions and consumer lifestyle components. The study was conducted using collectivism and femininity as independent variables, and activities, interest and opinions, i.e., lifestyle components as dependent variables. Data: Empirical research was conducted on a sample of 251 consumers from central Serbia using a survey method during July and August 2020. Tools: Processing of primary data was performed using statistical software SPSS 20 and AMOS 20 utilizing descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings: The study first confirms the presence of collectivism and femininity as Serbian national culture dimensions, and then indicates the existence of a statistically significant effect of observed national culture dimensions on consumer lifestyle components. Related to this, results indicate the existence of a statistically significant effect of femininity on activities and opinions, while collectivism determines only activities as a lifestyle component. Contribution: The paper provides an analysis of national culture influence on lifestyle as an important sociological determinant of consumer behaviour and also provides practical implications for marketers.

The role of market and product category characteristics in local versus foreign language branding in Latin America

PurposeThis paper explores which market and product category characteristics could influence the use of foreign language brand names (i.e. whether a brand uses a foreign language versus local language brand name) in some of the largest Latin American countries.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses are tested using 880 brands from 39 product categories and nine Latin American markets using a hierarchical logistic regression.FindingsResults revealed that foreign language brand names are more likely to be used in product categories related to local infrastructure, high-tech and global community. In contrast, local language brand names are more likely to be used in product categories associated to subscriptions. Findings also suggest that Hofstede's national cultural dimensions are significant factors. Finally, the results revealed that foreign language brand names are more likely to be used in markets with a low level of foreign language proficiency.Originality/valueThis paper shows the importance of considering market and product category characteristics and their potential influence on local versus foreign language branding in Latin America – an ignored issue in previous research.

Reclaiming the heterogeneity of the Arab states

PurposeThis paper addresses the clustering of several Arab states on Hofstede's national culture dimensions and its implications for international firms targeting the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. It is imperative to distinguish the region's various national cultures, in order to enable enhanced segmenting strategies. The authors argue that reexamining the Arab states' national cultures can provide interested firms with a better understanding of their differences and similarities, so as to appropriately adjust their products and services to better serve their consumers.Design/methodology/approachHofstede's Values Survey Module 2013 (VSM 13) questionnaire is employed. In total, 1400 surveys were disseminated to all the Arab states, 200 for each country.Findingsfind evidence that national cultural differences do exist for Arab states and discuss implications toward international firms expanding in the region.Originality/valueEmpirical contributions include the dissemination and translation of Hofstede's national culture survey, the VSM 13, on seven Arab states: Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon, Iraq, Libya and Egypt. Second, the VSM 13 survey measured the Arab states on two more dimensions which had not been previously measured before the present study's investigation. Last, the theoretical contribution of the present study offers empirical evidence that the MENA region's national culture profiles differ on all dimensions, and as such its findings are seen as an extension and validation of Hofstede's national culture theory.

Patient enablement after a consultation with a general practitioner-Explaining variation between countries, practices and patients.

BackgroundPatient enablement is a concept developed to measure quality in primary health care. The comparative analysis of patient enablement in an international context is lacking.ObjectiveTo explain variation in patient enablement between patients, general practitioners (GPs) and countries. To find independent variables associated with enablement.DesignWe constructed multi‐level logistic regression models encompassing variables from patient, GP and country levels. The proportions of explained variances at each level and odds ratios for independent variables were calculated.Setting and ParticipantsA total of 7210 GPs and 58 930 patients in 31 countries were recruited through the Quality and Costs of Primary Care in Europe (QUALICOPC) study framework. In addition, data from the Primary Health Care Activity Monitor for Europe (PHAMEU) study and Hofstede's national cultural dimensions were combined with QUALICOPC data.ResultsIn the final model, 50.6% of the country variance and 18.4% of the practice variance could be explained. Cultural dimensions explained a major part of the variation between countries. Several patient‐level and only a few practice‐level variables showed statistically significant associations with patient enablement. Structural elements of the relevant health‐care system showed no associations. From the 20 study hypotheses, eight were supported and four were partly supported.Discussion and ConclusionsThere are large differences in patient enablement between GPs and countries. Patient characteristics and patients’ perceptions of consultation seem to have the strongest associations with patient enablement. When comparing patient‐reported measures as an indicator of health‐care system performance, researchers should be aware of the influence of cultural elements.

Manufacturing network integration and culture: an institution-based view

PurposeIn pursuit of increased competitiveness, global manufacturers often seek tighter integration among the plants in their production networks. However, this is a challenging task because plants are dispersed across multiple institutional environments. Although the literature provides abundant evidence of how formal institutional environments affect the integration among plants, little is known about the role of the informal institutional environment – such as culture. In this study, the authors investigate the relationship between different dimensions of culture and manufacturing network integration.Design/methodology/approachThe authors combine survey data from the most recent International Manufacturing Strategy Survey with secondary data that capture cultural dimensions. They then analyze the responses from 581 assembly plants in 21 countries obtained from the survey using a multilevel regression model.FindingsThe study results show that plants located in masculine and long-term-oriented national cultures are associated with lower levels of integration with other plants. The results for the other four Hofstede dimensions of national culture were not statistically significant. At the level of organizational culture, the authors found that a collaborative plant environment positively relates to higher levels of network integration. They did not find statistically significant evidence for the relationship between cultural or geographical distance and network integration.Practical implicationsThis research provides managers with practical insights into the types and combinations of cultural environments that affect the integration of plants in a global network. This knowledge is useful for informing effective integration strategies and tactics.OriginalityThe authors provide new, empirical evidence of the relation between the informal institutional environments of a plant and its integration in a manufacturing network. Drawing on an institution-based view, they contribute to the literature on manufacturing networks by discussing and testing empirically the role of national and organizational culture in network integration.

