Major Cultural Differences Research Articles

Is Nordic Private Equity Different?

Most research on private equity is based on American theory, tested on American empirical data. Nevertheless, the private equity concept has gained a solid foothold in the Nordic region, especially in Sweden. This article analyzes whether American-biased assumptions prevail in the Nordic countries or if there might be other reasons for the concept to work so well there. The conclusion is that major cultural, economic, and political differences between the U.S. and the Nordic countries make it difficult to apply American theories and empirical findings to the Nordic region. <b>TOPICS:</b>Private equity, developed, in markets, legal/regulatory/public policy

Dumb Barter: A Seminal Form of Negotiation

Negotiation requires communication, but not necessarily verbal exchanges. Adjustments can be achieved incrementally by other means. This article will examine how some parties have managed to strike a deal in situations characterized by total distrust and even hostility, asymmetric power relations, major cultural differences, extreme logistical difficulties in reaching the place in which the trade is to be made, and several additional process risks by employing a type of bargaining known as “dumb barter.”This process presents a distinct paradigm with a specific and unique rationale. Sometimes called “silent trade,” it has been observed in many places (especially West Africa) for more than two millennia. It may well be the oldest form of trade negotiation and is still practiced in some parts of the world. An examination of this unlikely but real and effective process can also provide negotiation theorists with some useful insights into the fundamental nature of negotiation.

A Cross-Cultural Study on the Clothing Value between Korean and American College Students

The purpose of the study was to compare the culture and the clothing value between Korean and American college students, especially men. Also, this study was to analyze the culture effect on the clothing value. The survey was performed and 200 questionnaires were utilized for this study. The SPSS 12.0 was used to analyze the technical statistics like average, frequency, t-test, factor analysis, multiple regression analysis. The result showed, first, there were some 2 major cultural differences such as power distance and long-term orientation between Korean and American college men. Comparatively, Korean college men showed higher masculinity and lower power distance and long-term orientation. Second, there were differences in the clothing value aspect. Both of them considered the economic clothing value to be most important. Third, there were some differences in the clothing value because of the cultural differences. For Korean college men, there were masculinity and long term orientation that had an effect on the social and religious clothing values, however, for American college men, power distance, masculinity and long term orientation that had an effect on the social, religious, theoretical and economic values.

Integrating via networks: foreigners and others

The article analyses some general network mechanisms underlying the formation of social ties in order to argue that it is not only identity, cultural similarity or discrimination which creates clusters of people of the same ‘origin’ (in, say, friendship groups). Widely held assumptions about the logic underlying ethnic segregation are challenged and it is argued that migration itself leads to a re-organization of social networks which can produce marked separation of groups. Evidence is discussed from an Italian case of mass internal migration which has produced long-term (‘second generation’) effects in terms of stratification and schooling similar to many cases of international migration notwithstanding the absence of citizenship disadvantage and major cultural differences. This seems to illustrate marked network effects on many dimensions of ‘integration’.

The Diet, Obesity and Genes (Diogenes) Dietary Study in eight European countries – a comprehensive design for long‐term intervention

Diogenes is a Pan-European, randomized, controlled dietary intervention study investigating the effects of dietary protein and glycaemic index on weight (re)gain, metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors in obese and overweight families in eight European centres. The article is methodological in character, and the presentation of 'results' will be limited to baseline characteristics of the study populations included. A total of 891 families with at least one overweight/obese parent underwent screening. The parents started an initial 8-week low-calorie diet and families with minimum one parent attaining a weight loss of > or = 8%, were randomized to one of five energy ad libitum, low-fat (25-30 E%) diets for 6 or 12 months: low protein/low glycaemic index, low protein/high glycaemic index, high protein/low glycaemic index, high protein/high glycaemic index or control (national dietary guidelines). At two centres the families were provided dietary instruction plus free foods for 6 months followed by 6-month dietary instruction only. At the remaining six centres the families received dietary instruction only for 6 months. The median weight loss during the low-calorie diet was 10.3 kg (inter-quartile range: 8.7-12.8 kg, n = 775). A total of 773 adults and 784 children were randomized to the 6-month weight (re)gain prevention phase. Despite major cultural and dietary regional differences in Europe, interventions addressing effects of dietary factors are feasible with a reasonable attrition.

Communication with Saudis

People have different cultural characteristics that affect the way they do business. Using compelling ways to categorize major cultural differences, this paper helps the reader understand how different concepts of time, the relevance of status and power in shaping organizational structure, communication methods, and ways to conduct meetings and social gatherings, all influence how interactions with a specific culture in Saudi Arabia can be made effective.

