Cultural dimensions and moral reasoning: a comparative study

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 335-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Joseph Wilhelm ◽  
Panom Gunawong
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Copyright Holder ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Geert Hofstede ◽  
The Usa ◽  
First Time

Purpose – Moral reasoning research in Western cultures is grounded primarily in Kohlbergian cognitive moral theory. Enumerable investigations about the psychological determinants and cultural dimensions of moral reasoning have provided significant insights about Western decision making and contributed to Western organizational behavioral theory. However, inquiry about these same constructs and how they may interact with moral reasoning in non-Western Southeast Asian trading partner countries has not provided comparable insights. The purpose of this paper is to remedy that by comparing predominant cultural dimensions to levels of moral reasoning in student and graduate populations in Thailand and the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The Defining Issues Test (DIT) measurement of moral reasoning (Rest et al., 1999) and the Values Survey Module (VSM) 2013 (Hofstede and Minkov, 2013) were translated for the first time into Thai, pilot tested, and used to gather cultural and moral reasoning data in Thailand. The same English version instruments were used to gather comparable data among similarly matched US samples. Comparisons are presented in this paper, and differences in approaches to moral decision making are discussed. Findings – Findings indicate that there are both significant psychological and cultural differences between the two nations that affect moral reasoning. Predominant status quo moral reasoning predominates in Thailand, while a polarity between self-interest moral reasoning and higher level abstract idealistic moral reasoning predominates in the USA. Potential cultural influences on these moral reasoning tendencies are discussed. Research limitations/implications – While findings can be generalized to the sample populations of Thai and US undergraduate students and graduate students who are in the workplace, the considerable time required to complete the two survey instruments precluded inclusion of higher level, veteran managers and public policy administrators in the study. Alternative survey methods need to be developed for investigating these subjects in order to make the combined findings more robust and widely generalizable. Practical implications – Careful attention to cultural and linguistic variables provided for thorough and effective first-time translations of the DIT and the VSM 2013 from English into the Thai language. These two instruments are now available to other researchers who wish to investigate cultural dimensions and moral reasoning through other research designs. The Thai-version DIT can be obtained from the copyright holder, Center for the Study of Ethical Development (http://ethicaldevelopment.ua.edu/). The Thai-version of the VSM can be obtained through the Geert Hofstede website (www.geerthofstede.nl/). Social implications – These findings can help researchers in Western and non-Western countries to better understand the foundations upon which moral reasoning in the two countries is grounded, and can provide insights about how individuals in quite different cultures perceive ethical dilemmas in the workplace and public arena and attempt to solve them. The findings also serve as another entry point for business managers and public policy administrators to not only better understand organizational behavior as regards ethical decision making, but general decision making as well. Originality/value – This is the first research study comparing cultural dimensions identified by Geert Hofstede and Michael Minkov as measured by the VSM 2013 to moral reasoning as measured by the DIT.

Student loan debt and first-time home buying in USA

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Scott III ◽  
Steven Bloom
Keyword(s):  
College Graduates ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Home Equity ◽  
Student Loan Debt ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Loan Debt ◽  
The Usa ◽  
First Time ◽  
Home Buying

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between student loan debt and first-time home buying among college graduates aged 23 to 40 years old in the USA. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances data on American households to present descriptive statistics and run logistic regressions that measure the effects of student loan debt on first-time home buying. The authors also present original survey data of mortgage lenders that provides an industry-level perspective. Findings The authors find that having student loan debt does not by itself prohibit first-time home buyers. On the contrary, having student loan debt increases the likelihood of homeownership by 15.1%. People with student loan debt, however, buy homes that are 39.2% less expensive and have 58% less home equity compared to first-time home buyers without student loans. In addition, it is found that the amount of student loan debt is important. People with student loan debt above the median amount among people with student loan debt ($35,000) are 27% less likely to be first-time home buyers. Practical implications This paper provides public policy analysts and other researchers a different perspective on the correlation between student loan debt and home buying. This study focuses narrowly on first-time home buyers who are college graduates between 23 and 40 years. Thus, capturing the youngest cohort of first-time home buyers and examine the primary factors that influence their home buying decisions. Originality/value First-time homebuyers are historically the largest segment of home buyers making them an important subcategory to study. The rise in student loan debt is posited to explain declining homeownership among younger people. The current literature on student loan debt and home buying often studies samples that are too heterogeneous resulting in mixed findings. This paper adds to the existing literature by filtering the sample to study the effects of student loan debt and first-time home buying among people with at least a college degree who are between 23 and 40 years.