The impact of national culture on hotel guest evaluation – A big data approach

AbstractThe study utilized Hofstede's national cultural dimensions as the theoretical framework to examine the impact of national culture on guests' evaluation of hotel experience. Unlike previous studies which investigate the role of nationality by merely identifying differences between nations, this study analyzed different dimensions of cultural distance between the destination country and a guest's home nation. Using a big data approach, 25,480 guests from five countries reviewed 1,533 Parisian hotels on value, room, location, cleanness, and service. The results revealed that cultural distance dimension of masculinity, individualism, long‐term orientation, indulgence, and uncertainty avoidance significantly influence different aspects of hotel ratings.

Socio-cultural factors explaining technology-based entrepreneurial activity: Direct and indirect role of social security

Nurturing technology-based ventures requires consideration of societal factors besides economic factors. This study aims to analyze the direct effect as well as moderation effect of social security on technology-based entrepreneurial activity. Research hypotheses are tested through panel data analysis. National level data on 45 countries for 8 years (2006–2013) are obtained from multiple sources, including Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, World Competitiveness Yearbook, Hofstede's national culture dimensions, and so forth. The results imply that social security, as it is known, has a negative relationship with the overall rate of entrepreneurial activity. However, social security has a positive effect on the share of technology-based entrepreneurial activity. In addition, the positive impact of social security shows a gradual decline as individualism increases. Our findings provide solid empirical evidence on the relationship between social security and entrepreneurial activity, which was ambiguous in the previous studies. The research examines the interaction effects between social security and national culture for the first time. These are expected to provide a practical insight for policy makers seeking to promote entrepreneurial activity at the national level.

Is culture related to strong science? An empirical investigation

National culture is among those societal factors which could influence research and innovation activities. In this study, we investigated the associations of two national culture models with citation impact of nations (measured by the proportion of papers belonging to the 10% and 1% most cited papers in the corresponding fields, PPtop 10% and PPtop 1%). Bivariate statistical analyses showed that of six Hofstede's national culture dimensions (HNCD), uncertainty avoidance and power distance had a statistically significant negative associa-tion, while individualism and indulgence had a statistically significant positive associationwith both citation impact indicators. The study also revealed that of two Inglehart-Welzel cultural values (IWCV), the value survival versus self-expression is statistically significantly related to citation impact indicators. We additionally calculated multiple regression analyses controlling for the possible effects of confounding factors including national self-citations, international co-authorships, invest-ments in research and development, international migrant stock, number of researchers ofeach nation, language, and productivity. The results revealed that the statistically significant associations of HNCD with citation impact indicators disappeared. But the statistically significant relationship between survivals versus self-expression values and citation impact indicators remained stable even after controlling for the confounding variables. Thus, the freedom of expression and trust in society might contribute to better scholarly communication systems, higher level of international collaborations, and further quality research.

Cultural Patterns of Information Source Use: A Global Study of 47 Countries

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between national culture and information source use (ISU) on a global level. A secondary analysis was carried out on three different data sets. They were (a) country‐level data on ISU from World Values Survey (2005–2009); (b) country‐specific mean scores of Hofstede's national culture dimensions (HNCD) of individualism (IDV), power distance (PDI), time orientation, uncertainty avoidance (UAI), masculinity (MAS), and indulgence (IVR); and (c) measures of wealth. The analysis showed the importance of three national culture dimensions of PDI (the way people of a nation interact with authorities), IDV (the degree of centrality of person or groups in a country), and IVR (the agreeableness of joy and happiness in a country) for explaining the cross‐cultural differences of ISU. The findings were explained through HNCD, and four cultural patterns of ISU were identified. However, further research is required to better understand the complex relationships of cultural factors, ISU, and other societal variables.

Social impacts of music festivals: Does culture impact locals' attitude toward events in Serbia and Hungary?

There is growing interest among academics in examining the impacts of festivals on host communities. This paper constitutes novel research in that it applies the Festival Social Impact Attitude Scale (FSIAS) to two large-scale music festivals of Exit (Serbia) and Sziget (Hungary). Furthermore, it explores the moderating effect of Hofstede's national cultural dimensions on residents' perception of the impacts of these festivals on their communities. The study identifies the underlying dimensions of their social impacts and reveals how the cultural dimensions of the two different nations relate to resident perception of the impacts of the festivals. The results reveal a six-factorial substructure that represents two main (positive and negative) dimensions of large-scale music festivals and suggests that national culture significantly influences local perception of festival impacts on communities. The study concludes with the theoretical and practical implications of the study and advances future lines of research.

