Tightness Looseness Research Articles

Considering the Dark Side of Work: Bullshit Job Perceptions, Deviant Work Behavior, and the Moderating Role of Work Ethic

AbstractThis contribution aims to expand the study of experiences at work by (a) analyzing a theoretical perspective concerning experiences at work which emphasizes both positive aspects as well as negative aspects, (b) exploring the relation of both negative (Bullshit job perceptions; BJP) and positive aspects (Meaningful Work perceptions; MWP) experienced at work to negative work-related behavior (Counterproductive Work Behavior [CWB] and Cyberloafing), (c) investigating the (moderating) role of work ethic, and (d) examining the robustness of these relations when considering additional contextual factors (organizational work values and tightness–looseness reflecting social norms). Three studies were conducted, including two samples of German employees (N = 247 and N = 240), and another one of employees in the USA (N = 253). Our findings reveal that negative experiences at work (BJP) are the main predictor of problematic workplace behavior (CWB and Cyberloafing). Furthermore, their relation was contingent on individuals’ endorsement of work ethic. BJP and CWB (or Cyberloafing) were more closely associated for individuals strongly endorsing work ethic. In contrast, the relation of positive experiences (MWP) to problematic behavior at work was not significantly qualified by work ethic. The observed relations were robust when additional contextual factors were controlled for. The results emphasize the importance and complexity of work experiences including and differentiating positive and negative aspects. They also highlight the significance of work ethic and related beliefs of employees in shaping problematic behavior in work settings.

Embodied spatial metaphor of cultural concept from the perspective of cultural tightness–looseness: Cultural compatibility concept is closer to the body

AbstractThe body carries culture, with cultural concepts emerging from the dynamic interplay between the body and its environment. By integrating social representation theory and embodied cognition, we explored the use of embodied spatial metaphors in representing cultural tightness–looseness across three studies. In Study 1, 84 participants were randomly assigned to either a tight or loose culture group and tasked with placing cultural words within a spatial context. Participants positioned culturally compatible words closer to themselves and incompatible words farther away, illustrating the use of spatial distance metaphors to represent cultural tightness–looseness. Study 2 used an implicit task, demonstrating that people from both tight and loose cultures exhibited greater accuracy in judging culturally compatible concepts (vs. incompatible concepts) when these words were close to themselves. Study 3 unveiled distinct patterns of embodied spatial metaphors between tight and loose cultures when comparing cultural and irrelevant words. Notably, metaphors depicting nearness for culturally compatible words and farness for irrelevant words emerged exclusively in tight cultures, while such patterns were absent in loose cultures. Overall, our findings empirically support the notion that social representations are embodied, and provide embodied evidence for understanding and representing concepts related to cultural tightness–looseness.

Sustainable Human Resource Management and Employees’ Performance: The Impact of National Culture

In an era of rapid globalization and increased environmental consciousness, organizations must align their business practices with sustainable development goals. The main objective of this study is to explore the impact of sustainable human resource management (SHRM) on employees’ performance, focusing on the mediating role of employee engagement and the moderating effect of national culture. To do so, data were collected from 1950 individuals across 26 countries. The results of a multilevel analysis show that SHRM positively affects performance, with employee engagement acting as a mediator. Furthermore, the effectiveness of SHRM practices is moderated by cultural tightness–looseness, indicating that SHRM practices are more effective in flexible and adaptive cultural environments. This study contributes to the literature by integrating institutional theory and the JD-R model, demonstrating that SHRM enhances performance through increased employee engagement and that cultural context significantly influences this relationship. The findings emphasize the need for a culturally sensitive approach to SHRM, suggesting that organizations should tailor their sustainable practices to align with the cultural norms of their operational environments. This research provides valuable theoretical insights into the mechanisms through which SHRM impacts performance and practical implications for HR professionals seeking to implement effective and sustainable HR practices globally.

The Moderating Influence of Cultural Tightness on the International Diversification–Firm Performance Relationship: A Meta-analysis

The relationship between international diversification (ID) and firm performance (FP) is among the best researched topics in international business. However, the findings on the role of firms’ home-country culture remain mixed, leading to repeated calls for broader cultural perspectives. We introduce the construct of cultural tightness–looseness and advance the conversation on the role of the tightness of a firm’s cultural origin. Drawing on 490 primary studies, we provide meta-analytic evidence that cultural tightness negatively moderates the ID–FP relationship.

