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The purpose of this paper is to examine the methodological approaches adopted in cross‐cultural service quality (CCSQ) research and the extent to which these approaches have adhered to the general principles of established cross‐cultural research methodology.

A search was conducted to identify CCSQ papers published between 1995 and 2009. The authors searched four well‐known online databases: ABI Inform (Proquest Direct), Emerald Library, ScienceDirect, and EBSCOhost. This search identified 40 studies, which were examined according to three broad groups of methodological issues: research design, instrumentation and data collection, and data analysis and measurement.

Despite the acknowledged contributions that these selected studies have made to the services‐marketing field, it is evident from this review that researchers have frequently overlooked many important aspects of cross‐cultural research methodology. These methodological deficiencies are discussed and various remedies are suggested.

There has been a growing research interest in comparative cross‐cultural service‐quality in recent decades. As this relatively new branch of service‐quality research becomes more prominent, it seems opportune to examine the methodological approaches adopted in these studies and the extent to which these approaches have adhered to the general principles of established cross‐cultural research methodology. This is the first work to examine such a large number of CCSQ studies.

The purpose of this paper is to: summarize the major research that has been conducted regarding cross‐cultural issues in China; show the current practices on cross‐cultural management in Chinese organizations; and then identify future research needs on cross‐cultural management in China.

Meta‐analysis was carried out to summarize research of cross‐cultural management in China.

Empirical studies on cross‐cultural management in China have been conducted since the 1990s, and numerous empirical studies have been done in the past two decades across different level of constructs and practices (individual, group and organization). Among all the intercultural research concerning China, there are mainly two common types: the first type focuses on foreign managers and employees, center on their adjustment and performance in Chinese culture; and the second type of study examines Chinese who work with these foreigners in the multinational management setting. Furthermore, in recent years, emphases have been shifted from examining the effects of culture on single variables to examining the relationships among same and different level of variables.

Systematic conceptual model development and assessment of important topics are in great need. Although there is an increasing amount of comparative studies being done in China, very few studies have been conducted to study Chinese firms that are doing business abroad, which represents one of the most critical problems in the field of cross‐cultural management research in China. Most studies focus on cultural value identification and practical issues in Western global companies, which is concerned with comparison between Eastern and Western culture. Research should be conducted to study cultural differences among eastern countries, for example, countries in Asia.

Future cross‐culture management practices in China should follow several basic principles: be applicable, that is, build unique organizational culture that is embedded in the host country; be practical, since there is no well‐developed multinational culture in China, new culture should be concerned with both sides; be systematic, cross‐culture management practices should have supporting system; be equal, no single culture is better than another; cultural penetration, two different cultures have mutual impact; merit‐based appointment and promotion, use local personnel, not just talents from the home country. In Chinese settings, the most common cross‐cultural management interventions include: cross‐cultural training, cross‐cultural communication system and unified organizational culture.

This paper comprehensively reviews the research and practices on cross‐cultural management in China; identifies topics that have been studied in individual, group and organizational level. Implications on cross‐cultural selection, training are provided based research evidence.

The aim of this article is to address some aspects of a cross-cultural interview study conducted in a PhD research project. This is done by reflecting on and discussing the influence of language and culture on the research process, as experienced by the researcher.

The experiences have been taken from an interview study with fifteen American participants in which the researchers were Norwegian. The interviews were conducted in English.

By offering insights into experiences of the research process in a cross-cultural interview study, the article connects the discussion to the concepts of positionality and reflexivity. These concepts are found to be especially relevant when managing differences between the researcher and participants in cross-cultural studies, and for improving the trustworthiness of the research.

The experiences and reflections discussed in the article may be useful to other researchers in similar (cross-cultural) research contexts and situations.

This article has been inspired by the experience of conducting research in a second language and in a different country. By drawing on a researcher’s point of view, this article reflects on these aspects when working as a visiting researcher doing international research.

