Dimensions Of National Culture Research Articles

Board gender composition and waste management: Cross-country evidence

Extant literature on board gender diversity focuses on the main pillars of sustainability while ignoring the important subdimension – waste management. Using a sample of 8365 firm-year observations for the period 2002–2017 from 37 countries, we provide novel empirical evidence that board gender diversity significantly reduces (increases) waste generation (waste recycling) in firms. We also note that the impact is significant with two or more female directors and is primarily driven by female directors’ independence. Moreover, the relationship is moderated by the masculinity dimension of national culture and sustainable compensation policies. Our analysis also shows that waste management activities of gender-diverse boards accompany the better financial performance. Our findings are robust to several identification strategies and estimation techniques. Our study provides new insights into the governance–sustainability nexus and presents important policy implications for regulators across countries.

How Does National Culture Affect Corporate Investment Efficiency?

Corporate investment efficiency may be determined by changes in overinvestment and/or underinvestment. Prior studies showed that national culture dimensions affect firm investment efficiency. However, they failed to address whether overinvestment or underinvestment is the effective mechanism to transmit these effects. With a research data of 280,092 year-firms from 44 countries, we find that national culture affects corporate investment efficiency through underinvestment. Individualism and masculinity are positively related to investment efficiency while uncertainty avoidance and power distance are negatively related to investment efficiency.

Effect of national cultural dimensions and HIV prevalence rates on stigma towards people living with HIV/AIDS

ABSTRACT This paper examines the main and interactive effects of national culture dimensions and HIV prevalence rates on stigma towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIVA). We examined these various relationships using data from a sample of 68,041 individuals from 49 countries, obtained from the World Values Survey. We used Hierarchical Linear Modeling to conduct our cross-level analyses. Our results indicated that collectivistic societies were positively associated while egalitarian and performance-oriented societies were negatively associated with stigma towards PLHIVA. Additionally, HIV prevalence rates interact with several cultural dimensions to worsen stigma towards PLHIVA. Our findings indicate the need to tailor stigma reduction strategies by taking the national culture dimensions of a given society into consideration when designing and implementing programs.

Which Combinations of Human Resource Management and National Culture Optimize Government Effectiveness?

Despite the need for culturally-grounded public sector management practices, only a few studies have empirically investigated the compatibility between HRM practices and national culture. This study used fsQCA to investigate ‘bundles’ of HRM practices (recruitment, appraisal, and compensation) and Hofstede’s original four dimensions of national culture as antecedent conditions for government effectiveness in 30 OECD countries. We found that performance-based appraisal, compensation and informal recruitment form a causal relationship with high individualism and low uncertainty avoidance for stronger government effectiveness. The results imply that local national culture is an important context for the transferability of public management practices.

Corporate Social Responsibility and the National Culture in Automotive Dealerships

Objective: this study seeks to analyze the relationships between dimensions of national culture and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in automotive dealerships. Theoretical framework: the theoretical bases used correspond to the contents of CSR and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Method: a survey-type quantitative study design was employed and classified as field research; 108 questionnaires were applied, and 43 were answered by managers and 65 by employees of seven organizations in Rio Grande do Sul State. The answers were validated using structural equations. Results and conclusion: our findings showed a positive relationship between long-term orientation and CSR practices; a negative relationship between masculinity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance and CSR practices was also observed. Hence, the dimension of national culture, long-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance were positively associated with CSR practices. Research implications: the implication is in implementing CSR practices and their relationship with the cultural dimensions, seeking to encourage management procedures in automotive dealerships, serving as support for decision making. Thus, this study contributes to expanding knowledge about the subject studied. Originality/value: The study’s originality lies in analyzing the relationships between the dimensions of national culture and CSR practices in automotive dealerships. Furthermore, it provides subsidies for understanding how organizations behave from changes in the environment and understanding concepts about ethics and corporate responsibility involving CSR practices and national culture.

National Cultural Dimensions and Adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (SMEs)

