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The purpose of this paper is to present a two‐stage international market selection and segmentation model addressed to help decision makers such as foreign institutions and market‐seeking multinational enterprises (MNEs) identify and select the most suitable European countries and groups of consumers.

The first stage is conceived as a macro‐segmentation screening process based on market attractiveness. The second is a micro‐segmentation process addressed to identify which groups of people are most similar across Europe in terms of social and personal values. The authors' model is rooted in previous assumptions and findings from international market selection (IMS) and Inglehart's theory of material and post‐material values.

The model is applied to the current 27 European Union (EU) member states and is validated through the groups of countries empirically obtained. The model allows us to cluster the European countries by market attractiveness, group the European consumers by personal and social values and describe the value orientation of the resulting clusters.

The authors used cross‐sectional data to validate their model. Among the implications, they encourage international marketing and business scholars to make use of Inglehart's framework.

Institutional decision makers and market‐seeking MNEs can follow or adapt the prescribed model in order to identify the most promising and similar European countries and groups of consumers. Public policy makers can gain an in‐depth understanding of specific personal and social values allowing them to shape public policy agendas.

This paper contributes to the existing literature on IMS and segmentation in three ways: it proposes an original and parsimonious two‐stage IMS and segmentation integrative model for both country‐level and consumer‐related analyses (suitable to handle and reduce the European diversity that decision makers have to face when dealing with the general public or consumer products); it applies theoretically grounded general segmentation bases and an alternative established framework of consumer values (Inglehart's value system), and it adopts an updated and pan‐European perspective over the enlarged EU.

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.

A large part of the most recent studies in innovation focuses on the need to investigate the cultural differences between countries. Many of the approaches used focus on Hofstede as the most recognized perspective in international business. The Hofstede perspective requires a deeper analysis of the most profound components in the countries, such as values and beliefs. The purpose of this study is identify the drivers in creating innovation trajectories over time, focusing on different values that influence the innovation processes. These trajectories allow investigating the comparability in the innovation performance of the countries.

Time-series analysis is performed to achieve the research’s goal, considering the innovation inputs and people’s values and influence on innovation output. The Global Innovation Index and the World Value Survey (WVS), which comprise data from countries on different continents, were used in this investigation. The trajectories analysis technique examines differences in innovation trajectory among countries with cultural orientations toward traditional, secular, survival and self-expression values.

In the literature, it can be found that in more socially open societies, the results in innovation are higher than in societies with opposite values, as is the case of traditional vs secular rationale. On the other hand, societies with a tendency toward self-expression will be characterized by a constant search for individual liberties that promote the search for scientific and technological alternatives for problem-solving, contrary to those with survival characteristics.

Considering the results obtained in the study about the values and their relationship with innovation at the country level, the main limitation is the WVS information. This limitation is based on the need to complement the information obtained with other sources of information that allow comparisons to be made from the different cultural approaches that exist.

The findings allow us to contemplate a more general vision of the cultural factors that affect the social dynamics and, therefore, the industrial and commercial dynamics of a country. The managers can use this type of results in the design of strategies that allow them to contemplate adaptation processes that are more appropriate to the cultural contexts in which they operate are worked on in this research.

One of the main contributions is related to the possibility of understanding the relationship between the cultural dynamics of a country and the results in innovation, especially in the time.

The trajectory analysis, specifically Inglehard’s perspective concerning cultural dimensions and innovation, has not been used in the literature. This type of analysis will make it possible to have studies that allow subsequent comparisons to be made with other perspectives, especially at the country level.

The purpose of this study is to rely on the modernization theory to analyze and explain the cross-national differences in work-related values and attitudes (WVA).

First, the modernization theory and WVA are conceptualized, their relations are discussed and the hypotheses are formulated. Next, the data, measures, variables and empirical tests are presented. Finally, the theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, an integrative model is proposed and avenues for future research are suggested.

