Seeking and explaining culturally meaningful within-country regions: A functional, institutional and critical event analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 147059582110601
Author(s):  
Aycan Kara ◽  
Mark F Peterson ◽  
Mikael Søndergaard
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Critical Event ◽  
Event Analysis ◽  
Cultural Management ◽  
Societal Culture ◽  
Measurement And Analysis ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Cross Cultural Management

Cross-cultural management scholars traditionally use country boundaries to study societal culture, while recognizing that regions within many countries show cultural differences. We review survey studies published in business journals between 1991 and 2021 that assess within-country cultural differences among administrative regions. We classify the articles according to their theoretical bases, methodological approaches, and outcomes. We use a functional, institutional, and critical event framework to suggest direction for theory that is and can be used to seek and explain within-country cultural regions. We also evaluate currently used databases, measurement, and analysis approaches to suggest ways forward.

scholarly journals From cultural differences to cultural globalization: towards a new research agenda in cross-cultural management studies

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Boussebaa
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Management ◽  
Cultural Globalization ◽  
Cross Cultural Management ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper responds to calls for a new raison d’être in the field cross-cultural management (CCM) and culture-sensitive studies of international business (IB) more broadly. It argues that one way of addressing the crisis of confidence in the field is to develop a line of inquiry focussed on corporate-driven cultural globalization. This paper also proposes a theoretical approach informed by international political economy (IPE) and postcolonial theory and outlines a research agenda for future work on cultural globalization. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a desk-based analysis that draws on relevant research in the wider social sciences to insert cultural globalization into the CCM/IB field’s intellectual project. Findings The paper finds the field of CCM and culture-sensitive IB studies more broadly to be almost exclusively focussed on studying the impact of cultural differences. Surprisingly, little attention has been devoted to the phenomenon of corporate-driven cultural globalization. Research limitations/implications The paper redirects the field and presents a research agenda, calling for studies on the role of four related actors in cultural globalization: MNEs, global professional service firms, business schools and CCM/IB researchers themselves. Practical implications CCM/IB scholars may be able to reorient themselves towards the phenomenon of cultural globalization and, in so doing, also seize an opportunity to contribute to important debates about it in the wider social sciences. Originality/value The paper suggests possibilities for renewal by redirecting CCM/IB towards the study of cultural globalization and by encouraging the field to develop a postcolonial sensibility in future research on the phenomenon.

Yin-yang dialectics and communitarianism in cross-cultural management research

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao C. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Management ◽  
Organization And Management ◽  
Yin Yang ◽  
Cross Cultural Management ◽  
East West

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to comment on “Global implication of the indigenous epistemological system from the East: How to Apply yin-yang balancing to paradox management” by Li (2016). As a pioneer in developing indigenous Chinese management theories, Li has been focused on extracting essential principles of the Chinese yin-yang philosophy and applying them to organization and management phenomena within and outside China (Li, 1998, 2012, 2014a, b). In this paper (Li, 2016), Li sharpens his thinking on the unique attributes of the Chinese yin-yang balancing perspective so as to both distinguish it from and connect it to Western Aristotelian and Hegelian philosophies in regard to contradictions and paradoxes that are increasingly more prevalent in contemporary organizations. The author found Li’s paper thought provoking and highly relevant to cross-cultural management research. The author reflects on the yin and yang of the yin-yang perspective itself and discusses how it can be extended for theorizing about cross-cultural or inter-cultural management research. Design/methodology/approach Applying yin-yang dialectics on the East-West cultural differences, this commentary contends that the strengths and weaknesses of the cultural mindsets of the East and the West are relative and potentially complementary to each other, and seeks to balance and integrate Eastern and Western perspectives for theorizing and tackling cultural differences and conflicts in a globalized world. Findings On the basis of yin-yang dialectics on cultural differences, a communitarianism model is proposed for cross-cultural researchers to balance and integrate individualism and collectivism, a well-established East-West cultural difference. Originality/value The theoretical model of communitarianism builds upon but transcends either Eastern or Western cultural differences toward a viable global value system.

scholarly journals Thinking style across cultures: an interview with Richard Nisbett

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Jung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Young Scientist ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Thinking Styles ◽  
Thinking Style ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Management ◽  
Cross Cultural Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain some insights from a leading scholar of the cross-cultural cognitive social psychology field on how cultural differences are viewed, understood, and dealt with, and thus to contribute to enrich the way cultural differences are framed in cross-cultural management research. Design/methodology/approach The author conducts a formal, semi-structured interview with Richard Nisbett for a duration of 90 minutes. The author extracts the key message from the interview and re-structures the conversation in a meaningful manner. Findings From his cognitive social psychology lens, Richard Nisbett views that any cross-cultural contact between different thinking styles is advantageous because differences help address the limitations of one’s own thinking style. Research limitations/implications The insights from cross-cultural cognitive social psychology encourage cross-cultural management researchers to further investigate the positive consequences of cultural differences. Originality/value Richard Nisbett’s own journey from a young scientist who describes himself as an extreme universalist, to a mature intellectual who understands and appreciates different thinking style, is itself a concrete example of how differences can lead to the positive. The author summarizes three factors that are key to a positive outcome of cultural differences: curiosity and openness to cultural differences; habit of critical thinking; and intense interaction with culturally different others.

The lacuna model: A new approach to cross-cultural management research

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-344
Author(s):  
Elena Denisova-Schmidt ◽  
Irina Markovina ◽  
Lena Nicolas-Kryzhko
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Business World ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Cultural Management ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Cross Cultural Management ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Empirical Investigations

This paper presents the lacuna model—an innovative investigational tool for the study of cross-cultural differences in a broader context. Originally developed and still widely used as a linguistic instrument, the lacuna theory also applies to empirical investigations in the field of cross-cultural management. Using several examples from the business world to illustrate the taxonomy, the authors demonstrate how lacuna analysis can be carried out. By comparing the lacuna model with Hofstede’s framework, the paper presents the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and concludes with a discussion of the potential offered by the lacuna model for cross-cultural management research and suggestions for its further development.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document