scholarly journals Cross-cultural validation of switching costs: a four-country assessment

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dahlia A. El-Manstrly
Keyword(s):  
Switching Costs ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Test Theory ◽  
Switching Behavior ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Tool ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a cross-cultural scale of customers’ perceived switching costs (PSCs). Customers’ PSCs function as a powerful defensive marketing tool that restrains customers from switching. Design/methodology/approach – Four sets of survey data were collected in the UK, Egypt, Germany, and China. An overall response rate of 86 percent was achieved across the four countries. Cross-cultural equivalence of the PSCs scale was assessed using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. Findings – Tests of configural, metric, and factor variance invariance confirmed that the PSCs scale is appropriate for meaningful cross-cultural comparisons. Research limitations/implications – Data were collected in four countries from the financial service context. Future researchers should test the short-form PSCs (PSCs-S) scale across different cultural and industrial contexts to enhance its generalizability. Practical implications – The cross-cultural PSCs-S scale presented here will enhance international marketing researchers’ ability to test theory containing customers’ PSCs as central variables, and provide managers with a measurement tool that they can use to better segment and manage their customers. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to develop a cross-cultural PSCs scale. Despite the growth of research into customers’ PSCs, research on the topic has been limited by the lack of a cross-cultural measurement instrument. The latter now furnishes the research community with the opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of switching behavior, to establish the scale's generalizability, and to make meaningful comparisons of PSCs across cultures.

scholarly journals Employing neo-Durkheimian institutional theory in cross-cultural accounting research

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1270-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Mark Linsley ◽  
Alexander Linsley ◽  
Matthias Beck ◽  
Simon Mollan
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Mary Douglas ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose Neo-Durkheimian institutional theory, developed by the Durkheimian institutional theory, as developed by anthropologist Mary Douglas, as a suitable theory base for undertaking cross-cultural accounting research. The social theory provides a structure for examining within-country and cross-country actions and behaviours of different groups and communities. It avoids associating nations and cultures, instead contending any nation will comprise four different solidarities engaging in constant dialogues. Further, it is a dynamic theory able to take account of cultural change. Design/methodology/approach The paper establishes a case for using neo-Durkheimian institutional theory in cross-cultural accounting research by specifying the key components of the theory and addressing common criticisms. To illustrate how the theory might be utilised in the domain of accounting and finance research, a comparative interpretation of the different experiences of financialization in Germany and the UK is provided drawing on Douglas’s grid-group schema. Findings Neo-Durkheimian institutional theory is deemed sufficiently capable of interpreting the behaviours of different social groups and is not open to the same criticisms as Hofstede’s work. Differences in Douglasian cultural dialogues in the post-1945 history of Germany and the UK provide an explanation of the variations in the comparative experiences of financialization. Originality/value Neo-Durkheimian institutional theory has been used in a wide range of contexts; however, it has been little used in the context of accounting research. The adoption of the theory in future accounting research can redress a Hofstedian-bias in accounting research.

scholarly journals Internationalisation strategy, faculty response and academic preparedness for transnational teaching

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 1084-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasawar Nawaz
Keyword(s):  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Cultural Teaching ◽  
Internationalisation Strategy ◽  
Academic Faculty ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Transnational education (TNE), interpreted as the mobility of education programmes and providers between countries, has grown exponentially as a worldwide phenomenon in recent years. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have mainly used such opportunities to internationalise their degrees and programmes, and have paid scant attention on preparing academics to teach cross-culturally. As a result, academics being at the coalface of teaching and learning often feel under-informed, under-supported, underprepared and under-confident when it comes to cross-cultural teaching, suggesting that universities have largely failed to prepare their academic faculty members to face the challenges of internationalisation. This is particularly important for new and young players such as the post-92 universities in the UK. However, such institutions have largely been ignored by the previous research in this area. Reverting the research focus on young HEIs, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of preparing faculty staff members in the context of a post-92 university in the UK, to teach cross-culturally at partner institutions via the TNE route. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts Deardorff’s intercultural competency process model to develop a framework (focussing on three core elements of knowledge, skills and attitudes) that could help the academic staff members to prepare for teaching internationally. The paper is based on a detailed analysis of university’s internationalisation strategy, policy documents and related reports for the 1999–2016 period. The initial analysis is further supplemented by 11 interviews with the main stakeholders, i.e. academics, educational developers and policy makers. Findings As the post-92 university in focus, like its counterparts, continues to proliferate its degrees and programmes through the TNE route, academics who are tasked with transnational teaching have an increased responsibility to develop the competencies required to work with learners from diversified cultural backgrounds. However, there has been less interest at university or faculty level in ensuring that academic faculty members who teach in transnational context are prepared for the specific rigours of transnational teaching. Research limitations/implications The research findings have broader implications at individual, organisational and industry-level for individual academic faculty members to progress further in their career, HEIs to improve the quality of training programmes and policies and the HE industry to adjust the strategy towards internationalisation. Practical implications In the absence of any formally structured training, the paper proposes pre-departure informal training workshops/seminars conducted by seasoned academics at faculty, school or department level to help new academics transform their knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to facilitate positive interactions with students in a cross-cultural teaching environment. Although the focus is on one post-92 university; however, the proposed framework could be adopted across HEIs worldwide. Originality/value The paper is based on a detailed analysis of university’s internationalisation strategy, policy documents and related reports for the 1999–2016 period. The initial analysis is further supplemented by 11 interviews with the main stakeholders, i.e. academics, educational developers and policy makers. Informed by the best practices, the paper also discusses the implication of intercultural competencies for cross-cultural teaching.