SynopsisThe research problemThis study investigates whether the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs) is linked to national culture.Motivation or theoretical reasoningLittle is known about the role of cultural dimensions in explaining countries’ adoption of the IFRS for SMEs. Focusing on this topic could contribute to a better understanding of the adoption of the IFRS for SMEs and would enrich the international accounting literature. Conducting a specific empirical investigation into the IFRS for SMEs is motivated by the difference between the full IFRS and the IFRS for SMEs, by the inherent characteristics of SMEs, and by differences between the number of countries that adopted the full IFRS and those that have adopted the IFRS for SMEs.The test hypothesesWe used Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture (Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long-term Orientation, and Indulgence) to capture a country’s culture. We expected that these six dimensions would play a crucial role in countries’ decision to adopt the IFRS for SMEs. Based on previous relevant studies, we developed a research hypothesis for each of the mentioned cultural dimensions.Target populationWe selected the 101 countries included in Hofstede’s study. For each country, we looked at the data available on the IFRS website to identify its position in relation to the IFRS for SMEs. The final sample included 97 countries.Adopted methodologyAfter classifying countries in three groups (Non-Adopters, Voluntary Adopters, and Mandatory Adopters), we performed several statistical regressions with adoption of the IFRS for SMEs as the dependent variable and the cultural dimensions as the relevant independent variables.AnalysesAmong others, we used several logistic regressions to estimate the association between national culture and the use of the IFRS for SMEs. We initially performed a statistical estimation for each of the six dimensions of national culture. Then, we included all cultural dimensions simultaneously. Finally, we performed robustness tests by applying multinomial regressions and focusing on the group of full IFRS adopters.FindingsEmpirical results revealed that the adoption of the IFRS for SMEs was less likely in countries with the highest levels of individualism. This conclusion held for both Mandatory and Voluntary Adopters. In contrast, the other dimensions of national culture were not significant in explaining the adoption of the IFRS for SMEs by national accounting regulators.

Integrating Porter-Lawler Theory of Motivation and Hofstede's Dimensions of National Culture with Modelling Career Preferences of Graduating Students of Bangladesh: A Survey of Literature

Integrating Porter-Lawler Theory of Motivation and Hofstede's Dimensions of National Culture with Modelling Career Preferences of Graduating Students of Bangladesh: A Survey of Literature

National Culture and the Market Development of Battery Electric Vehicles in 21 Countries

Electric vehicles (EVs) have become a symbol of the fight against climate change. However, in many countries, the market development of EVs is sluggish, and adoption rates greatly vary worldwide. This study examines the impact of Hofstede’s six dimensions of national culture on the development of the electric car market using sales data from 2019 and 2020 in 21 OECD countries. Results of (OLS) linear regression analyses show that uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, and indulgence have a significantly negative impact on the sales of battery electric cars, while long-term orientation positively influences their market share. The results indicate that national culture is an important cross-country factor that influences the rate and direction of the adoption electric cars. The research also explains how cultural values are translated into the purchase of EVs and provides marketers and policymakers with an insight into how they can increase the spread of alternative-fuel vehicles.

West meets East

Research has identified the tasks associated with effective patient-centered communication (PCC), but less is known about the contexts that can enable or hinder its implementation. This study explores East Slavic doctors’ perspectives and experiences of intercultural PCC with Western patients. Semi-structured interviews informed by the principles of PCC were carried out with 15 doctors from two private clinics in Ukraine. The interviews were analyzed both for content and themes, informed by the dimensions of culture approach developed by Geert Hofstede and co-authors. The findings suggest disparities between the Ukrainian doctors’ perspectives and experiences of PCC and those encountered in the West, with those of the former seeming to be influenced by socio-historical and educational barriers, and by dimensions of national culture in Ukraine. In conceptualizing PCC, the societal context needs to be taken into account, lest some important functions of medical communication be placed at risk.

Does Distance Still Matter? Moderating Effects of Distance Measures on the Relationship Between Pandemic Severity and Bilateral Tourism Demand.

This study aims to investigate the moderating effects of various distance measures on the relationship between relative pandemic severity and bilateral tourism demand. After confirming its validity using actual hotel and air demand measures, we leveraged data from Google Destination Insights to understand daily bilateral tourism demand between 148 origin countries and 109 destination countries. Specifically, we estimated a series of fixed-effects panel data gravity models based on the year-over-year change in daily demand. Results show that a 10% increase in seven-day smoothed COVID-19 cases led to a 0.0658% decline in year-over-year demand change. The moderating distance measures include geographic, cultural, economic, social, and political distance. Results show that long-haul tourism demand was less affected by a destination's pandemic severity relative to tourists' place of origin. The moderating effect of national cultural dimensions indulgence versus constraints was also confirmed. Lastly, a discussion and implications for international destination marketing are provided.

