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1 – 10 of over 3000
Article
Publication date: 19 July 2013

George Puia and Joseph Ofori‐Dankwa

There is an established link between national cultural differences and documented variations in technological innovations across countries. To move beyond a narrow emphasis on…

1633

Abstract

Purpose

There is an established link between national cultural differences and documented variations in technological innovations across countries. To move beyond a narrow emphasis on national cultures, scholars have suggested using within‐country diversity to compensate for known limitations in national culture measures. Given that ethno‐linguistic diversity is a known source of cultural variation, this paper specifically aims to explore the relationship between culture, ethno‐linguistic diversity and national innovativeness.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers used publicly available data on patents and trademarks in a multivariate regression context to study the effects of national culture and within‐country diversity on national levels of innovativeness.

Findings

The research found that culture and ethno‐linguistic diversity are independently positively associated with national innovation. More importantly, cultural and intra‐cultural variation measures when taken together account for significantly greater variance in levels of national innovation than does national culture when measured separately.

Research limitations/implications

While this study points to the importance of ethno‐linguistic diversity in explaining national levels of innovativeness, there are other measures of within‐country diversity to be explored.

Practical implications

If national culture were the sole factor in innovativeness, then companies would be limited by their host cultural legacies; since within‐country diversity is also associated with innovation, it provides entrepreneurs, government policy makers and executives with important options for increasing innovativeness.

Originality/value

While previous studies pointed to the potential link between ethno‐linguistic diversity and innovation, prior research has generally not taken this variable into account.

Details

Baltic Journal of Management, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2015

Marieke de Mooij

– The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the discussion of cross-cultural research, in particular the use of dimensions of national culture, for international marketing.

16462

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the discussion of cross-cultural research, in particular the use of dimensions of national culture, for international marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

Discuss definitions of values and culture, analyze cultural models as to purpose and design and applications of models to international marketing.

Findings

International marketers benefit from applying dimensions of national culture, but researchers make mistakes in applying and interpreting such dimensions, thus discrediting useful means of research for international marketing.

Practical implications

Researchers should understand the problems of multi-level research and interpret dimensions better when using them for research.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is in clearing up some of the misunderstandings about dimensions of national culture.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2021

Ronald B. Larson

Contaminated food is a major source of illnesses around the world. This research seeks to learn how people assign responsibility for two food contamination risks and how they…

Abstract

Purpose

Contaminated food is a major source of illnesses around the world. This research seeks to learn how people assign responsibility for two food contamination risks and how they allocate costs to reduce these risks to four members of the food supply chain. The aims are to identify differences between countries and test options to control for cultural differences.

Design/methodology/approach

A random sample of online panellists from six countries (N = 6,090) was surveyed on how they assigned responsibility for controlling natural and accidental food contamination (traditional food safety) and for controlling intentional contamination (food defense) to farmers, transporters/distributors, retailer grocery stores/restaurants and consumers. They were also asked how they would allocate food safety and defense costs to the four groups. Differences between countries were tested with dummy variables and cultural measures.

Findings

In nearly every country, respondents assigned the least responsibility and allocated the smallest cost shares to consumers. In multivariate models, responsibility and cost-share results differed, suggesting that preferences varied by country and that respondents did not allocate costs the same way they assessed responsibility. The food safety and defense models also differed, implying that the respondents believed the two sources of contamination represented different risks.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine how adults allocate the responsibility and costs for food safety and defense to farmers, transporters/distributors, retailer grocery stores/restaurants and consumers. Other research did not differentiate between these two food risks. This study also compared Hofstede's cultural measures with the recently developed Minkov's cultural measures.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 123 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2023

Sohanur Rahman, Md Nurul Kabir, Kamrul Huda Talukdar and Mumtaheena Anwar

This study aims to examine the association between national culture and corporate carbon emissions. Specifically, the research explores how firm-level carbon emissions are…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the association between national culture and corporate carbon emissions. Specifically, the research explores how firm-level carbon emissions are associated with Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions: power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity and uncertainty avoidance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines 36,945 firm-year observations across 39 countries and uses panel regressions to assess the association between firm-level carbon emissions and national culture. This research also uses instrumental variable regression to address the potential endogeneity issues. Alternative proxies for culture are used to test the sensitivity of the findings.

Findings

The findings of this study reveal that power distance and uncertainty avoidance are negatively while individualism and masculinity are positively associated with corporate carbon emissions. The results are robust to the instrumental regressions and alternative measures of culture.