Extant research shows that acquiescence response style (ARS) is culture-bound and may bias the results of comparative cross-cultural studies. Conventional measures of ARS are difficult to apply in practice. To overcome this limitation, the purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative, practice-oriented measure, namely, pARS. The authors apply Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (Hofstede et al., 2010) to test whether pARS is culture-bound. The cross-cultural study provides a high level of cross-cultural generalisability due to the extensive number of surveyed countries (n=30) and subjects (n=236.089). The authors run multi-level analysis to identify within- and between-country-level predictors.

On the individual level, the authors use data of a large-scale cross-cultural study, including 236.089 consumers from 30 countries worldwide. The authors apply several methods to test for the culture-boundness of pARS. First, they apply correlation analysis to replicate existing cross-cultural results and to ensure nomological validity. Second, applying ordinary least square regression, the authors simultaneously test the six Hofstede cultural dimensions (Hofstede et al., 2010) and investigate interactions between the dimensions. Finally, they use multi-level analysis to confirm the stability of culture-bound results, controlling for individual- and country-level variability.

The paper introduces an alternative measure for acquiescence (pARS), which is particularly suitable for shorter questionnaires. A large-scale consumer study with 236.089 respondents in 30 countries supports the culture-bound validity of pARS. The authors confirm construct validity and the nomological network of pARS. Contrasting existing studies, multi-level analysis demonstrates that a high level of power distance majorly leads to ARS. Therefore, cross-cultural researchers need to control for ARS in countries high in power distance, especially when paired with high uncertainty avoidance.

A large-scale consumer study with 236.089 respondents from 30 countries shows that respondents from various countries differ significantly in their level of acquiescence. The study confirms that power distance is the most relevant cultural dimension to explain these differences. Although ARS may bias the results of comparative cross-cultural studies, it is rarely controlled by market research studies outside the academic realm. The present work proposes and establishes the validity of a practice-oriented measure of acquiescence, namely, pARS. pARS is particularly suitable for shorter questionnaires. In contrast to prior approaches, applying pARS does not require adding non-substantive items to the questionnaire.

The purpose of this paper is to capitalize on the advantages of an evidence-based lesson analysis while proposing a method of research on teaching that offers opportunities for deeper reflections. The objective is to examine how well a transnational learning project such as this one can determine the cultural script of a mathematics lesson in Malaysia through the perspective of Japanese educators well trained in the lesson study approach. Emphasis here is on a cross-cultural analysis to view in depth the cultural script of teaching mathematics in Malaysia with particular focus on how teachers respond to students’ mistakes in a mathematics lesson.

This paper draws on data collected by the authors in a lesson study in Malaysia that aimed to provide a cross-cultural analysis of a Malaysian mathematics lesson (grade 10) through the eyes of Japanese educators. Data retrieved should determine the cultural script of a mathematics class in Malaysia with an emphasis on Malaysian teachers’ responses to students’ mistakes in class. The cross-cultural analysis of a lesson is a comparative method that reveals the hidden factors at play by increasing awareness of characteristics in classroom situations that are self-evident to all involved members.

The findings are intended to the cultural script of Malaysia in the context of “classroom culture regarding mistakes” and “mistake management behavior.” The impact on the quality of teaching and learning also discussed in relation to how it can be improved in practice from the following perspectives: the teacher’s attitudes toward student mistakes; how mistakes are treated and dealt with in class; and how learning from mistakes is managed. The data in Table II provide a meta-analysis of evidences of “classroom culture regarding mistakes” and “mistake management behavior” of the teacher from the Malaysian researchers and practitioners’ perspective as well as from the lens of the Japanese educators.

This study realizes that both sets of research studies value the importance of mistakes. It is important to identify the source of students’ mistakes and further learn from them. In order to reveal the overall structure of the cultural script of lessons, we need to realize that various cultural scripts are at work in the production of any given lesson. In the future, the authors hope to develop the potential of this view of culture script of teaching through cross-cultural analysis for lesson study and curriculum research and development.