The experiences of mothers caring for a child with developmental disabilities: a cross cultural perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 218-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuljit Heer ◽  
John Rose ◽  
Michael Larkin ◽  
Nidhi Singhal
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – India has one of the more progressive disability frameworks in the developing world which tends to adopt western philosophies and principles (e.g. parent participation and advocacy) which to some degree mirrors the type of service delivery in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a cross-cultural perspective to explore caregiving amongst parents caring for a child with intellectual/developmental disabilities in India. Design/methodology/approach – Three focus groups were used to interview parents at Action for Autism (AFA) located in Delhi, India. The focus groups explored how disability is encountered within an Indian context. Findings – Two main themes were identified in the parents narratives which were “making the decision to get help” and “seeing disabilities in from a new perspective”. Family members played an important role in the decision to get help and acted as a platform for mothers to explore their own concerns. Seeing disability from a new perspective was a four stage process which included initially accepting the diagnosis and their child; regaining control through parenting skills training; witnessing positive changes in their children and themselves and reaping personal benefits as a result of their involvement with AFA. Research limitations/implications – The research is very small scale and focused on parents in a specific organisation, as a consequence the results cannot be generalised. Originality/value – The discourses of these individuals do provide a useful insight into the provision of services to children in India and provide a starting point for cross-cultural understanding of parenting children with disabilities.

Aha! “take on Me’s”: bridging the North sea with relational autoethnography

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 330-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trude Klevan ◽  
Bengt Karlsson ◽  
Lydia Turner ◽  
Nigel Short ◽  
Alec Grant
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Relational Practice ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how sharing stories of being a mental health professional and academic, based more broadly on serendipity and searching in life, can serve as means for bridging and developing cross-cultural understandings and collaborative work. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a relational autoethnography based on face-to-face and written conversational dialogue between five mental health academics from the UK and Norway. Findings The very practice of writing this paper displays and serves the purpose of bridging people, cultures and understandings, at several levels, in the facilitation of new research and writing projects. Troubling traditional boundaries between “us” and “them, and the “knower” and the “known,” the writing is theoretically underpinned by Friendship as Method, situated in a New Materialist context. Originality/value Through its conversational descriptions and explorations the paper shows how doing relational autoethnography can be purposeful in developing cross-cultural understandings and work at both professional and personal levels. It also demonstrates how autoethnography as relational practice can be useful in the sharing of this methodology between people who are more and less familiar with it.

Consumers’ switching motivations and intention in the case of bank mergers: a cross-cultural study

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya F. Farah
Keyword(s):  
Banking Sector ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Switching Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Switching ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze consumer switching behavior, which in the retail banking sector is of outmost importance, particularly during financial crises and in their ensuing consolidation pressures. Moreover, research indicates that cultural values play a critical role in determining a customer’s likelihood to switch the service provider. The theory of planned behavior offers a comprehensive theoretical framework for an understanding of this behavior. Its application implies that switching is influenced not only by one’s attitudes toward changing banking service providers, but also by the merger situation at hand, the influence of significant others, and whether the switching decision is under one’s behavioral control. Design/methodology/approach This paper scrutinizes the merger between Lloyds TSB and Halifax Bank of Scotland in the Spanish market, with a focus on the differences between British and Spanish consumers. In all, 30 face-to-face exploratory interviews were conducted with a sample of customers from both nationalities selected through a purposive sampling technique. Findings The results indicate that the switching behavior within the banking sector is largely determined by one’s cultural background. While individualistic consumers are more prone to switch banks, collectivist consumers are highly risk averse and are unwilling to lose the established relations with a bank’s personnel. These particular characteristics make them unlikely to switch banks irrespective of a merger and its related consequences. Originality/value This paper examines the impact of cross-cultural differences on consumer switching motivations and intentions in the particular case of a real-life banks’ merger.