Practical implications

For policymakers, this research highlights the importance of national culture in assessing the efficacy of potential emissions reduction policies, identifying the possible challenges posed by the cultural differences of the targeted groups and designing policy adjustments accordingly. The local culture in which the branches of multinational corporations operate should be considered when the management implements emissions reduction policies for the business units in diverse cultural settings.

Social implications

Aligning emissions reduction policies with regional cultural dimensions has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of corporate and national emissions reduction policies, which can contribute to mitigating global climate change adversities.

Originality/value

This study provides insights into firm-level carbon emissions and Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions in a global setting.

Details

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8021

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 April 2012

Yvette Reisinger and John C. Crotts

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the acculturation process of foreign‐born residents of the US. In particular, the study seeks to identify factors that…

439

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the acculturation process of foreign‐born residents of the US. In particular, the study seeks to identify factors that influence acculturation of foreign residents, the degree to which their acculturation takes place and its effect on individuals.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of Korean‐born residents of the US was surveyed regarding their socio‐demographic characteristics and lifestyle preferences. Hofstede's five culture measures were used to identify the values of Korean and host culture. T‐tests were performed to determine if Korean respondents differed from their host culture and to identify the effects of marital status, spouse country of birth, and residence preferences. Correlations were run to assess the relationships between time (years residing in the US) and acculturation as measured by language, food and community preferences.

Findings

The study found that acculturation occurred, as measured by language preferences and Hofstede's culture measures, but only to a limited extent. Time, age, marital status, spouse country of birth, and preferred country of residence had only modest influence on acculturation. Most foreign‐born Korean residents of the US maintained a strong preference for their native culture.

Originality/value

Tourism destinations are becoming increasingly more ethnically diverse societies, due in part to immigration. From a marketing perspective, the increasing diversity in the foreign‐born population increases the need for new market segmentation. This, in turn, requires an understanding of if and how quickly foreign‐born residents abandon aspects of their native culture and become fully assimilated into their adopted host culture.

Article
Publication date: 27 August 2019

Marcello Mariani and Marina Predvoditeleva

The purpose of this study is to examine the role and influence of online reviewers’ cultural traits and perceived experience on online review ratings of Russian hotels by taking a…

2568

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the role and influence of online reviewers’ cultural traits and perceived experience on online review ratings of Russian hotels by taking a direct measurement approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt an explanatory sequential research design consisting of two stages. In the first stage, based on a sample of almost 75,000 Booking.com online reviews covering hotels located in Moscow (Russia), this study examines quantitatively to what extent the cultural traits of online reviewers and hotel guests’ perceived experience in online reviewing affect online ratings also using censored regressions. In the second stage, it interprets the results in light of semi-structured interviews conducted with a convenience sample of managers.

Findings

Each of the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (namely, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and power distance) exerts a significantly negative influence on the hotel online ratings. More specifically, the higher the levels of individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and power distance, the lower the hotel’s online ratings. Reviewers’ perceived experience in online reviewing is negatively related to online ratings.

Research limitations/implications

The study’s findings bear relevant practical implications for hotel managers and online platform managers in countries that are not typically covered by online consumer behavior studies in hospitality such as Russia. From a theoretical viewpoint, this study contributes to cultural studies in hospitality management and marketing with a further development of the nascent research stream taking a direct measurement approach to the study of cultural influences on consumers’ behaviors. Furthermore, this study offers a better and in-depth understanding of the role of cultural traits on electronic word of mouth, as well as international market segmentation theory in online settings.

Originality/value

The conjoint exploration of the effects of cultural differences and perceived experience in online reviewing adds to the nascent research stream taking a direct measurement approach to the study of the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on online consumers’ behaviors. The authors make multiple theoretical and methodological contributions, highlighting that online hospitality customers cannot be considered as one homogeneous mass. Instead, the application of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions allows identifying distinctively different online behaviors across international online customers: different online customer groups can be clustered into segments, as they display different online behaviors and give different online evaluations.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 31 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

Dave Valliere

This study aims to conduct a comparative exploration into the effects of culture, social values and entrepreneurial motivation on the career decisions of youth in the newly…

1990

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to conduct a comparative exploration into the effects of culture, social values and entrepreneurial motivation on the career decisions of youth in the newly liberalizing economy of Bhutan. These data should inform current efforts in that country to foster greater entrepreneurship among young people as a means to national development and enhanced levels of gross national happiness (GNH).

Design/methodology/approach

We surveyed 144 young people with an express interest in becoming educated in business and entrepreneurship, located in Bhutan and Canada. We measured the seven Hofstede's dimensions of national culture, two dimensions of social values from the world values survey and the three dimensions of McClelland's need for achievement construct – in all cases by reusing well-established metrics from the entrepreneurship and international business literature. The novel Bhutanese data are then compared to the equivalent data for Canada to provide context for their interpretation.