How Do National Cultures Affect Quality of Life in Europe During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the six cultural dimensions of Geert Hofstede that affect perceptions of quality of life in 26 European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020–March 2021): (1) Quality of life, (2) Democracy and trust, (3) Working during COVID-19, (4) Financial situation, (5) Support during COVID-19, and (6) Health care during COVID-19. Many studies are not conclusive on which dimensions of national culture affect the spread and death rate of COVID-19. The researchers, therefore, consider that studying the pandemic from the perception of quality can prevent its spread and contribute to the care and security of people affected by COVID-19. This study may be another way of providing information to those stakeholders. Method: To determine which aspects of culture affect the quality of life of Europeans during the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers analyzed data through stepwise multiple regression analysis to predict the relationship between independent variables (cultural dimensions) and dependent variables (perceptions of the quality of life). Findings: It was found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, countries with higher power distance and higher uncertainty avoidance had a lower quality of life in several dimensions, mainly in Eastern European countries and Latin European countries (France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain). In the Nordic or Scandinavian countries with higher levels of indulgence, people were more satisfied with their quality of life in spite of the COVID-19 epidemic. Novelty/Improvement:The results may inform policy-makers and stakeholders on how national cultures have both positive (i.e., indulgent and long-term) and negative (high power distance and high uncertainty avoidance) effects on the quality of life of Europeans during the COVID-19 pandemic. There should be (1) short-term measures to provide equal economic measures and public health assistance to reduce anxiety (reduce high power distance and high uncertainty avoidance), (2) medium-term measures to promote education and training to prepare people for new modes of working in the future (decrease high uncertainty avoidance), and (3) long-term measures to cultivate cultures to save for the future and to be optimistic and happy, both mentally and physically (increase long term orientation and indulgence). Doi: 10.28991/esj-2022-SPER-02 Full Text: PDF

Impact of national culture on performance measurement systems in manufacturing firms

With globalisation, the use of performance measurement systems (PMS) for managing international operations is increasing. The purpose of this research is to explore how differences in national culture impact on the design and use of PMS. Despite considerable literature investigating the impact of national culture on management practices in general, studies focussing on understanding the impact of national culture on PMS are scarce. This study adopts an analytical framework based on social and technical controls, PMS lifecycle and Hofstede’s six dimensions of national culture to explore the complex impact of national culture on PMS using 10 case studies from five culturally diverse regions. Findings clarify previously inconclusive research results by explaining how various dimensions of national culture influence the technical and social dimensions of PMS. They also highlight, for the first time, the significance of the masculinity dimension of national culture. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.

Drivers of Social Media Networking Site Continuance Intention in Jordan and South Africa

The present study integrates perceived service quality and national cultural dimensions into the expectation-confirmation model (ECM) to ascertain the antecedents of user satisfaction and continuance use of SNSs, and tested the moderating role of culture on the strengths of relationships in our adapted ECM. Data for empirical testing of the research model, using a Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation modelling technique with multi-group analysis, were obtained from 987 SNS users in Jordan and South Africa. Our findings suggest that, although there are differences in the path estimates of users in these contexts, these differences are not statistically significant, implying that cultural factors are not salient considerations for promoting SNS users’ satisfaction and continuance use intention. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

The Impact of Cultural Distance on Performance at the Summer Olympic Games

This article suggests that the cultural distance between participating and host countries can be a new determinant of medal performance at international sports competitions. Prior research has mainly focused on single-country variables, including population size, GDP, political system, and home advantage. This paper provides a unique perspective on the determinants of medals won at the Summer Olympic Games and argues that the gap between host and participant countries may explain the substantial variance of medal performance. Specifically, we find that countries participating in the Summer Olympic Games hosted in a culturally distant country show poor medal performance. These findings highlight the importance of a joint study between the dimensions of national culture and sports management.

Izbegavanje neizvesnosti, potrošački etnocentrizam i ksenocentrizam, imidž zemlje porekla, kao determinante prihvatanja stranih brendova

The process of globalization and integration of the world market have led to the liberalized foreign trade of goods and services. The development of information technologies and traffic networks has made it easier for companies to internationalize their business. For successful and profitabile business, it is necessary to research the foreign market in which the company wants to appear and place its brands, because in that way information is collected that is necessary for formulating an adequate marketing strategy. Consumer decision to accept foreign brands is influenced by a number of determinants. The aim of the paper is to determine whether the avoidance of uncertainty as a dimension of national culture, consumer ethnocentrism and xenocentrism, as well as the image of the country of origin have an impact on consumer's decision to accept foreign brands. Empirical research was conducted using a survey method on the territory of the Republic of Serbia (Belgrade, Kragujevac), and the answers received from the respondents were analyzed through the statistical software of the SPSS. The total number of respondents in the sample is 255. Of the statistical analyzes, reliability analysis was applied to examine the relationship between research variables and the relevance of the research model, as well as multiple regression analysis to confirm research hypotheses. The results showed that avoidance of uncertainty and consumer ethnocentrism have a negative impact, and consumer xenocentrism and the image of the country of origin have a positive impact, on the decision of consumers to accept foreing brands.