A cross-cultural comparative study of internal auditor skills: UK vs Korea

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inshik Seol ◽  
Joseph Sarkis ◽  
Zhihong (Rita) Wang
Keyword(s):  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Behavioral Skills ◽  
Internal Auditor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internal Auditors ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Training

Purpose Based on the theoretical development by House et al. (2004), the purpose of this paper is to investigate the cross-cultural differences of internal auditors’ perceptions on the importance of internal auditor skills. Design/methodology/approach The authors developed a survey based on the competency framework for internal auditing and collected data from the UK (Anglo cultural cluster) and Korea (Confucian cultural cluster). In total, 231 internal auditors participated in the study. Findings The results showed that UK auditors perceived behavioral skills as more important than cognitive skills, while Korean auditors had an opposite perception. Not surprisingly, UK auditors rated each sub-category of behavioral skills higher than Korean auditors; Korean auditors gave higher scores than UK auditors for each sub-category of cognitive skills. Research limitations/implications One limitation of the study is that two different data collection methods were used for the study: online for the UK and paper-based for Korean auditors. Another limitation of the study is that the authors did not analyze the possible impact of each participating auditor’s background knowledge. Practical implications The findings of the study contributes to professional practice by providing culturally adaptive criteria for regulators’ policy-making, organizations’ employee hiring and training, and educators’ curriculum design across various cultural environments. Originality/value The findings of the study can provide some insights on cultural impacts to help academic researchers develop models regarding the internal auditor selection and training in different nations.

scholarly journals From LBDQXII to LBDQ50: preferred leader behavior measurement across cultures

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-81
Author(s):  
Gillian Warner-Soderholm ◽  
Inga Minelgaite ◽  
Romie Frederick Littrell
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Leadership Behavior ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Leader Behavior ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Settings ◽  
Global Management ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to refine and validate the most widely used leader behavior measurement instrument, LBDQXII, into a more parsimonious instrument for assessing cognitive templates of preferred leader behavior across cultures. Design/methodology/approach The 100-item LBDQXII survey was administered to 6,451 participants from 14 countries; these data were used to refine the survey. Findings The shorter survey instrument is a valid and reliable tool for assessing preferred leader behavior. Four periods in the LBDQXII “evolution” are identified: emergence, expansion, stagnation and revival. Research limitations/implications The new LBDQ50 can be used to collect data across cultures, contributing to both global management development and scholarly studies. Practical implications This project corresponds to calls to shorten the well-established leader behavior instrument into a measurement tool that is reliable and valid across cultures and languages. This can be administered by both private and public organizations, contributing to greater effectiveness. Furthermore, it retains its scholarly scope encompassing follower-centric studies of leadership. Social implications Leadership processes are found in all aspects of life and can be better understood and improved within and across cultures using the shorter version. Originality/value An efficient instrument to measure preferred leadership behavior across and within cultures. The availability of the LBDQ50 will allow practitioners and researchers to advance understanding of preferred leadership behavior as a predictor of organizational effectiveness. Most such instruments are overly-long, which hinders data collection opportunities. This newly developed instrument can lead to better response rates and easier applicability in organizational settings.

A cross-cultural study of the role of obstacles on resilience in leadership formation