What Drives the Sustainability Reporting Intentions of Firms?

Global leaders have adopted sustainable development goals to address critical issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution from both human activities and firms. Over the years, there has been a demand for stricter regulations, accountability, and improved sustainable business practices by stakeholders. In the field of accounting, voluntary disclosure of firms’ sustainability efforts has become an important component of firm reporting architecture. Despite being a voluntary practice in many jurisdictions, sustainability reporting has become essential for firms to demonstrate their commitment to meeting sustainability goals, ensuring future growth, and achieving long-term success. This study examines firms’ sustainability reporting intentions and further investigates the dominant factors that drive such intentions, relying on the extended version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Data for the study were gathered from managers of member firms with the Association of Ghana Industries. Using a total of 518 valid responses, the study’s hypotheses were tested employing the partial least square structural equation modelling technique. The results indicate that subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, dynamic capabilities, cultural tightness–looseness, sustainability commitment, and perceived benefit are good predictors of firms’ sustainability reporting intentions. However, the results suggest an inverse relationship exists between attitude, perceived cost, and intention to engage in sustainability reporting. The findings highlight some of the critical factors driving sustainability reporting behaviour among firms.

Board Gender Diversity and CSR Performance: Do Societal Harmony/Mastery Orientation and Cultural Tightness‐Looseness Matter?

AbstractThe purpose of this study is two‐fold: (1) to investigate the moderating effect of the cultural value orientation of harmony/mastery on the relationship between board gender diversity (BGD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance; and (2) to examine further whether cultural tightness amplifies the moderating effect of harmony/mastery orientation. Using a sample of 5135 firms across 25 countries during the period 2002–2021, our interaction model run with panel regression showed that the association between BGD and CSR performance is positively (negatively) moderated by harmony (mastery) orientation. Moreover, our test of a three‐way interaction among BGD, harmony (mastery), and cultural tightness–looseness on CSR performance revealed that the moderating effect of harmony (mastery) orientation is amplified when cultural tightness increases. The findings suggest that harmony/mastery orientation matters more for the effects of BGD on firm CSR performance under tight cultural conditions. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the study.

Music consumption and uses in Japan

This research investigates the relationship between music consumption and cultural dimensions within a Japanese context. Since Japan is the second largest music market globally, it is surprising that there is little focus on those factors often examined in cross-cultural research that might mean Western findings do not extrapolate well. A questionnaire using established measures of tightness–looseness, relational mobility, and ideal affect was used to test three main research questions. RQ1 was that there should be a relationship between cultural dimensions and musical taste, and this was fully supported. RQ2 was that cultural dimensions should relate to participants’ goals of music consumption, and this was largely supported. RQ3 was that there should be a relationship between socioeconomic status and musical taste, but this was not supported. The findings also supported several more specific research questions concerning how specific uses of music ought to relate to specific cultural dimensions. The findings of the study help us better understand the way music is consumed in relation to specific cultural dimensions in the context of Japan and beyond. It also extends the literature concerning music and cross-cultural psychology where prior research has not considered these dimensions within the context of music consumption.

Cultural tightness–looseness and inter‐regional mergers and acquisitions: Evidence from China

AbstractWe investigated the role of culture in inter‐regional mergers and acquisitions (M&As) within national borders, using a dataset that includes M&As conducted by Chinese listed firms from 2005 to 2019. Our research provides compelling evidence that the likelihood of an acquirer initiating a merger proposal – and the subsequent probability of reaching an agreement – decreases as the cultural tightness gap between the acquiring and target firms widens. Furthermore, we found that this negative impact of cultural tightness distance is more pronounced in non‐state‐owned firms and firms led by younger CEOs.