Socio-cultural and individual factors in verbal irony use and understanding: What we know, what we don’t know, what we want to know

AA significant part of everyday verbal communication consists of nonliteral language, including irony (Gibbs 2000). Efficient irony use can serve a wide range of pragmatic goals, while deficits in irony comprehension can have negative social consequences. Whereas a large body of psycholinguistic research has been produced on irony use and understanding by adults, little attention has been paid to the socio-cultural characteristics of this phenomenon so far. Some individual factors that have been identified as correlates of irony use include personality of the speaker, gender, age, or speaking a second language. In this article, we argue that it is necessary to bring the aspects of socio-cultural variables and individual characteristics together in the further study of irony across national cultures. To this end, we present a narrative review of theoretical and quantitative empirical literature from the field of psycholinguistics on both national cultural and individual/psychological factors impacting the use and understanding of verbal irony in communication. Based on the review, we suggest a theoretical model that could guide future quantitative studies on irony use such that both contextual factors (including national cultural dimensions) and individual differences between the speakers are clearly defined and related to one another in terms of their influence.

Nexus among the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions and Consumer Brand Loyalty: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

Purpose: The current research aims to investigate the nexus among Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions and consumer brand loyalty in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. These cultural dimensions represent the independent fondness of one state of affairs over another that distinguishes the country’s culture (rather than individuals) from each other.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: Current research adopts a survey research method for data collection following the quantitative research strategy. Primary data through a self-administrated questionnaire was collected from individuals in southern Punjab, Pakistan’s major cities. Current research has targeted 1110 individuals for data collection, out of which 900 people responded positively to our instruments. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, and multiple regressions techniques were used to analyze the impact of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on brand loyalty.
 Findings: The current research findings are fascinating as spearman’s correlation shows that Cultural dimensions have a positive relationship but are negatively associated with consumer brand loyalty. Multiple regression analysis results also show that cultural dimensions do not significantly impact consumer brand loyalty.
 Implications/Originality/Value: In the Pakistani cultural context, brand loyalty does not take much influence from the cultural values, but there could be some other factors that may affect brand loyalty. Further researchers can explore the exciting reasons for the current research results. Future studies can also explore the other factors which may influence brand loyalty, especially in the culture of southern Punjab, Pakistan.

DETERMINANTS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN SELECTED POST-COMMUNIST COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: INVESTIGATING CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Main goal of this study is to explore the entrepreneurial intentions of students in selected European post-communist states. The second purpose of the research is to learn about those determinants which, according to the respondents themselves, are essential for the emergence of entrepreneurial intentions. In short, the results of hierarchical multiple OLS regression indicated that the most important factor influencing the entrepreneurial intentions of the surveyed students was entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Moreover, based on estimates of the final regression model, it was identified that dummy variables concerning the respondents’ country significantly moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and the dependent variable. It can be noted that the strength of the impact of the above-mentioned regressor is closely related to the values of Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture. The obtained results were fully confirmed using an alternative research method, i.e. the ordered logit model. In the second stage of the study, it was revealed that the desire to be independent is the most frequently cited factor motivating the respondents to start their own business. Moreover, using the multiple marginal independence (MMI) testing method, it was found that student responses differ significantly among the examined countries, except for two cases, i.e. Russia and Latvia, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Corporate immunity, national culture and stock returns: Startups amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Small and medium-sized firms, particularly startups, are highly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic because of their financial instability. Using a sample of listed startups across four countries, we investigate whether a startup's built-up capacity pre-COVID-19 can stimulate corporate immunity to endure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflected via stock performance. We find that the increase in the accumulated COVID-19 confirmed cases worsens stock returns and that the negative effect is alleviated if startups are greater in size as well as have low debt, large board size and CEO duality. Moreover, national cultural dimensions significantly moderate the relationship between stock returns and COVID-19. The COVID-19 negative impact is relieved in societies where people are more collectivistic and cooperative, less tolerant towards uncertainty, and more long-term oriented. Overall, our results support the consolidation of corporate capacities and suggest policymakers consider national culture when formulating COVID-19 or similar infectious pandemic strategies.

Understanding Arab Students’ Behavioral Patterns in an Online Course: An Explanatory Study Based on Hofstede’s National Cultural Dimensions

The provision of online learning experiences has been implemented by many universities worldwide to overcome several challenges, including inequality in education. However, this experience is still not a common approach in public universities in the Arab region. Furthermore, several research studies have pointed out that a country’s culture should be considered in order to enhance online learning, as students may behave differently based on their cultural backgrounds. Nevertheless, little is known about how a given culture may affect the learning behavioral patterns of students. Therefore, to better understand the cultural phenomenon and to enhance the adoption of online learning in the Arab region, this study aims to understand how an Arab culture may affect the online learning behaviors of students. Specifically, this study applies a lag sequential analysis (LSA) approach to understand the behavioral patterns of 116 students from Tunisia in a six-week online course. The study then further discusses the different learning behavior patterns based on the theoretical framework of Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions. The findings highlight that culture can affect how students engage in online learning discussions and how they maintain their learning performance online. The findings further indicate that online learning experiences may be beneficial for female students who experience social pressures in Arab cultures.