Genuine Servant Leadership (GSL) Impacting Employee Motivation and Work Intentions

The purpose of this study is to explore the followers' perspective of genuine servant leadership (GSL)'s impact on them and its direct relationship to work intentions in Asian high-power distance and collectivist cultures. The study found six follower manifestations when experiencing genuine servant leader behaviors from their leader, three towards the organization and three towards the leaders. Followers are more willing to 1) voice-out ideas and concerns, 2) develop others, 3) recognize their choice in decision making (manifestation towards the organization). As followers respect their leader-follower relations, they tend to 4) voluntarily emulate their leader, 5) trust their leader, and 6) determine to follow their leader willingly (manifestation towards the leader). The six manifestations contribute to followers' intent to perform, endorse, provide discretionary effort, stay, and contribute to OCB. The research sought to understand the leader-follower interactions and intricacies contributing to the manifestations of follower intentions in Asia.

The association of cultural and contextual factors with social contact avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic

As a first line of defense to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, people reduced social contacts to avoid pathogen exposure. Using a panel of countries, this research suggests that this was amplified in societies characterized by high social support and future orientation. People reacted more strongly in dense environments; government orders had more effect in high power distance societies. Conversely, a focus on accomplishments was associated with lower changes. Understanding people’s actual behaviors in response to health threats across societies is of great importance for epidemiology, public health, international business, and for the functioning of humanity as a whole.

National culture and the distribution of foreign aid

This paper investigates the relationship between a country’s national culture and the level of aid it grants to other countries. We rely on Hofstede’s culture framework to quantify national culture and find that national culture and aid are significantly related. Specifically, we show that countries having high power distance, high masculinity and high uncertainty avoidance cultures appear to refrain from engaging in foreign assistance programmes. On the other hand, high individualistic-culture countries tend to provide greater levels of foreign aid. Overall, the results imply that national culture matters in shaping the donation behaviour of aid providers.

Individualism and Egalitarianism Can Kill: How Cultural Values Predict Coronavirus Deaths Across the Globe

While in some countries, many people have died due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), in other countries, only a few have died. Based on the cultural values theory, our first hypothesis was that in countries that are predominantly individualistic, the number of deaths will be high, whereas in countries with predominantly collectivist values, the number of deaths will be low. Our second hypothesis was that countries with high power distance and hierarchy will have fewer deaths compared to countries with low power distance and egalitarianism. The hypotheses were tested by referring to two different value studies (Hofstede's study of 76 countries and Schwartz's study of 75 countries) while also controlling for GDP per capita, Gini index, population density, median age per country, and BMI per country. Of the five control variables GDP and BMI significantly predicted coronavirus deaths. Taking into account GDP, Gini index, population density, median age, and BMI, hierarchical regression analyses confirmed the first hypothesis on individualism and the second hypothesis on egalitarianism. Therefore, in the case of this current pandemic, group-oriented and collectivist values and low egalitarianism values lead to specific health-related behaviors that ultimately keep more people alive.

How Online Education May Disadvantage Students from Some Cultures and What to Do About It in the Theology Classroom

Distance or online learning is not a culturally neutral form of learning, but, like any educational approach, has been and continues to be shaped by significant historical and cultural forces. Not just what is taught, but also the means by which it is taught – the technological medium of online education – is influenced by culture and should be adjusted accordingly. With illustrations and examples pulled from the author’s experience of teaching theology in both Africa and the United States, this essay explores four “dimensions of culture” – collectivist vs. individualist, high vs. low power distance, high- vs. low-context, and oral vs. literate preference – and analyzes how students from more collectivistic, high power distance, high-context, and oral preference societies may be disadvantaged by commonly used and accepted approaches to distance/online learning. It concludes by offering some practical suggestions for adjusting online theological education to be more culturally responsive.

