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Cross-cultural research and positive organizational scholarship

Kim Cameron (Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA)

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management

ISSN: 2059-5794

Article publication date: 6 February 2017

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Abstract

Purpose

In view of the emphasis in cross-cultural research on negative factors such as cultural misfit, cultural distance, and the liability of foreignness, the purpose of this paper is to offer one explanation for why this is the case and highlight the advantages of giving at least equal emphasis to research on positive factors. Three propositions are offered to guide future cross-cultural research.

Design/methodology/approach

Summaries of empirical studies on the inherent inclinations of human systems toward the negative, as well as inclinations toward the positive, produce explanations for each of these biases and their implications for cross-cultural scholarship.

Findings

By prioritizing positive factors instead of negative factors, individuals and organizations perform at much higher levels than when the reverse is the case. Virtuous practices, in particular, are associated with positively deviant performance. Inasmuch as virtuousness is universally valued, its emphasis can address some of the liabilities of difference inherent in cross-cultural contexts.

Originality/value

The three propositions offered in the paper explain why negative biases exist, how positive biases provide an advantage to individuals and organizations, and highlight future directions for cross-cultural research. Social scientists have been challenged to help enable 51 percent of the world’s population to flourish by mid-century, and prioritizing positive cross-cultural phenomena is one prescription for achieving that objective.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This paper relies on previously published work on the topic of positive organizational scholarship and virtuousness, including, (2008) “Paradox in positive organizational change” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 44, pp. 7-24; (2012) “Virtuousness in organizations” in Cameron and Spreitzer (Eds) Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship, Oxford University Press, New York, NY; and (2014) “Advances in positive organizational scholarship” in Bakker (Ed.) Advances in Positive Organizational Psychology, Emerald, Bingley. The insightful comments and assistance of Rosalie Tung and Gunter Stahl are gratefully recognized. Whereas omissions and errors in this paper are of the authors, the authors learned a great deal about cross-cultural research from Gunter and Rosalie’s helpful suggestions and insights. Special acknowledgment goes to Gunter Stahl and Rosalie Tung for special insight regarding these attributes of the cross-cultural literature.

Citation

Cameron, K. (2017), "Cross-cultural research and positive organizational scholarship", Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 13-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCSM-02-2016-0021

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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