Cultural tightness–looseness and normative social influence in eight Asian countries: Associations of individual and collective norms with vaccination intentions

RationaleCountries worldwide faced the same public health crisis that required promoting the same health behavior—vaccinations—during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, scholars have a unique opportunity to test behavioral change theories across countries with different cultural backgrounds. ObjectiveEmploying the extended theory of social normative behavior, this study examines the influence of individual and collective norms on COVID-19 vaccination intention across eight Asian countries. We examine how cultural tightness–looseness, defined as the degree of a culture's emphasis on norms and tolerance of deviant behavior, shapes normative social influence on COVID-19 vaccination intention. MethodsWe conducted a multicountry online survey (N = 2676) of unvaccinated individuals in China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam in May and June 2021, when COVID-19 vaccination mandates had not yet been implemented in those countries. We conducted hierarchical regression analyses with interaction terms for the total sample and then re-categorizied the eight countries as either “tight” (n = 1102) or “loose” (n = 1574) to examine three-way interactions between individual norms, collective norms, and cultural tightness-looseness. ResultsPerceived injunctive norms exerted the strongest impact of all normative factors on vaccination intention. Collective injunctive norms’ influence depended on both perceived injunctive and descriptive norms, which was larger when norms were lower (vs. higher). The interactive pattern between perceived and collective norms was more pronounced in countries with greater cultural tightness. ConclusionOur findings reveal nuanced patterns of how individual and collective social norms influence health behavioral decisions, depending on the degree of cultural tightness–looseness.

Cultural tightness, trust, and power in enforcing tax compliance

The so-called Cultural Tightness–Looseness (CTL) concept intends to describe the socio-cultural foundation of societies by the strictness of social norms. In this paper, CTL is used to investigate its relevance to enforcing tax compliance. The CTL concept is formalised by structural payoff matrices for the confrontation between citizens and officials. Social norms and their impacts on the behaviour of the parties in a conflict are used to define several variants of tight and loose societies. The payoff matrices are employed to classify respective forms of societies. For a dynamic analysis, ‘power’ and ‘trust’, as policy measures of behaviour control, are introduced to determine which instrument or combination of instruments emerges as the most relevant and effective option in the respective societal setting. The result is that ‘trust’ emerges in tight societies as the more important instrument of behaviour control, whereas ‘power’ appears as the more crucial tool in loose societies. Therefore, it is concluded that power or the ‘cops and robbers’ approach is usually applied in loose societies to enforce tax compliance. By contrast, ‘trust’ via the provision of information and support for paying taxes can be more often used in tight societies.

The mutual constitution of culture and psyche: The bidirectional relationship between individuals' perceived control and cultural tightness-looseness.

According to the theory of mutual constitution of culture and psyche, just as culture shapes people, individuals' psychological states can influence culture. We build on compensatory control theory, which suggests that low personal control can lead people to prefer societal systems that impose order, to examine the mutual constitution of personal control and cultural tightness. Specifically, we tested whether individuals' lack of personal control increases their preference for tighter cultures as a means of restoring order and predictability, and whether tighter cultures in turn reduce people's feelings of personal control. Seven studies (five preregistered) with participants from the United States, Singapore, and China examine this cycle of mutual constitution. Specifically, documenting the correlational link between person and culture, we found that Americans lower on personal control preferred to live in tighter states (Study 1). Chinese employees lower on personal control also desired more structure and preferred a tighter organizational culture (Study 2). Employing an experimental causal chain design, Studies 3-5 provided causal evidence for our claim that lack of control increases desire for tighter cultures via the need for structure. Finally, tracing the link back from culture to person, Studies 6a and 6b found that whereas tighter cultures decreased perceptions of individual personal control, they increased people's sense of collective control. Overall, the findings document the process of mutual constitution of culture and psyche: lack of personal control leads people to seek more structured, tighter cultures, and that tighter cultures, in turn, decrease people's sense of personal control but increase their sense of collective control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The influence of cultural tightness–looseness, religiosity, and the institutional environment on tax evasion behaviour: A cross‐country study

AbstractWe examine whether the strength of norms and tolerance for deviations play a role in explaining cross‐country differences in tax evasion (TEVA). We also investigate the effects of religiosity, legal enforcement, voice and accountability, and the stability of political systems on TEVA across 48 countries over the period 1997–2018. Results show that the higher the voice and accountability and the lower the degree of cultural tightness–looseness, the rule of law, and political stability, the higher the degree of TEVA across nations. The results are important for policymakers to assess the likelihood of TEVA from a holistic perspective.