This study aims to capitalize on the advantages of evidence-based lesson analysis through the lesson study process while proposing a method of research on teaching that offers opportunities for deeper reflections. The objective is to examine how well a transnational learning project such as this one can determine the cultural script of a mathematics lesson in Malaysia through the perspective of Japanese educators well trained in the lesson study methodology.

The authors need to obtain reflective feedback based on concrete facts, and for this reason “lesson study,” a pedagogical approach with its origins in Japan, is attracting global attention from around the world. This study focuses on the discrete nature, the progression, significance, and the context of lessons. That is, by avoiding excessive abstraction and generalization, reflection based on concrete facts and dialogue retrieved from class observations can be beneficial in the process. The mutual and transnational learning between teachers that occurs during the lesson study process can foster the building and sharing of knowledge in teaching practice.

There is currently little empirical research addressing “classroom culture regarding mistakes” which mostly represents how teachers and students learn from mistakes in the classroom. This study focuses on a cross-cultural analysis to view in depth the cultural script of teaching mathematics in Malaysia with particular focus on how teachers respond to students’ mistakes in a mathematics lesson. The following perspectives are examined: the teacher’s attitudes toward student mistakes; how mistakes are treated and dealt with in class; and how learning from mistakes is managed.

Over the last decade, international accounting harmonization and convergence with the increasing adoption of IFRS as national accounting standards have become dominant topics in international accounting research (Ashbaugh & Pincus, 2001; Chand & Patel, 2008; Christensen et al., 2007; Daske & Gebhardt, 2006; Daske et al., 2008; Ding et al., 2007; Hellmann et al., 2010; Lantto & Sahlström, 2008; Larson & Kenny, 2011; Peng & van der Laan Smith, 2010; Rezaee et al., 2010; Tyrrall et al., 2007). Given that the primary goal of international convergence is enhancing comparability of financial statements across countries, the influence of accountants’ professional judgment in the interpretation and application of accounting standards has increasingly been recognized as an important and controversial topic. Indeed, a growing number of studies have analyzed the influence of culture on standard setting (Bloom & Naciri, 1989; Ding et al., 2005; Schultz & Lopez, 2001), auditor independence (Agacer & Doupnik, 1991; Hwang et al., 2008; Patel & Psaros, 2000), and accountants’ values and judgments (Doupnik & Riccio, 2006; Doupnik & Richter, 2003, 2004; Patel, 2003). Although prior research has provided evidence that culture influences accountants’ exercise of professional judgments, these studies have largely focused on demonstrating differences between accountants from very distinct cultures or accounting systems. For example, Chand (2008) as well as Doupnik and Richter (2004) examined differences in the judgment of professional accountants with regard to the interpretation and application of uncertainty expressions by comparing Australian and Fijian and German and American accountants, respectively. Moreover, recent research on professional accountants’ judgments (Chand, 2008; Doupnik & Riccio, 2006; Doupnik & Richter, 2003) has largely focused on providing evidence that accountants from different accounting clusters significantly differ in their exercise of professional judgment. Indeed, researchers have often based their country selections on theoretical models of accounting clusters such as Gray's (1988) framework of accounting values or Nobes’ (1983) international accounting classification, predominantly to show differences between the Anglo-American accounting model and the Continental European accounting model.

Drawing on the “shocks to the system” concept in image theory, a mid-range theoretical model is developed to illuminate understanding on why cross-cultural experience is so conducive to stimulating entrepreneurship yet has remained largely unexplained at the individual level.

The novel idea is put forth that experience of foreignness, in itself, can be harnessed as a powerful cognitive resource for entrepreneurship – particularly the nascent stages of new venture development. Providing cross-cultural exposures arouse “self-image shocks”, they manifest over time as skill clusters that reflect the sensing, seizing and transforming capabilities at the heart of entrepreneurship. This paper's pivot helps delineate a common mechanism to explain how a diverse range of seemingly disparate cross-cultural experiences can be processed in a way that enhances entrepreneurial pursuits.