Cultural distance and inter-organizational knowledge transfer: a case study of a multinational company

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dasun Bhagya Sapuarachchi
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Cultural Distance ◽  
Organizational Knowledge ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Business World ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore a phenomenon in knowledge management that has been given scant attention: the influence of cultural distance on inter-organizational knowledge transfer in the context of multinational companies involving headquarters in the USA and a subsidiary in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach Designed as a qualitative exploratory study, data was collected through in-depth interviews of 15 participants and documents review. Findings The findings of this study implied that the theoretically introduced cultural dimensions shall be relevant to analyze the phenomenon of this study. Consequently, through the findings of this study, it is argued that inter-organizational knowledge transfer in multinational companies is influenced by cultural distance. Research limitations/implications This study theoretically and empirically contributes to the debates on knowledge transfer in knowledge management research in general and, inter-organizational knowledge transfer in multinational companies between headquarters and subsidiaries with respect to the influence of cultural distance in particular, through the light of Trompenaars’ (1993) cultural dimensions theory. Practical implications The findings of this study could motivate the practitioners to take into account: the influence of cultural distance on inter-organizational knowledge transfer, if inter-organizational knowledge transfer happens in similar contexts: multinational companies with a headquarters in the USA (a western context) and a subsidiary in Sri Lanka (a non-western context) in the practical business world. Originality/value This study provides theoretical and empirical insights into the influence of cultural distance on inter-organizational knowledge transfer in multinational companies between headquarters and subsidiaries in the selected context while suggesting various avenues for further research toward the influence of cultural distance on such phenomenon in similar/dissimilar contexts.

ManAGEment: the challenges of global age diversity for corporations and governments

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Mahon ◽  
Carla C.J.M. Millar
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Corporate Policies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Age Diversity ◽  
Dependency Ratios ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Global Age ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges, worldwide of managing an aging workforce. The paper offers suggestions for public policy and for individual organizational approaches to developing, managing and motivating an aging workforce. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews in depth international literature, public policies and corporate policies that deal with an aging workforce. Findings – In virtually every nation in the world, society is aging and the costs to society – on multiple dimensions demand organizational action and changes in public policy. For the first time in recorded history the number of people aged 65+ will exceed those 15 and under starting in 2015. It is also predicted that those 80+ will be greater than those under 15 in Europe by 2060. Originality/value – This paper explores the impact of a worldwide aging society on the management of organizations and the demands that this aging will place on public policy. It addresses the profound impacts of changing dependency ratios on nations and on their future competitiveness.

Large-cap vs small-cap portfolio performance: new empirical evidence from ETFs

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-94
Author(s):  
Gerasimos Rompotis
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Portfolio Performance ◽  
Exchange Traded Funds ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Risk Characteristics ◽  
The Usa ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeA well-documented pattern in the literature concerns the outperformance of small-cap stocks relative to their larger-cap counterparts. This paper aims to address the “small-cap versus large-cap” issue using for the first time data from the exchange traded funds (ETFs) industry.Design/methodology/approachSeveral raw return and risk-adjusted return metrics are estimated over the period 2012-2016.FindingsResults are partially supportive of the “size effect”. In particular, small-cap ETFs outperform large-cap ETFs in overall raw return terms even though they fail the risk test. However, outperformance is not consistent on an annual basis. When risk-adjusted returns are taken into consideration, small-cap ETFs are inferior to their large-cap counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsThis research only covers the ETF market in the USA. However, given the tremendous growth of ETF markets worldwide, a similar examination of the “small vs large capitalization” issue could be conducted with data from other developed ETF markets in Europe and Asia. In such a case, useful comparisons could be made, so that we could conclude whether the findings of the current study are unique and US-specific or whether they could be generalized across the several international ETF markets.Practical implicationsA possible generalization of the findings would entail that profitable investment strategies could be based on the different performance and risk characteristics of small- and large-cap ETFs.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine the performance of ETFs investing in large-cap stock indicesvis-à-visthe performance of ETFs tracking indices comprised of small-cap stocks.