National culture and leverage adjustments

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of national culture on leverage speed of adjustment (SOA) across countries.Design/methodology/approachWe use a partial adjustment model to estimate the impact of national culture (assessed using Hofstede's six cultural dimensions) on leverage SOA.FindingsWe find that culture does significantly affect the degree to which firms deviate from target debt level and the speed of adjustment (SOA) of leverage. High power distance, individualism and masculinity are associated with a slower SOA, while high long-term orientation, uncertainty avoidance and indulgence result in a faster SOA. Additionally, cultural characteristics affect leverage SOA differently when firms are underlevered versus overlevered and when firms have small versus large deviations from the target level of debt. We suggest that these effects can be explained by agency motives.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of the study are based on available information for firms from 53 countries.Originality/valueThis study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to examine the impact of national cultural traits on leverage SOA in international settings.

Remediation of the challenges of reporting corporate scandals in governance

Purpose The barrage of corporate scandals has become pervasive such that it collapsed high-profile organizations worldwide. Prior studies show that reporters of corporate scandals encounter a number of challenges which discourages them from disclosing wrongful acts to appropriate authorities to effect action. Thus, this study aims to examine the remediation of the challenges of reporting corporate scandals in governance. Design/methodology/approach The study used cross-sectional survey design. Primary data was obtained from 400 employees of selected organizations and analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression techniques in Statistical Package of Social Science. Findings The results confirm that reporters of corporate scandals are confronted with challenges such as victimization, fear, suspension/dismissal, sideline and high power distance. However, these challenges can be remediated through award, code of conduct, free expression, participation/consultation and safeguard regulations to encourage and protect reporters of corporate scandals. Practical implications The findings imply that there should be an award scheme for reporters, and this must be made known to all employees. Furthermore, code of conduct for employees should include reporting of scandals together with its associated benefits and sanctions. Also, organizations would have to practice consultative/participatory governance system to minimize the effect of high power distance. Finally, regulations should be enacted and enforced to safeguard reporters of corporate scandals. Originality/value This research consolidated the challenges associated with reporting corporate scandals and provides remedies to curtail such challenges so as to encourage employees to report corporate scandals.

Innovation in Isolation? COVID-19 Lockdown Stringency and Culture-Innovation Relationships

In a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, several countries implemented lockdown procedures to varying degrees. This article sought to examine the extent to which country-level strictness, as measured by the Government Response Stringency Index (2020), moderated the relationship between certain cultural dimensions and estimates of national innovation. Data on 84 countries were collated for Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (2015), and from the Global Innovation Index (2020). Owing to the robust relationships between innovation and the dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and individualism, these were used in moderation analyses. In general, power distance was inversely related to innovation, whereas individualism was directly related to it. Results indicated that collectivist and high power distance countries showed lower innovation, irrespective of levels of government stringency as a response to COVID-19. On the other hand, among individualistic and low power distance countries, lower innovation was associated with increased stringency (e.g., blanket restrictions on movement). Higher innovation was observed when such countries had a less severe government response. The dimension of uncertainty avoidance was not significantly associated with innovation at the country level. The implications of lockdowns on general innovation, its inputs, and outputs are discussed in the context of cultural dimensions and country-level policies.

POWER DISTANCE AS A MODERATOR OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANISATIONAL JUSTICE AND JOB SATISFACTION

Lacking awareness of appropriate type of power to apply might cause top management to implement equitable practices that fail to produce job satisfaction among subordinates. This study attempts to assess the relationship between organisational justice, power distance and job satisfaction among employees of Selangor Office of State secretary, Malaysia. It employed a survey method to gather data from the employees. The SmartPLS is used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the survey data and test the research hypotheses. The results of SmartPLS path model analysis revealed two important findings: First, the interaction between distributive justice and low power distance was significantly correlated with job satisfaction. Second, the interaction between procedural justice and high-power distance was significantly correlated with job satisfaction. This outcome confirms that the relationship between distributive justice and job satisfaction is moderated by low power distance, while the relationship between procedural justice and job satisfaction is moderated by high power distance. Further, significant recommendations from this study can help practitioners to understand diverse perspectives of power distance and draw up cross-cultural management plans to enable their human resource to contribute towards the attainment of the organisation’s vision and missions.