Findings

Our results show significant and wide-spread differences in the measures of culture and social values. On the measures of achievement motivation, our results show that the Bhutanese youth differ only in a significantly lower need for demonstrating mastery.

Research limitations/implications

This study appears to be the first report of the widely used international measures of culture, values and motivation for Bhutan, which represents a context that differs very significantly from many of its Asian neighbors and from western countries that are the usual subjects of research into drivers of entrepreneurship. As such, Bhutan may form an important test of the generalizability of theories of entrepreneurship and national development.

Practical implications

Our results point to novel and clear linkages between national policy objectives of increased entrepreneurship among youth and the specific supports and obstacles that exist in the national culture and values. These linkages, along with our findings on Bhutanese levels of achievement motivation, should inform the development of training programs to support the achievement of the national objectives.

Originality/value

Bhutan represents a unique combination where national entrepreneurship programs are being used for economic development in the context of a highly traditional social environment based on the maximization of GHN. Our results provide a unique insight into significant effects that culture and values may have in the realization of these goals for the people of Bhutan.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2022

Xiaoxiao Qi, Da Shi, Zixuan Huang and Wen Chang

This study aims to meta-analyze the moderating roles of Hofstede’s four cultural values in the antecedent–tourist loyalty link.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to meta-analyze the moderating roles of Hofstede’s four cultural values in the antecedent–tourist loyalty link.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on 35 independent studies, a meta-regression was conducted to determine whether the heterogeneity of 11 antecedent–tourist loyalty relationships could be explained by four dimensions of Hofstede’s cultural values. Furthermore, this study tested how these relationships were contingent on each cultural value dimension, reinforced by robustness tests involving subgroup analyses.

Findings

The intensity of all associations significantly varied by at least one cultural value dimension, namely, power distance, individualism, masculinity or uncertainty avoidance.

Research limitations/implications

This meta-analytic study enriches the relevant literature by referring to a large, diverse sample to enhance the robustness of the moderating role of tourists’ national culture in loyalty formation and revealing the moderating effect of national culture in 11 antecedent–tourist loyalty links more than in extant literature.

Originality/value

For the body of knowledge of culture-moderated tourist loyalty formation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the pioneering meta-analytic effort. It also first offers an original contribution to moderator analysis meta-analytic studies of tourist loyalty by identifying a new moderator, i.e. national culture.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 35 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2009

Ghada Refaat El Said and Galal H. Galal‐Edeen

The purpose of this paper is to systematically research and characterise the cultural response of a particular culture in the use of e‐commerce systems. The research paper…

2954

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to systematically research and characterise the cultural response of a particular culture in the use of e‐commerce systems. The research paper highlights the roles of trust, uncertainty avoidance (UA), internet store familiarity, and reputation as the main salient factors affecting the perception of the targeted group toward e‐commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs a laboratory experiential survey with 370 Egyptian internet users during an internet shopping experience. The results are analysed using a number of statistical techniques including structural equation modelling.

Findings

The research highlights the significant role of the internet store's perceived familiarity and reputation as the main antecedents of online trust. The relationship between trust and its two antecedents are found to be culturally sensitive; the high UA of the consumer is found to be associated with a stronger effect of the store's reputation on trust, and a stronger effect of the store's familiarity on trust.

Research limitations/implications

This research deals with intentions, not actual e‐commerce behaviour. However, there is a general consensus amongst researchers to assume that the degree to which people express their intentions to buy from an internet site is a reasonable predictor of the actual purchase behaviour. Also, UA, which is posited in this research as an important element of e‐commerce adoption, may have a different effect on the actual purchase behaviour.

Originality/value

The paper examines the interaction of a certain sub‐type of the Arab culture with various elements that are assumed to affect on‐line purchasing behaviour, which has not been examined in this depth elsewhere in the literature.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1998

Kim Shyan Fam and Bill Merrilees

This paper compares the promotional practices and perceptions between two countries of disparate cultural backgrounds, namely Australia and Hong Kong. The paper argues that the…

5035

Abstract

This paper compares the promotional practices and perceptions between two countries of disparate cultural backgrounds, namely Australia and Hong Kong. The paper argues that the preference for a particular promotional tool is influenced by the degree of cultural orientation as measured by Hofstede’s collectivism index. The central hypothesis is that countries with a higher score on the collectivism index are likely to favour personal selling promotion tools than will countries with a lower score. This hypothesis is tested with two separate samples of clothing and shoe retailers from Australia and Hong Kong. The hypothesis is supported from the statistical results.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

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