Gambling for Gatorade: risk-sensitive decision making for fluid rewards in humans

Determining how both humans and animals make decisions in risky situations is a central problem in economics, experimental psychology, behavioral economics, and neurobiology. Typically, humans are risk seeking for gains and risk averse for losses, while animals may display a variety of preferences under risk depending on, amongst other factors, internal state. Such differences in behavior may reflect major cognitive and cultural differences or they may reflect differences in the way risk sensitivity is probed in humans and animals. Notably, in most studies humans make one or a few choices amongst hypothetical or real monetary options, while animals make dozens of repeated choices amongst options offering primary rewards like food or drink. To address this issue, we probed risk-sensitive decision making in human participants using a paradigm modeled on animal studies, in which rewards were either small squirts of Gatorade or small amounts of real money. Possible outcomes and their probabilities were not made explicit in either case. We found that individual patterns of decision making were strikingly similar for both juice and for money, both in overall risk preferences and in trial-to-trial effects of reward outcome on choice. Comparison with decisions made by monkeys for juice in a similar task revealed highly similar gambling styles. These results unite known patterns of risk-sensitive decision making in human and nonhuman primates and suggest that factors such as the way a decision is framed or internal state may underlie observed variation in risk preferences between and within species.

A Cross-Cultural Study on the Clothing Value - Focusing on Korea and the United States -

This study is to compare cultural characteristics and the clothing value between Korean and American college women. Also this study is to analyze the culture effect on the clothing value. The cultural characteristics is explained by Hofstede's five Cultural Dimensions- power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. 800 questionnaires, were utilized for this study. The SPSS 12.0 was used to analyze the technical statistics like average and frequency, 1-test, , factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. Also the LISREL 8.0 was used to Perform a confirmatory factor analysis. The result showed, first, there were 5 major cultural differences between Korean and American college women. Comparatively, Korean college women showed higher uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation, and lower power distance, individualism and masculinity. Second, there were differences in the clothing value aspect. Korean college women considered the aesthetic clothing value to be most important, however, American college women considered the economic clothing value to be most important. Third, there were some differences in the clothing value because of the cultural differences. For Korean college women, there were 5 major cultural differences that had an effect on the aesthetic, social, religious and economic clothing values, however, for America college women, the 5 major cultural differences had an effect on the aesthetic, social, and religious values but no effect on the economic value.

Premature Ejaculation: Results from a Five-Country European Observational Study

ObjectivesTo characterize premature ejaculation (PE) in five European countries using intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and the Premature Ejaculation Profile (PEP). MethodsThis 8-wk, multicenter, observational study enrolled men ≥18 yr of age and their female partners. Clinicians diagnosed PE using the DSM-IV-TR criteria and at least moderate, subject-reported, ejaculation-related personal distress or interpersonal difficulty. The PEP was administered at baseline and weeks 4 and 8. Partners measured IELT; the average stopwatch-measured IELT for each 4-wk period was calculated and compared with the man's screening-estimated IELT. Relationships between individual PEP measures and IELT were assessed with path analysis. ResultsPE was diagnosed in 201 of 1115 men. Findings were similar to those in a similarly conducted US study. Mean IELT was lower in the PE versus the non-PE group (3.3 vs. 10.0min, respectively), but substantial overlap was observed. Men with PE and their partners reported significantly worse control over ejaculation, ejaculation-related personal distress, satisfaction with sexual intercourse, and ejaculation-related interpersonal difficulty than men without PE and their partners. Path analysis showed that perceived control over ejaculation had a significant effect on ejaculation-related personal distress and satisfaction with sexual intercourse; IELT had an effect on control over ejaculation, no direct effect on satisfaction with sexual intercourse, and a small direct effect on ejaculation-related personal distress. ConclusionsNo major cultural differences existed between EU and US men with and without PE and their female partners. These results emphasize the importance of the PEP measures, especially perceived control over ejaculation, in characterizing PE.

Cross-cultural differences in children's choices, categorizations, and evaluations of truths and lies.

This study examined cross-cultural differences and similarities in children's moral understanding of individual- or collective-oriented lies and truths. Seven-, 9-, and 11-year-old Canadian and Chinese children were read stories about story characters facing moral dilemmas about whether to lie or tell the truth to help a group but harm an individual or vice versa. Participants chose to lie or to tell the truth as if they were the character (Experiments 1 and 2) and categorized and evaluated the story characters' truthful and untruthful statements (Experiments 3 and 4). Most children in both cultures labeled lies as lies and truths as truths. The major cultural differences lay in choices and moral evaluations. Chinese children chose lying to help a collective but harm an individual, and they rated it less negatively than lying with opposite consequences. Chinese children rated truth telling to help an individual but harm a group less positively than the alternative. Canadian children did the opposite. These findings suggest that cross-cultural differences in emphasis on groups versus individuals affect children's choices and moral judgments about truth and deception.

