Abstract
The styles and approaches used in cross-cultural organizational research are nearly as varied as the cultures under study. We see two variations of one dominant style in the work of Hofstede and the GLOBE research consortium. In this commentary, I shall place these approaches in context and discuss alternatives that seem to be highly promising but largely overlooked. Based on this analysis, I conclude that it may well be time that this form of large-scale, multi-country survey be set aside for the development of alternative mid-range theories having a more direct application and explanation for organizational phenomena in a cultural and national context.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
For example, one might look at the dispersion of income or proliferation of social programs in a society to assess the ‘actually is’ of power distance or social concern rather than asking informants to make such a determination. If research on impression formation and judgment has taught us anything, it is that our underlying values and experiences influence social judgments of situation (Fiske and Neuberg, 1990).
See Brett et al. (1997) for an excellent discussion of potential difficulties resulting from the interaction among cultural values.
I note that, among these typologies, the work of Schwartz stands out from a theory-driven perspective in that his original approach used core psychological theory in generating his framework on values.
The lack of an adequate theoretical framework for understanding the moderating effect of culture has led to our development of the Cultural Self-Representation Model.
References
Berry, J.W. (1971) ‘Ecological and cultural factors in spatial perceptual development’, Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science 3: 324–336.
Berry, J.W. (1990) ‘Imposed-Etics, Emics, and Derived-Etics: Their Conceptual and Operational Status in Cross-Cultural Psychology’, in T.N. Headland, K.L. Pike and M. Harris (eds.) Emics and Etics: The Insider/Outsider Debate, Sage Publications: Newbury Park, CA, pp: 84–99.
Boyacigiller, N. and Adler, N.J. (1991) ‘The Parochial dinosaur: organizational science in a global context’, Academy of Management Review 16 (2): 262–290.
Brett, J.M., Tinsley, C.H., Janssens, M., Barsness, Z.I. and Lytle, A.L. (1997) ‘New Approaches to the Study of Culture in I/O Psychology’, in P.C. Earley and M. Erez (eds.) New Perspectives on International/Organizational Psychology, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, pp: 75–129.
Earley, P.C. (1989) ‘Social loafing and collectivism: a comparison of the United States with the People's Republic of China’, Administrative Science Quarterly 34 (4): 565–581.
Earley, P.C. and Mosakowski, E. (1996) ‘Experimental International Management Research’, in B.J. Punnett and O. Shenkar (eds.) Handbook of International Management Research, Blackwell Publishers Inc: London, pp: 83–114.
Earley, P.C. and Ang, S. (2003) Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures, Stanford University Press: Palo Alto, CA.
Earley, P.C. and Gibson, C.B. (1998) ‘Taking stock in our progress of individualism and collectivism: 100 years of solidarity and community’, Journal of Management 24 (3): 265–304.
Earley, P.C. and Singh, H. (1995) ‘International and intercultural research: what's next?’ Academy of Management Journal 38(2): 327–340.
Erez, M. and Earley, P.C. (1993) Culture, Self-Identity, and Work, Oxford University Press: New York.
Fiske, S.T. and Neuberg, S.L. (1990) ‘A continuum of impression formation from category-based to individuating processes: influences of information and motivation on attention and interpretation’, in M.P. Zanna (ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 23: 1–74.
Geertz, C. (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures, Basic Books: New York.
Hampden-Turner, C. and Trompenaars, F. (2000) Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values, John Wiley & Sons: New York.
Herskovits, M.J. (1955) Cultural Anthropology, Knopf: New York.
Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values, Sage: Newbury Park, CA.
Hofstede, G. (1991) Culture and Organizations: Software Of The Mind, McGraw-Hill: London.
Hofstede, G. (2006) ‘What did GLOBE really measure? Researchers' minds versus respondents' minds’, Journal of International Business Studies 37(6): doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400233.
Hofstede, G., Neuijen, B., Ohayv, D.D. and Sanders, G. (1990) ‘Measuring organizational cultures: a qualitative and quantitative study across twenty cases’, Administrative Science Quarterly 35: 286–316.
House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. and Gupta, V. (2004) Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.
Klein, K., Dansereau, F. and Hall, R. (1994) ‘Levels issues in theory development, data collection, and analysis’, Academy of Management Review 19(2): 195–229.
Kluckhohn, F. and Strodtbeck, F. (1961) Variations in Value Orientation, Greenwood Press: Westport, CT.
Leung, K. and Bond, M. (1989) ‘On the empirical identification of dimensions for cross-cultural comparison’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 20(2): 133–151.
Martin, J. (1992) Cultures in Organizations: Three Perspectives, Oxford University Press: New York.
Mead, M. (1967) Cooperation and Competition Among Primitive People, Beacon: Boston, MA.
Ng, K.Y. and Earley, P.C. (2006) ‘Culture+intelligence: old constructs, new frontiers’, Group and Organization Management 31(1): 4–19.
Nisbett, R.E., Peng, K., Choi, I. and Norenzayan, A. (2001) ‘Culture and systems of thought: holistic vs. analytic cognition’, Psychological Review 108(2): 291–310.
Parsons, T. and Shils, E.A. (1951) Toward a General Theory of Action, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.
Rohner, R.P. (1984) ‘Toward a conception of culture for cross-cultural psychology’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 15 (2): 111–138.
Rokeach, M. (1973) The Nature of Human Values, Free Press: New York.
Sanchez-Burks, J., Nisbett, R.E. and Ybarra, O. (2000) ‘Cultural styles, relationship schemas, and prejudice against outgroups’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79(2): 174–189.
Schwartz, S.H. (1992) ‘Universals in the Content and Structure of Values: Theoretical Advances and Empirical Tests in Two Countries’, in M. Zanna (ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 25, Academic Press: San Diego, CA, pp: 1–65.
Schwartz, S.H. (1994) ‘Beyond Individualism and Collectivism: New Cultural Dimensions of Values’,in H.C. Triandis, U. Kim, C. Kagitcibasi, S.C. Choi and G. Yoon (eds.) Individualism and Collectivism: Theory, Method and Applications, Sage: Newbury Park, CA, pp: 85–122.
Sternberg, R.J. and Grigorenko, E.L. (2006) ‘Cultural intelligence and successful intelligence’, Group Organization Management 31(1): 27–39.
Thomas, D.C. and Inkson, K. (2004) Cultural Intelligence: People Skills for Global Business, Berrett-Koehler Publishers: San Francisco, CA.
Triandis, H.C. (1972) Analysis of Subjective Culture, Wiley Interscience: New York.
Triandis, H.C. (1994) Culture and Social Behavior, McGraw-Hill: New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Accepted by Kwok Leung, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, 5 June 2006. This paper has been with the author for two revisions.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Christopher Earley, P. Leading cultural research in the future: a matter of paradigms and taste. J Int Bus Stud 37, 922–931 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400236
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400236