Thinking styles, gender, and decision making in Latin American management

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camelia Ilie ◽  
Guillermo Cardoza
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Thinking Styles ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose Many studies have analyzed how gender diversity and local culture condition the cognitive styles of managers and affect decision-making processes in organizations. Gender diversity has been defended from an equality perspective; it has been argued to improve decision-making processes and to have a positive impact on companies’ return on investment. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the differences between the thinking styles of men and women, in Latin America and the USA that support decision-making processes. An argument is given in favor of gender diversity in management teams, because of its positive implications in decision making. Design/methodology/approach The measurement instrument used was the Neethling Brain Instrument, developed based on recent neuroscience discovery. The sample comprised 1,216 executives from the USA and several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, who have participated in executive training programs. Findings The results show differences in thinking styles by gender, but no differences were found in thinking styles or decision making between men and women at the same managerial level in either of the two regions. Similarly, results suggest that executives in the USA tend to base their management models on strategic thinking styles that focus on interpersonal relations and involve risk taking, while executives in Latin American countries tend to prefer thinking and management styles focusing on data analysis, execution, planning, and process control. Originality/value The results of the present study show that, in all regions, men score higher in rational thinking styles associated with the cortical areas, while women gravitate toward thinking styles where emotional schemes prevail, related to subcortical areas. These results could be useful for organizational leaders in charge of allocating roles and tasks to people, based on their thinking style strengths. The results can also be very valuable for Latin American organizations to design specific training and development programs for men and women accordingly with their individual needs and their managerial roles. They can also support the argument that diverse gender teams will guarantee complete decision-making processes.

Social marketing applications in public policy programs: key learnings and applications

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Satyam Mishra ◽  
Bikramjit Rishi
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Media Advocacy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Labour Policy ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Social Marketing Campaigns ◽  
Marketing Principles

Purpose Marketing tools used in public policy may not be purely commercial but based on non-commercial marketing exchanges also. This paper aims to make a case for the practice of social marketing principles to aid the context of public policy. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to draw out the key implementable learnings (KILs) from the analysis of the five public policy initiatives in the USA, India and Sri Lanka. A case situation with the context of child labour policy in India is proposed to use these KILs. Findings This paper concludes that the implementation of any policy is a challenging exercise and dependent on a large number of factors. However, KILs derived from successful social marketing programs deal with umbrella campaigns, prevailing socio-cultural environment, bottom-up communication, upstream approach to engage with stakeholders and targeted media advocacy could prove useful when the objective is to induce behaviour change as a part of the policy execution. Originality/value This paper evaluates the learnings from social marketing campaigns and their relevance to public policy programs. It also considers a case to demonstrate the application of the concept.

The effects of brand origin and country-of-manufacture on consumers' institutional perceptions and purchase decision-making

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shijiao Chen ◽  
Malcolm J. Wright ◽  
Hongzhi Gao ◽  
Huan Liu ◽  
Damien Mather
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Institutional Quality ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Regulatory Environment ◽  
Purchase Decision ◽  
Choice Modelling ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa

PurposeIndustry-wide crises involving consumer products place consumers at risk. Consumers rely on institutions that constrain corporate practice and control product quality to reduce risk. As institutions vary by country, country-of-origin (COO) acts as a salient cue for consumers to identify institutional quality and thus evaluate risk when making purchase decisions. However, in the era of globalisation, identification of institutional quality becomes complex as global value chains involve different countries such as brand origin (BO) and country-of-manufacture (COM). Therefore, this research investigates how BO and COM individually and jointly affect consumers' institutional perceptions and subsequent purchase decision-making in the presence of systemic risk.Design/methodology/approachThis research includes three studies (n = 764) employing surveys and choice modelling experiments with samples from China and the USA.FindingsThe results show that BO and COM relate to different institutional perceptions. BO evokes perceptions of legitimacy and the regulatory environment, while COM evokes perceptions of the normative and the regulatory environment. The combination of BO and COM determines how institutional quality is communicated and further affects consumers' legitimacy perceptions, preferences and willingness to pay a price premium.Originality/valueThis research contributes to understanding the effect of BO and COM in the context of complex value chains from an institutional perspective. It also provides implications for leveraging complex COO cues with BO and COM information to improve consumers' institutional perceptions.

Cross-cultural differences in the adoption of social media

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhoha A. Alsaleh ◽  
Michael T. Elliott ◽  
Frank Q. Fu ◽  
Ramendra Thakur
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Cultural Characteristics ◽  
Modified Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cross National