East Meets West: A Cross‐Cultural Comparison of Charismatic Leadership Among Canadian and Iranian Executives

ABSTRACT This study first develops an empirically based Western charismatic leadership profile. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the profile is compared with a profile of Iranian managers. The results demonstrate that despite major cultural differences in the two countries, there are core similarities in the profiles across the two cultures. The Canadian charismatic profile of vision, tenacity, intellectual challenge, self‐sacrifice, and eloquence is substantially confirmed within the Iranian sample. But we also show that Iranian managers’ ratings are significantly lower than those of the Canadian managers, indicating potentially different behavioural manifestations. The paper speculates that while the differences are probably due to cultural differences, the similarities may be due to universal intrinsic human desire for morality, autonomy, and achievement.

Person, symbol, sociality: Towards a social psychology of cultural dynamics

Contemporary research on personality and culture has successfully mapped out major cultural differences in personality profile. However, in order to investigate the dynamic process by which culturally shaped personalities are formed, maintained, and transformed, sociality or the totality of social processes that mediate the culture–personality relationship need to be examined. A research program of a social psychology of cultural dynamics is outlined, and a computer simulation is described as an example of this metatheoretical orientation. This connectionist-based simulation suggests that there exists a physically realizable system that can generate both individual differences and culture from a stream of social interaction episodes among multiple actors. The importance of sociality in personality and culture research is emphasized.

The prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms in men and women in four centres. The UrEpik study.

To evaluate the epidemiology of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among men and women, as there are significant unanswered questions about the prevalence and impact of LUTS in different populations. A population-based, cross-sectional survey was completed in Boxmeer (the Netherlands), Auxerre (France), Birmingham (UK) and Seoul (Republic of Korea), using culturally and linguistically validated versions of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). The aim was to estimate the distribution of symptoms of LUTS in men and women. Stratified random samples of men aged 40-79 years in each community were collected. Postal questionnaires were used in Europe and direct interviews in Korea. In all, 4979 index men and 3790 women were recruited, with age-adjusted response rates among men of 72% in Boxmeer, 28% in Auxerre, 60% in Birmingham and 68% in Seoul. The percentages of men and women with an IPSS of 8-35, indicating moderate to severe symptoms, were, respectively, 20.7 and 18.0 (Boxmeer); 19.2 and 12.6 (Auxerre); 25.1 and 23.7 (Birmingham); 16.2 and 19.9 (Seoul). Among women the relationship between symptoms and age was not as strong as in men. The percentages of men and women with moderate to severe symptoms were by age group, respectively, 10.6, 15.5 (40-49); 19.0, 18.2 (50-59); 30.5, 23.8 (60-69); 40.4, 28.7 (70-79). Among those aged 40-49 the main differences between men and women were in the questions about frequency of urination during the day and holding back urine. Among the older groups men reported more symptoms on all questions apart from urination at night and difficulty in holding back urine, both of which were equally prevalent among men and women. The overall prevalence of LUTS was high and showed no marked cultural variation. Prevalence increased with age, with severe LUTS commoner in older men. Women reported similar levels of the symptoms traditionally associated with LUTS in men. In each age group there were no major cultural differences in the frequency of LUTS. There were differences with age between men and women; younger men had a lower prevalence of LUTS than younger women but older men a much higher prevalence than older women. These findings emphasize that the IPSS should be confined to within-patient comparisons and not used as a diagnostic tool. The IPSS performs very similarly regardless of gender.

Australian businesses in China: searching for synergy

This article reports on an empirical, interpretive study conducted in 2001-2002 in the Beijing region of China. The case of the ‘Australians managing in Northern China’ is reported here. This research explores two major areas. First, it investigates the imilarities similarities and differences between Australian and Chinese cultures both at the national and corporate levels as the actors – the Australian managers and their Chinese colleagues – see them. Secondly, it studies how the actors are interacting to manage cultural issues in their organizations and whether synergies are emergent from their interactions. The article attempts to help managers and researchers gain a deeper understanding of the questions: what major cultural similarities and differences do Australian and Chinese managers perceive both inside and outside of their organizations; how do managers interact to effectively manage cultural issues in Australian businesses in China and how is synergy possible?

Alcohol and spouse abuse ethnic differences.

This chapter examines theoretical and empirical evidence on the interplay between ethnicity, structural and cultural factors, and alcohol-related assaults against wives and considers whether there is a differential vulnerability to such assaults among varying ethnic groups. Our review demonstrated that structural factors emerged as dominant in their influence on alcohol-related wife assaults in varying ethnic groups. The empirical evidence, though limited, showed that the linkages between drinking and wife beating are not just a problem of poor ethnic minorities. Heavy drinking per se is associated similarly in Hispanic-American and Anglo-American families. However, we also identified differences among Hispanic subgroups, as well as cultural variations in drinking patterns that differentially affected wife assaults. Although data on alcohol-wife assault relationships among African Americans are extremely limited, the available evidence indicates little or no effect of drinking by African-American men on wife assaults, after taking other socioeconomic variables into account. Empirical evidence did not support the saliency of particular cultural beliefs favoring violence toward women as intrinsic to any one ethnic group. The major cultural differences in alcohol-related cognitions are consistent with the greater legitimation of alcohol-related misbehavior and the acceptance of "machismo" drinking by Hispanic Americans compared to Anglo-Americans.