Identity processing styles and personal growth initiative in college students: The mediating role of cultural tightness–looseness

Cultural norms and their regulation in society account for individual behaviour and related psychological processes. This study investigated if and how cultural norm regulation mediated the relationship between identity processing styles and intentional personal growth. A sample of 613 students (mean age = 19.72 years, SD = 1.67 years; female = 454, 74.1%) completed the Revised Identity Styles Inventory-5; the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-2; and the Cultural Tightness– Looseness Scale. To investigate the hypothesised mediation, we tested direct and indirect effects models in Mplus. Of the 14 possible direct effects between the two viable identity styles (informational and diffuse-avoidant) and four dimensions of personal growth initiative (readiness for change, planfulness, using resources, and intentional behaviour), 12 were significant. And of the 12 pathways, only three were mediated by cultural tightness, namely informational style to readiness for change, planfulness, and intentional behaviour. The findings demonstrate the value of strict cultural norm regulation in facilitating intentional personal growth in this group.

Quantitative relationships between national cultures and the increase in cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia

Support vector machine (SVM) and genetic algorithm were successfully used to predict the changes in the prevalence rate (ΔPR) measured by the increase of reported cases per million population from the 16th to the 45th day during a nation’s lockdown after the COVID-19 outbreak. The national cultural indices [individualism–collectivism (Ind), tightness–looseness (Tight)], and the number of people per square kilometer (Pop_density) were used to develop the SVM model of lnΔPR. The SVM model has R2 of 0.804 for the training set (44 samples) and 0.853 for the test set (11 samples), which were much higher than those (0.416 and 0.593) of the multiple linear regression model. The statistical results indicate that there are nonlinear relationships between lnΔPR and Tight, Ind, and Pop_density. It is feasible to build the model for lnΔPR with SVM algorithm. The results suggested that the risk of COVID-19 epidemic spread will be reduced if a nation implements severe measures to strengthen the tightness of national culture and individuals realize the importance of collectivism.

Residential mobility predicts COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccination behaviors in the United States.

Vaccination is one of the most effective strategies to contain the transmission of infectious diseases; however, people's intentions and behavior for vaccination vary across different regions and countries around the world. It is not clear how socioecological factors such as residential mobility influence people's vaccination behaviors for infectious diseases. We analyzed public data on residential mobility and vaccination rates for COVID-19 and seasonal flu in the United States and explored how residential mobility in the previous year influenced vaccination rates for COVID-19 and seasonal flu (2011-2018) across 50 states of the US. The data were accessed and analyzed in 2021. Study 1 demonstrated that collective-level residential mobility predicted COVID-19 vaccination rates across the United States (B = -168.162, 95% CI [-307.097, -29.227], adjusted R 2 = 0.091, p = 0.019). Study 2 corroborated this finding by documenting that collective-level residential mobility predicted vaccination rates for seasonal flu from 2011 to 2018 across the United States (B = -0.789, 95% CI = [-1.018, -0.56], adjusted R 2 = 0.222, p < 0.001). The link between residential mobility and vaccination behavior was robust after controlling relevant variables, including collectivism, cultural tightness-looseness, and sociodemographic variables. Our research demonstrated that residential mobility is an important socioecological factor that influences people's vaccination behaviors for COVID-19 and seasonal flu. The results enrich our understanding of the socioecological factors that influence vaccination behaviors and have implications for developing tailored interventions to promote vaccination during pandemics of infectious diseases.

Mechanisms of Organizational Cultural Tightness on Work Engagement during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Moderating Role of Transformational Leadership.

Cultural tightness-looseness, one of the cultural dimensions that play an essential role in organizational development, is changing the perception of psychology and behavior in organizations. This study conducted a paired questionnaire survey of leaders and their employees from five Chinese companies over three periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results found that organizational cultural tightness was more influenced by transformational leadership. Different from previous findings, in the context of the Chinese epidemic, organizational cultural tightness positively predicted employees' work engagement with the moderating effect of transformational leadership. Team-member exchange also mediated employees' work engagement, which had a facilitative effect on employees' work engagement. In future research, the contingent effects of other leadership styles and organizational cultural tightness will be explored to reveal the different mechanisms of action on employees' work engagement.