PurposeAs social media have become very popular and an integral part of the world economy in recent years, identifying factors that influence consumers’ attitudes toward social media sites has become a major goal of many researchers in academia and industry. This paper aims to identify factors that predict consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward usage of Instagram, a relatively new social media tool. In addition, it examines the role of an important dimension of culture – individualism vs collectivism –to determine cultural influences on the adoption of social media in the USA (i.e. an individualistic culture) and Kuwait (i.e. a collectivist culture).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate business and MBA students from Kuwait and the USA. To validate the measures for the constructs depicted in the conceptual model, the authors conducted an exploratory factor analysis using all items. They then conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to further evaluate the adequacy and validity of the measurement model. They also tested the hypotheses using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsOut of the nine hypotheses that were tested for significance, the SEM results indicated that seven hypotheses were significant. The results indicated a non-significant result between perceived critical mass is not a predictor of perceived usefulness and social influence to attitude.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study has some limitations that need to be recognized and can be used as guidelines for future research. First, college students represent only a portion of online users and may impact the external validity of our study. Hence, a more diverse sample with a broader range of ages, incomes, education levels, cultures and national origins would be advisable. Second, this study featured a dynamically continuous innovation (Instagram) rather than a discontinuous innovation. Third, other factors can be carried out to see other variables other than those described in this study to predict consumer’s attitude and intention to use the social media.Practical implicationsCultural characteristics such as individualism/collectivism would seem to be potentially useful when segmenting countries. The results of the current study indicate that the modified model is applicable to a cross-national group of social media users. This study demonstrates the impact of cultural characteristics on various technology adoption. Hence, managers must be aware that countries can be grouped according to the type of cultural effect within each. Each social media category, clusters can be formed consisting of countries that are expected to have similar usage patterns based on technological capability and social norms. By understanding the factors that influence each cluster of countries, firms can design customized social media programs.Social implicationsThis research provides valuable information to better understand the consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward the emerging social media landscape. Indeed, the popularity of social media has greatly changed the way in which people communicate in today’s world. In particular, Instagram has gradually become a major communication media for both social and business purposes. This research shed light into the factors that influence intentions to adopt social media across different cultures. It empirically examines the role of culture – individualism vs collectivism – by using two samples (i.e. Kuwait and the USA) to determine cultural influences on the adoption of social media in different cultures.Originality/valueUsing data drawn from Kuwait and US samples, this current study draws upon the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) and the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989). The results of the analysis indicate that the modified model is applicable to a cross-national group of social media users. Moreover, this study demonstrates the impact of cultural characteristics on various technology adoption constructs in the model.

scholarly journals The more you value, the less you practice: a study on culture and managerial discretion

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-50
Author(s):  
Moustafa Salman Haj Youssef ◽  
Hiba Maher Hussein ◽  
Hoda Awada
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
National Level ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Managerial Discretion ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine cross-cultural differences in managerial discretion and the extent to which variations and interaction of cultural practices and values affect the degree of freedom in decision making that is accorded to executives. This paper offers a holistic approach to investigating culture in addition to acknowledging its paradoxical nature. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel of prominent management consultants to rate discretion across 18 countries, the authors further develop the national-level construct of managerial discretion by empirically investigating the influence of cultural practices and values on CEOs’ discretion. Findings The study reveals that cultural values moderate the relationship between cultural practices and managerial discretion for three cultural dimensions: individualism, uncertainty tolerance and power distance (PD). By adopting the logic of marginal utility, the authors also show that the more a society values individualism, uncertainty tolerance and PD, the weaker the effect of their practices on managerial discretion. Originality/value Few research has attempted to assess both cultural values and practices in relation to managerial discretion. By showing the mechanism in which culture affects the level of managerial discretion, the authors offer new theoretical insights and practical implications, overall contributing to the field of cross-cultural and strategic management. Finally, this will offer CEO’s a new perspective of leveraging culture as a tool, enhancing their decision-making capabilities in the aim of improving organizational performance.

The Balancing Act

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki Park ◽  
Elise St John ◽  
Amanda Datnow ◽  
Bailey Choi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Data Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Placement ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Classroom Placement ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how data are used in classroom placement routines. The authors explore educators’ assumptions about the purposes of the classroom placement routine, detailing the ostensive (i.e. structure and template) and performative aspects of the routine itself, and the implications of data use for equity and leadership practices. Design/methodology/approach Using a multi-site case study involving in-depth interviews of teacher and school leaders and observations of meetings, the authors examined the role that data played in classroom placement routines in three elementary schools in the USA. Findings Findings show that educators across schools collected similar types of multi-dimensional data; however, analysis and decision-making processes varied based on their assumptions and goals. Assessing student needs holistically and balancing students across classes based on academic diversity, behavioral or socio-emotional needs, gender and teacher workload were consistent patterns. There was a distinct difference between collecting data and actually using it as a basis of decision making. Research limitations/implications These findings highlight the importance of using in-depth observations to understand data use in schools. Educators’ assumptions and philosophies about classroom placement contributed to the pattern of discussion and decisions made throughout the routines. Delving deeper into how data are used in specific routines and organizational contexts can illuminate how data use is socially constructed and enacted for equity. Practical implications Educators who guide school routines have the power to maintain taken-for-granted assumptions about students, or to create counter-narratives. Originality/value This study provides insights into classroom and student placement processes by emphasizing the social and interactional dimensions of data use as they unfold in practice. It also extends empirical knowledge about the purposes, dimensions, and uses of data-driven decision making models.

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