Search results

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the influence of national cultural dimensions on the evolution of national innovation adoption over time. The paper considers the moderating effects of national wealth, population density and illiteracy rate on the role of cultural dimensions in the timing of innovation takeoff in national markets.

The empirical study investigates 137 national innovation adoption time series; the dependent variable being the time it takes for innovation adoption to take off. The independent variables are Hofstede's five cultural dimensions and the moderating variables are gross domestic product (GDP), population density and illiteracy rate.

The outcome of the study shows that cultural dimensions have a greater influence on takeoff time in countries with highly developed economies, dense populations and low illiteracy rates. The study also shows that especially the cultural dimension of individualism has a significant context independent influence on takeoff dynamics, whereas masculinity has no such effect.

The paper provides evidence that the influence of cultural dimensions may be more complex than previously believed. Contribution of the research to the academic community especially lies in results regarding moderation effect of GDP, population density and illiteracy. Other independent and moderating variables could provide useful subjects for further research.

The results of this study could assist companies conducting business in cross‐national settings in planning their international operations in such areas as designing marketing promotions and deciding the entry order into national markets. Especially, useful the results are in pre‐takeoff phase of the evolution of innovation adoption.

The paper extends our understanding of the relationship between the national cultural dimensions and the early evolution of innovation adoption. Incomplete understanding of the cross‐national dynamics of the innovation adoption takeoff is scrutinized and the findings support earlier research that cultural dimensions affect adoption dynamics. The study demonstrates that the influence of cultural dimensions may be dependent on and moderated by other national attributes.

This study analyses configurations of national culture as boundary conditions of countries’ national systems of innovation (NSI). Drawing from the NSI approach, we argue that culture’s role is that of a contingency factor shaping the relationship between investments in innovation and national innovation outputs.

We assessed the moderation effect of national culture through a systematic, two-stage approach using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), which allows the analysis of changes induced by the moderator variables. Analyses were conducted with a diverse sample of 61 countries over a period spanning 12 years, from 2011 to 2022.

Findings reveal that investments in innovation, but not individual cultural dimensions, is a necessary condition for high innovation outputs. Furthermore, several configurations of cultural dimensions were identified as moderators of the relationship between investments in innovation and innovation outputs.

This study provides insights into cross-national innovation research by exposing the role of cultural configurations, rather than just individual cultural dimensions, as boundary conditions involved in the achievement of high levels of innovation.

This paper aims to review the use of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in accounting research over the period 1995-2015.

The author combines electronic and manual searches to identify relevant studies using key words like “national culture” or “Hofstede’s cultural dimensions” and “accounting” or “auditing” or “taxation”. The search yields a total number of 35 published studies. For each reviewed stream of research, the author presents its theoretical underpinning and summarises its main results.

The paper identifies four main accounting research topics being reporting policy, auditing, taxation and miscellaneous accounting. These studies use three main methodologies including empirical, experiment and meta-analysis. The review reveals that individualism is positively related to corporate reporting policy, while it is associated with low levels of tax evasion. High levels of masculinity are generally associated with low disclosure environments and aggressive accounting manipulations. Finally, long-term orientation has been examined with respect to social environmental disclosure, and findings are supportive of a positive association between both variables.

This literature review represents a historical record, an introduction and a guidance for researchers who aim to examine whether Hofstede’s cultural dimensions may be useful in explaining other accounting phenomena. It also presents the main criticisms addressed to Hofstede’s framework. Finally, it conducts a critical analysis for reviewed studies and highlights their reductionist approach in explaining accounting phenomena and methodological weaknesses.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical and empirical comparison of four major national cultural value models for perceived corporate reputation (CR) of multinational corporations (MNCs) across nations: Hofstede, Schwartz, the GLOBE study and Inglehart.

Two consumer surveys on an MNC and on competitors in 25 countries in the year 2015 (n=20,288 and 25,397) were used for the first time to compare the roles of the cultural value models as antecedents of CR, using multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM), which disentangles the explained variances on the country level and on the individual level.

National culture is strongly attributed to individual CR perceptions of MNCs across nations. However, the four conceptual cultural value models explain the variance differently (46.2–84.6 percent) as do particular cultural value dimensions within each model. The results are stable for both surveys.

Novel insights into the roles of cultural value models are provided for international business research. For MNCs aiming to use their CR to attract target groups in foreign countries, this study identifies the most influential cultural value model and particular dimensions.

This study contributes to cultural research by deepening the understanding of the various cultural value models and their importance for MNCs. Moreover, the authors add to the CR research by providing new insights into perception differences and using the still novel MSEM.

The primary purpose of this research paper is to understand the role of national cultural dimensions on e‐learning practices in India. India is considered a major player in the world economy today. US multinationals are significantly increasing their presence in India and understanding cultural preferences will help global companies transition better.

This conceptual paper uses the national cultural dimensions of the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness project, which is identified as the most topical theoretical framework on culture. The national cultural scores are used to develop hypotheses for specific cultural dimensions. Examples from the literature are also used to strengthen the proposed hypotheses.