The empirical results confirm the explanatory strength of the modernization theory and provide valuable insights into the patterns of WVA across the world. It is found that the countries involved in the first phase of human development emphasize work centrality, extrinsic aspects of a job and material rewards and are likely to show noticeable discrimination against women and foreign workers. In contrast, post-industrial societies that are involved in the second phase of human development prefer emancipative WVA, such as low work centrality, tolerance of foreign workers, gender equality and hedonism at the workplace.

Despite the remarkable acceptance of the modernization theory, some of Inglehart’s propositions have been subject to criticism. Furthermore, human development, modernization and the subsequent cultural shifts are “path-dependent” as they are affected by the national, religious and civilization heritage of a country.

The findings of this study can help international mangers adopt the appropriate strategies for a wide range of issues, such as staffing, planning, job description and compensation policies.

The modernization theory is a suitable alternative to national cultural dimensions. This approach relies on the premise that socioeconomic development creates consistent patterns of values, beliefs and behaviors that ultimately shape WVA around the globe.

Gamification is a strategic approach employed by practitioners to foster meaningful engagement and enhance the acceptance of recommendations. Gamification affordances (e.g. achievement, self-expression, interaction, and cooperation) catalyze significant psychological processes in consumers, leading to behavioral changes. Despite its application, a gap remains in understanding how these gamification affordances in e-commerce contexts impact customers' perceived values and drive recommendation acceptances.

Employing affordance theory and perceived value theory as our foundation, we have crafted a comprehensive framework that addresses the multifaceted nature of e-commerce gamification, thereby unifying the fragmented knowledge in this area. We implemented a quantitative research design to empirically test the proposed model.

The research reveals that the four principal affordances of gamification – achievement, self-expression, interaction, and cooperation – significantly enrich consumer values across hedonic, utilitarian, and social dimensions. This enrichment facilitates an increased propensity for accepting recommendations.

This study provides a novel lens through which to view the influence of gamification affordances on recommendation acceptance within gamified e-commerce settings. It delineates the effects of each affordance on consumers' perceived value and highlights the pivotal affordances that shape gamified e-commerce experiences. These insights yield actionable strategies for practitioners aiming to refine e-commerce gamification designs and cultivate more engaging consumer interactions.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the impact that country connectedness and cultural values have on the equity afforded to a country’s workforce in today’s global economy.

Drawing upon a number of large international surveys of national-level metrics, e-readiness is identified as a proxy measure for country connectedness. Cultural variables are proxied by the World Values Survey’s national-level scores on “survival/self-expression” and “traditional/secular-rational” values. Workforce equity is captured via three measures: per capita Gross National Income (GNI) based on purchasing power parity (PPP), a Gini-coefficient, and the prevalence of child labor. Stepwise regression analysis is employed to investigate expected relationships.

Results suggest an interesting link between the constructs investigated. A negative and significant effect of e-readiness and a negative and significant effect of traditional/secular-rational values on workforce equity are reported. In addition, the impact of e-readiness appears to be absolutely larger while thee impact of survival/self-expression values on the workforce equity is not found to be significant.

The research is primarily exploratory in nature thereby providing a foundation but not an end product. Next, the data used in the research is aggregate-level data providing broad generalizations about each country. Does a country have a single culture? Is the connectivity of a country a valid measure of the regions within? The authors chose to use an analysis at a single point in time. A longitudinal study could provide more insight and thus help to highlight causality. The data utilized was repurposed from third-party sources. Finally, only 37 observations are used and a broader data set could help strengthen findings further.

The rapid march of country connectedness across the globe is eroding firms’ ability to shade their actions through the distance afforded by global supply chains. A country’s culture values has a significant impact on workforce equity but country connectedness has a stronger impact, thus companies operating in more traditional and less developed countries will face significant impacts as these countries get connected. Rather than a threat, companies may see country connectedness and workforce equity as an opportunity. Firms that treat their workers well will see vast new markets open for them as evermore of the world’s population becomes economically active.

Uses an innovative data capture methodology that allows the investigation of an interesting and unexplored research question.

This article analyzes the relationships between different conceptions of time, socioeconomic development and cultural values.