WHISTLEBLOWING IN CIVIL SERVICE: EXPERIENCE OF EUROPE

In this article it is examined the whistleblowing practice in civil service across Europe. The analysis lets to arrive at a conclusion that the whistleblowing mechanism unevenly functions in different parts of Europe: it is more widespread in East and South. It is indicated the following reasons for that: differences in institutional systems of society, models of civil service («continental» and anglosaxon) and sociocultural distinctions. Based on the Hofstede dimensions of national culture it is noted that cultural characteristics correlate with presence/absence of whistleblowing law and practice and effectiveness of this mechanism as a whole. Focusing on the role of whistleblowing in control of deviations of civil servants' behavior, it is supposed that the whistleblowing needs to be implemented in the Russian civil service. Obstacles to the whistleblowing design and implementation were also shown and some recommendations were given, taking into account sociocultural characteristics of the Russian society.

Cultural impact on the harmonisation of Russian Accounting Standards with the International Financial Reporting Standards

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore cultural impact on the harmonisation of Russian Accounting Standards with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).Design/methodology/approachA theoretical review established that differences still exist between the two sets of accounting standards. For decades, Russia was a socialist state of planned economy. Accounting was a tool of centralised control, and accountants had a job of gathering information for statistical purposes of the government and tax authorities. This led to the development of a “Soviet culture” mindset. Accountants saw their jobs as following prescribed rules. Accounting is seen by Hofstede as a field in which historically developed practices are more important than laws of nature. It is therefore expected that accounting rules and the way they are applied will vary among different national cultures. Hence, Gray tried to explore how Hofstede's national cultural dimensions may explain international differences in accounting. With respect to past research in this area, Nobes argued that “national accounting traditions are likely to continue into consolidated reporting where scope for this exists within IFRS rules”. Ding et al. investigated the role of a country's culture and legal origin as an explanation for the differences between local Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and IAS as they were in 2001. The study gathered 53 Russian accountants' attitudes towards reporting under harmonised Russian Accounting Standards through semi structured interviews.FindingsThe findings supported the theoretical view of a “Soviet culture” which has an impact on harmonisation of Russian Accounting Standards with the IFRS. Russia's high rankings in such cultural dimensions as power distance, uncertainty avoidance and collectivism have contributed to the development of certain preferences among Russian accountants. Those preferences were for statutory control, uniformity, conservatism and secrecy. Further findings indicate that accountants in Russia display reluctance to disclose financial information to the external users. One of the main reasons was found to be fear of disclosing too much information to competitors. Based on these findings, accountants in Russia display clear signs of preference for secrecy as opposed to transparency, as identified by Gray.Originality/valueOne of the contributions of this study is to examine current perceptions of Russian accountants towards financial reporting under new harmonised Russian Accounting Standards based on Rozhnova's study.

Key competencies for global project managers: a cross cultural study of the UK and India

Several studies have identified soft skills as the most important characteristics of successful project managers. Since management practices are known to be influenced by national culture, skills needed for successful project managers may be influenced by national culture. In this paper, we use Hofstede's national culture dimensions to investigate differences in project management skills across nations. Specifically, we review job postings to identify the key soft skill competencies of project managers from global perspectives using data from UK and India. The results indicate that national culture influences the project managers' soft skills required by organisations when implementing information systems. Further, the results show that there is no difference in terms of requirements for project management certification and personal characteristics across the two nations. However, India requires a more advanced level education than the UK and the UK requires more team skills than India.

International operations and sustainable development: Should national culture matter?

AbstractAs manufacturers around the world have seen an increasing number of opportunities to produce abroad and to source from low cost regions, they also have had to address growing pressure from non‐governmental organizations, consumer groups and even the population in general regarding sustainable development. This paper examines the conjuncture of these two trends by assessing the linkage between national culture and corporate sustainable development practices in 55 countries. The results suggest that two of Hofstede's national culture dimensions are linked to a higher degree of sustainable practices by corporations. In particular, a nation's high degree of individualism and uncertainty avoidance were both related to green corporatism, environmental innovation, fair labor practices and corporate social involvement. The results provide managers with another tool in making decisions about offshoring, global sourcing and international production expansion. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Corporate social disclosures in the context of national cultures and stakeholder theory

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate whether corporate social disclosure levels relate to national cultures.Design/methodology/approach – The sample consisted of 600 large companies from 22 countries. Cultural measures were applied: a measure for secrecy, as proposed by Hope et al. and a newly constructed measure for generic types of cultures (Gannon), both derived from Hofstede's national culture dimensions. Two other dimensions, masculinity and long‐term orientation, not part of secrecy and generic types of culture measures, were also tested separately.Findings – A number of significant statistical relationships between corporate social disclosures and cultural measures are identified. The results are consistent with the associations suggested by stakeholder theory and a country‐specific stakeholder orientation. It is concluded that corporate social disclosure levels are likely to be influenced by national cultures.Research limitations/implications – The results of Van der Laan Smith et...