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Howard ◽  
Justin A. Irving
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Differentiation Of Self ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Developmental Experiences ◽  
Leadership Formation ◽  
Self Differentiation ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The paper aims to report findings from research conducted that illustrates cross-cultural differences and similarities on the role obstacles, as defined by leadership antecedents, play in the levels of resilience found in leaders. While research has demonstrated a link between obstacles and the development of resilience in leadership, previous studies have not looked at whether this link exists across cultures and what differences or factors might affect this link. Design/methodology/approach The research provides additional evidence that the types of developmental experiences and the level of self-differentiation in the leader relates to the levels of resiliency within a leader. Furthermore, the research examines cultural differences in the findings and offers possible explanations for them. The study reflects responses from 365 participants (151 from USA, 112 from India and 102 from Germany). The study uses leadership antecedent categories, the Differentiation of Self Inventory, Short Form and the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale. Demographic information on participants included sex, age, level of education, years of leadership experience and industry. Findings The results demonstrate that resiliency is positively correlated with both the leadership antecedents and differentiation of self. In light of the research findings, the authors highlight the relationship between resiliency and the leadership antecedents, while providing rationale for cultural differences in this relationship, and highlight the relationship between resiliency and differentiation of self, while providing rationale for cultural differences in this relationship. Research limitations/implications The research implications include being able to determine whether a leader’s cultural identity has any effect on the development of resilience through hardships. Additionally, the research has the ability to have more generalized results, as the study looks at leaders across three distinct cultures. The study has two major limitations. First, the study was conducted with a convenient sample, which may not be a true representation across the entire culture. Second, the study only looks at three distinct cultures, which represent three of the ten major cultural clusters in the world, according to the leadership literature. Practical implications If leadership developers can begin to understand the interplay between developmental antecedents and the development of resilience, training can be tailored more specifically, even within distinct cultures. Additionally, understanding how differing cultures develop resilience and understand hardships as a part of that development, researchers can begin to isolate other variables that contribute to the development of resilience and other desirable leadership attributes, regardless of cultural background. Originality/value The study’s findings provide an additional argument for why obstacles and developmental experiences are a logical and necessary part of the formation process for leaders. Additionally, the study looks at the importance of the cultural dimension of an emerging leader, as it relates to the development of resilience. If hardships represent a significant role in leadership formation, then understanding this step is vital for the development of future leaders and leadership training in diverse cultural contexts. Everyone experiences some sort of hardship in life; however, effective leaders may intentionally use these obstacles as a training ground by overcoming them.

scholarly journals Antecedents and consequences of virtual customer co-creation behaviours

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Frasquet-Deltoro ◽  
María-del-Carmen Alarcón-del-Amo ◽  
Carlota Lorenzo-Romero
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equations ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Fashion Involvement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the antecedents and consequences of two distinct types of virtual co-creation behaviours that require different degree of effort from the customer, i.e. customer participation (CPB), and customer citizenship (CCB) behaviour, in a cross-cultural study. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted among members of online panels in the UK and Spain, reaching a sample of 800 online individuals who participate in online co-creation processes with fashion retailers. This design allows us to test the cross-cultural effects. Multi-group structural equations modelling was used to analyse the data. Findings Virtual co-creation behaviours are driven by perceived ease-of-use of the co-creation platform, electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) quality and fashion involvement; however, the effects are different on CPB, affected by perceived ease-of-use more strongly, and on CCB, driven by e-WOM quality and fashion involvement more strongly. Higher level of co-creation increases satisfaction with co-creation, which mediates the effect on engagement and intention of future co-creation. The cross-cultural design reveals that most relationships hold in both countries, with the exception of the influence of fashion involvement on CPB, while some differences in the size of the effects appear between countries. Originality/value This study contributes to increasing our knowledge on online co-creation in several ways. First, the authors investigate, in the online environment, two co-creation behaviours, CPB and CCB, and compare their antecedents. This paper provides a cross-cultural validation of the relationships between CPB and CCB’s antecedents and consequences, identifying the different effects due to culture.

scholarly journals Robustness and cross-cultural equivalence of the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS)

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost Bücker ◽  
Olivier Furrer ◽  
Tanja Peeters Weem
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Intelligence Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Equivalence Tests ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the cross-cultural equivalence of the four-dimensional 20-item Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) and the two-dimensional 12-item cultural intelligence (CQ) short scale. Furthermore, the study elaborates on the results by discussing the differences between culturally equivalent and culturally non-equivalent items. Design/methodology/approach Data gathered from 607 students with a Chinese or Dutch background and mature international experience serve to test the cross-cultural equivalence of the CQS. Findings This study addresses the lack of clarity concerning the cross-cultural equivalence of the CQS in the extended domain of empirical research involving CQ. Furthermore, the consequences of the cultural equivalence tests are discussed. Practical implications Comparing CQ scores across cultures is only meaningful with the use of the adjusted, two-dimensional scale. Practitioners must be aware of the emic-etic character of the measurement instrument they use. Originality/value This study addresses the lack of clarity concerning the cross-cultural equivalence of the CQS in the extended domain of empirical research involving CQ. Furthermore, the consequences of the cultural equivalence tests are discussed.

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