We focus on three major aspects of time, namely, 1) duration, 2) orientation and 3) tempo. Furthermore, we draw on modernization theory to distinguish between agrarian/traditional and industrial/modern societies and their respective cultural values.

Analyses indicate that agrarian/traditional societies with cultural values such as collectivism, survival, religiosity and hierarchical structures are marked by subjective/cyclical/inaccurate, past-oriented and slow-paced conceptions of time. In contrast, industrial/modern societies with cultural values such as individualism, self-expression, secularism and egalitarianism are marked by objective/linear/accurate, future-oriented and accelerated conceptions of time.

This paper introduces an original conceptualization of the three dimensions of time – duration, orientation and tempo – previously overlooked in the literature. Additionally, it provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the relationships between time, culture and socioeconomic development.

To further explore the nature of non-monetary motivation for working, this study aims to present correlates of non-financial employment commitment (NFEC) and a cross-national comparison.

Data gathered from representative national samples of the adult population (i.e. employed and unemployed individuals) in 31 countries (n=43,440), among them Nordic (e.g. Sweden and Norway), Western-European (e.g. Spain and France), Anglo-Saxon (e.g. the USA and Britain), former Communist (e.g. Russia and Hungary), Asian (e.g. Japan and South Korea), Latin-American (Mexico and the Dominican Republic), and African (South Africa). The source of the data is the 2005 International Social Survey Programme module on work orientation.

NFEC proves positively correlated with intrinsic job characteristics, education level, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Administrators, managers, and professionals have higher NFEC than blue-collar workers, clerks, service workers, and sales workers. Respondents currently working for pay have higher NFEC than those currently not working for pay. Respondents trying to improve job skills during the previous 12 months have higher NFEC than those not trying to do so. NFEC is higher in member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development than in non-member countries. NFEC is also higher in countries where self-expression values are important than in countries where survival values are important.

By assessing NFEC decision makers may be assisted in their selection and advancement decisions.

This study conducts the most comprehensive cross-national comparison of NFEC to date, and its findings have high external validity. It is unlikely that the findings are biased by social desirability.

This paper aims to explore digital fashion products in the metaverse platform contexts and empirically examine the effect of the metaverse platform characteristics on the purchase intention of digital fashion products through users' flow experience and perceived value of the products.

A survey method was used in this study. Answers from 314 metaverse users were analyzed, and the hypotheses were tested using the structural equations modeling and bootstrapping analysis.

The analyses showed that telepresence, social interaction and economic flow had significant effects on users' flow experience among the metaverse platform characteristics, while the continuity and content creation of the metaverse platform did not have significant effects. The flow experience also appeared to have significant effects on multiple consumption values, including pleasure value, self-expression value and economic value. Last, the perceived pleasure value and economic value of digital fashion products had a positive effect on purchase intention.

The main contribution of this research is that it is one of the first empirical attempts to investigate individual consumers' perceptions and experiences of digital fashion products in the context of metaverse platforms.

In this research the starting point was that a certain gap between military and civilian culture could exist, because of the inevitable difference between typical military values and new values arisen in contemporary societies, with special reference to Western affluent societies. It seems that this hypothesis belong to the culture-free side, since it rests on the concept of a military culture made of specific values, which are the same in every society. There is anyway a different viewpoint, following the trends of studies developed in the intercultural relations domain, mainly dealing with business internationalisation and cross-cultural management topics, generally known as the culture-bound thesis. In the culture-free assumption the consequence should be a pressure of social change on a supposed unique military; in the culture-bound conception a mutual and systemic adaptation of different institutions within each inclusive society driven by one's own culture could be expected. Findings in this research show that if a relative gap can be observed between military and civilian students, this varies greatly according to different groups of countries. Distances seem to be larger in countries belonging to the post-modern cluster (Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands), and lowering down in modern countries such as Slovenia, Bulgaria and Poland, and even less appreciable in Romania, South Africa and Turkey. This could give some support to the culture-free thesis, according to which military culture is specific and find more convergences with so-called traditional societies than with modern or post-modern cultures. But results are not as sharp as needed, and the culture-bound thesis cannot anyway be rejected.