The insights of this paper reinforce the need for educators and policymakers to encourage and provide opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to engage in cross-cultural and overseas exposures as they are influential for stimulating each of the core sets of entrepreneurial capabilities. The model and synthesis table also help to practically unpack how to design and plan such cultural experiences to optimize the enduring entrepreneurial advantages.

The author turns a long-standing assumption surrounding cultural differences in entrepreneurship on its head. The shocks and tensions arising from intercultural interactions are not always inevitable liabilities to be “managed away” or attenuated. Rather, cross-cultural experience can be explicitly leveraged as an asset for nascent venturing as the juxtapositions they evoke provide both proximal and distal enhancements to ways in which entrepreneurs think and develop skills at the core of venturing.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of customer loyalty on the predictive relationship between the meets expectations and affective feeling state customer satisfaction constructs and customers' future (re)purchase behavior.

New measures were developed for the attitudinal and behavioral aspects of customer loyalty, while extant measures were used for the satisfaction constructs and future (re)purchase behavior, leading to a survey that was administered to US and Chinese samples. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling for testing hypotheses developed from extant literature.

The study found that attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty are two distinct constructs with both US and Chinese samples, and that the influence of the two loyalty constructs on the predictive paths between meets expectations and affective feeling state and future (re)purchase intent vary by product category and culture.

Only two brands were employed, and the survey was completed with university students instead of a broader range of age and socio‐economic groups.

This study builds on extant customer satisfaction and loyalty knowledge in order to further the empirical cross‐cultural understanding of whether standardized or localized marketing strategies are more suitable across cultures.

This study is a benchmark comparative cross‐cultural study of the influence of customer loyalty on customer satisfaction and future (re)purchase intent in a cross‐cultural setting.

Hofstede's theory may be problematic from both a methodological/theoretical and practical view when applied to the 80 per cent of the globe we term developing. It is necessary to break out of an epistemic paradigm and a “view from nowhere” in order to focus on multiple layers of cultural interfaces within power dynamics that influence the nature of hybrid organizations and individual cultural identity. The purpose of this paper therefore is to develop a theory of cross‐cultural interfaces.

Cross‐cultural values theory provides a blunt instrument in Africa, does not take into account global dependencies and is not able to analyse local perceptions of reality within a context of these dependencies. A theory of cultural interfaces is developed that incorporates an Aristotelian phronetic approach to social science.

This moves away from the universals of analytical rationality towards practical value‐rationality that considers culture from a context‐dependent viewpoint, provides a synthesis for cultural‐institutional approaches, and engages researchers beyond merely looking at differences in cultures and the consequences, and towards what should be done about issues that arise.

By providing an example of how cultural interfaces may be researched, and discussing the associated conceptual issues, it is hoped that this paper will help to move forward the debate about cross‐cultural management.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between cultural intelligence (CQ) and cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) using meta-analytic methods. The paper serves a dual purpose as it critically examines the CQ-CCA literature and provides summary effects using meta-analysis to determine how CQ and its facets affect CCA and its three dimensions.

A meta-analysis of 77 studies involving 18,399 participants was conducted to obtain the summary effects. The studies reporting the relationship of CQ and/or its facets with CCA or any of its dimensions were included in the analysis.

Results revealed that CQ (overall) and all individual CQs were positively and significantly related to CCA and its three subdimensions. Although CQ (overall) had a strong effect on CCA and moderate to strong effects on all the subdimensions of CCA, the strongest effect size was measured for the relationship of motivational CQ with CCA. Not only this, when individual CQs' relationships were assessed with the individual adjustment dimensions, the motivational aspect of CQ happened to be the most influencing factor, having a close to strong effect on interaction adjustment.

Since the study combines the results from numerous empirical research conducted over time, it avoids the limitations that an individual study has, which is carried out at a single point in time and on a limited sample.

This study adds to the academic research by critically reviewing the CQ-CCA literature. It also works as a guiding map for future research in the area. The study highlights the summary effects for each association between CQ and CCA and their dimensions, elucidating the mixed findings reported in previous research.