Restaurant Patronage and the Ethnic Groups in Singapore

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to assess the restaurant patronage practices (food habits) of three major ethnic groups (Chinese, Malays, and Indians) of Singapore. A total of 390 questionnaires were distributed. In spite of major cultural, socio-economic and religious differences, the three ethnic groups have common food habits while eating out. Eating at theme restaurants is not popular across the three ethnic groups. Among the ethnic groups under consideration, the food habits while eating out differed from the food habits of those groups while eating at home. The study indicated that all three ethnic groups eat out regularly. Chinese patronize quick service restaurants more frequently than the other ethnic groups. Chinese and Indians patronize “Hawker centers” more often than the Malays. Perception of nutrition and gender has very little affect on food habits while eating out. The obtained results partially supported the Barker's model.

International differences in disclosure adequacy: Empirical evidence from annual reports of French and Chinese listed firms

The adequacy of information disclosure by a company in its annual report depends on the local circumstances. By comparing the annual reports of large French and Chinese listed companies, this paper shows that in comparison with their Chinese counterparts, French listed companies are more user-friendly as regards information demands. French annual reports are bigger in volume and fuller in content, while Chinese annual reports tend to be more homogeneous both in volume and content. As far as the depreciation period for fixed assets is concerned, except for buildings, which have a similar depreciation period in both countries, French companies apply significantly shorter depreciation periods for their industrial equipment, tools, transport equipment and furniture. Regarding disclosure adequacy, French firms publish more information about their technological innovations, corporate stock, segment earnings and revenues, indebtedness and environmental protection, whereas Chinese companies place more emphasis on the disclosure of future trends and prospects. All these characteristics are consistent with the major economic and cultural differences between China and France.

Morality and Contemporary Warfare

When is the use of military force by a nation morally justified? Why has the long accepted moral requirement to protect civilians from intentional attack eroded in recent years? How can the tendency toward unrestrained warfare between parties with major cultural differences be controlled? In this thought-provoking book, James Turner Johnson refocuses the moral analysis of war on the real problems of today's armed conflicts. Moral debates about nuclear war and annihilation fail to address the problems of actual contemporary uses of military force, Johnson argues. We must address the type of armed conflict that has emerged at the end of the twentieth century: local wars--often inflamed by historical, ethnic, or religious animosities and usually fought with conventional weapons that can be carried by individual fighters. Johnson sets out a moral basis for understanding when armed force can be justified. He analyzes specific problems posed by contemporary warfare: the question of military intervention to ameliorate or end conflicts, the question of warfare against noncombatants, the problem of cultural differences inflaming conflict, and the tension between those who would punish war crimes and those hoping to reconcile adversaries. The author concludes with a discussion of how to reshape and renew an international consensus on the proper purposes and limits to war.

Replication of an Effective Opiate Addiction Pharmacotherapeutic Treatment Model

Abstract Objective: To determine whether we can replicate, with a similar success, an effective USA model clinic for opiate addiction in another country in spite of major geographical, linguistic and cultural differences. Design: Prospective data on demographic and other factors relating to addiction and treatment were collected, since the establishment of the clinic in July 1993. Setting: New outpatient model methadone maintenance and research clinic for 120-150 patients, affiliated with a major university hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel. Patients: A total of 212 patients with opiate addiction were admitted to clinic and followed from July 1, 1993 until July 1, 1997. Main Outcome Measures: The overall retention and one year retention rate for all patients admitted since July 1993. The prevalence of patients with no evidence of illicit opiate use, after both one and one and a half years in treatment. Results: The overall retention in treatment, irrespective of time in treatment, is 67.9%. The one-year retent...

Market closeness, commitment, and the international customisation of brand image: The case of Western brands in the Czech Republic

A sample of 85 UK-based Western businesses known to sell in the Czech Republic was surveyed to establish the extent to which market knowledge gained from close links with local Czech partners (distributors, retailers, agents, consultants, etc.) encouraged them to customise their brand images in the local Czech market. The influences on image customisation of a company's commitment to, and dependence on, sales in the Czech Republic were also examined. It emerged that market closeness and market commitment significantly affected the degree of image customisation. The results for market dependence were inconclusive. Image customisation seemed to depend more on marketing executives' belief in the existence of major cultural differences between the Czech Republic and the UK than on economic differences or disparities in national advertising media or distribution systems.