Supplemental Material for The Mutual Constitution of Culture and Psyche: The Bidirectional Relationship Between Individuals’ Perceived Control and Cultural Tightness–Looseness

Supplemental Material for The Mutual Constitution of Culture and Psyche: The Bidirectional Relationship Between Individuals’ Perceived Control and Cultural Tightness–Looseness

I don't care why you do it, just don't! Reactions to negative and positive organizational deviance partly depend on the desire for tightness of prevention-focused employees.

Tightness–Looseness (T-L) at the individual level has only begun to receive attention from researchers. Specifically in the organizational context, this is a so far unexplored construct. The study offers first insights into the mechanisms that can trigger individuals’ desire for tightness and the consequences it can have on organizational behaviors. We, therefore, investigated the mediating role of the desire for tightness on the relationship between work regulatory prevention focus and emotional responses to both negative and positive (i.e., pro-social) deviant organizational behaviors. We tested our prediction through a mediational model with a sample of 788 Italian employees (58.6% females, Mage = 35.09). Our findings supported the hypothesized model showing that regardless of the motivation underpinning the norm-violating behavior, employees with a prevention focus are more desirous of tightness and exhibit hostile reactions toward deviance. Given its importance in understanding employees’ behaviors and intentions, which inevitably reflect on the organization’s functionality, the impact of the T-L individual-level dimension in organizations is undoubtedly worthy of deeper investigation.

Flexible societies excelled in saving lives in the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that national cultural traits, such as collectivism–individualism and tightness–looseness, are associated with COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. However, although East Asian countries have outperformed other countries in containing COVID-19 infections and lowering mortality in the first pandemic waves, no studies to date have examined flexibility-monumentalism, a cultural trait that uniquely distinguishes East Asia from the rest of the world. Moreover, none of the previous studies have explored mechanisms underpinning the association between national culture and COVID-19 mortality.AimsOur study fills in these gaps by examining the association between flexibility-monumentalism and COVID-19 mortality, adjusting for important covariates and by analyzing mask wearing and fear of COVID-19 during the first weeks of the pandemic as plausible mechanisms underpinning this association.MethodsWe constructed and analyzed a dataset including 37 countries that have valid information on flexibility-monumentalism, COVID-19 deaths as of 31 October 2020 (before the start of vaccination campaigns), and relevant covariates including two other national cultural traits (individualism–collectivism and tightness–looseness) and other national characteristics (economic, political, demographic and health). Multiple linear regression with heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors was used to assess the independent effect of flexibility-monumentalism on COVID-19 mortality. Mediation was assessed by examining the indirect effects of flexibility through mask wearing and fear of COVID-19 and determining the statistical significance through bootstrapping. Graphical and delete-one analysis was used to assess the robustness of the results.ResultsWe found that flexibility was associated with a significant reduction in COVID-19 mortality as of 31 October 2020, independent of level of democracy, per capita GDP, urbanization, population density, supply of hospital beds, and median age of the population. This association with mortality is stronger and more robust than for two other prominent national cultural traits (individualism–collectivism and tightness–looseness). We also found tentative evidence that the effect of flexibility on COVID-19 mortality may be partially mediated through mask wearing in the first weeks of the pandemic.

Exploring Social Media Knowledge as a Means for Fighting Corruption in CEE Countries

It is evidently seen that social networks are assessed widely in recent times as a means of sharing knowledge, and more importantly, resist control from influential entities compared to the regular media. Social media fight corruption by making information readily available in the form of analysis, endorsements, and through campaigns and collaboration. For this reason, some researchers are increasingly interested in how knowledge of social networks impacts our society leading to corruption reduction. In this paper, we explore the contribution of the knowledge of social media networks in reducing corruption within CEE countries. Regression analysis is employed to analyze an eighteen-year panel data (from 2002 to 2020), using secondary data from the World Bank, the World Press Freedom Index, and Transparency International of the selected CEE countries. We analyze social media variables such as social media usage, cultural tightness looseness (CTL) as independent variables and used press freedom, political stability index, and GDP per capita as control variables. Also, with corruption as a dependent variable, we used control of corruption index (CCI) and corruption perception index (CPI) to ascertain the social media network effect on corruption reduction. This article contributes to the existing knowledge by discovering the unique role that social media knowledge plays in reducing corruption in CEE countries. The result has shown that both social media usage and CTL significantly affect corruption and its reduction. In addition, it allows us to propose some practical implications for policymakers.