This research proposes that national cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, in‐group collectivism, and future‐orientation influence e‐learning practices. This study distinguishes between synchronous and asynchronous methods of e‐learning and the role of culture on the same. Future research can definitely empirically test the hypotheses proposed.

This study provides strategic implications for multinationals with a guide sheet identifying the role of the various cultural dimensions on e‐learning. The suggested strategies can be implemented by multinationals in other countries with similar national cultural dimensions also.

This research also proposes a theoretical e‐learning model identifying the impact of national cultural dimensions on e‐learning practices. This research also provides practitioners a strategic implications model that could be implemented for e‐learning initiatives in multinationals.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate perceptions of fairness of a standardized performance appraisal in a multinational enterprise. The paper looks at the first step in understanding fairness perceptions by examining whether national culture influences the view on standardization itself and by comparing China, Lithuania, and Norway.

An experiment using a scenario that outlined a performance appraisal tool in a multinational company is conducted. National culture and individual cultural values are the independent variables and the perception of fairness of the practice is the dependent variable. A sample of 80 management respondents from Lithuania, China, and Norway is taken.

The findings suggest that national culture influences perceptions of fairness of a standardized performance appraisal tool. Employees from countries undergoing profound economic and political change, that score low on the cultural dimension of self‐expression, tend to see the standardized tool as more fair than employees from a stable country high on self‐expression. Differences in fairness perception at the individual level are found, where respondents high on power distance had higher perceptions of fairness of a standardized tool. Both national and individual levels measures of culture affected perceptions.

The sample is small; however, the differences are strong and indicate that perceptions of fairness vary. The experimental design allows good control, although it can limit generalizability to the field.

Multinational companies must understand that before analysis and choice of specific human resource practices it is important that they are aware of national and individual cultural differences towards standardization itself. Cultural differences affect reactions not only to the specific human practice but also to the standardization. Companies can use dimensions such as power distance and the survival/self‐expression dimension to understand the response of their employees. Being aware of this challenge may lead multinationals to pursue more fine‐tuned ways of communicating and implementing a standardized practice.

Using experiments to understand the implementation of practices in multinational organizations it is identified that, before deciding whether a practice should be locally adapted or standardized, the first step is to find out how standardization itself is perceived.

Prior reports on theory and research focusing on describing and explaining national cultural influences on purchase and consumption behavior use a net effects approach (i.e., theory and analysis relying on main and interaction effects via statistical analysis). Theory and research in this chapter advances qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of a configuration perspective of culture's consequences on consumption behavior. This research informs the view that national cultures represent causal recipes (conjunctions) of cultural values; the study of main and interaction effects offer meager representations of national culture's consequences in comparison to adopting a cultural configuration stance. The configuration research here includes transforming Hofstede's country cultural scores into fuzzy set values and applying Boolean algebra to estimate the relevancy of alternative cultural configurations for each of 14 nations to consuming experiences during visits to Australia. The findings support primary and additional hypotheses that specific cultural configurations are sufficient (but not necessary) for describing substantial culture's consequences on consuming tourism experiences. For example, the animus (i.e., Carl Jung's unconscious masculine personality-force) configuration — the combination of high power (P), high individualism (I), high masculine (M), and low uncertainty avoidance (∼U) (i.e., P·I·M·∼U) — is sufficient in indicating not-shopping-for-gifts while visiting Australia. Western national cultures (e.g., United States) have higher fuzzy set scores than Eastern national cultures (e.g., Japan) for the animus configuration.

Few scholars have analysed the corporate reputation (CR) of multinational corporations (MNCs) internationally, but both CR perception and effect are likely to differ across nations. Most studies have compared a few countries, linked differences to selected dimensions of Hofstede’s cultural approach, and reported ambiguous results. The purpose of this paper is to address the important role of all Hofstede’s cultural dimensions that may influence CR perceptions and effects by applying an appropriate method.

By integrating signalling theory and each cultural dimension, hypotheses are proposed and tested using consumer surveys of a German MNC in 37 countries. Multilevel structural equation modelling (SEM) showed whether and how all cultural value dimensions – the predominant approach in marketing – affect CR perceptions and effects.

Individual CR perceptions and effects are strongly attributable to national culture, which explains up to 62 per cent of country-level variance; however, the explanatory powers of the cultural dimensions differ between CR perceptions and effects. Not all dimensions affect both. The results are stable in alternative models.

The results enhance extant research because the relative importance of Hofstede’s dimensions and not only a possible role in country comparisons is shown. Hofstede’s approach explains considerable country-level variances. MNCs learn which cultural dimensions are core antecedents of CR perceptions (individualism and power distance explain >30 per cent variance) and core moderators of CR effects on loyalty (masculinity, individualism and uncertainty avoidance).

This study provides novel insights into the role of national cultural differences on CR perceptions and CR effects using the still novel multilevel SEM.