The research field of cross-cultural management has suffered from an absence of theory

capable of explaining the role of culture in organizational behaviour. The methodological

issues that are related to this problem have been discussed in the research article. In this paper
the reasons are evaluated for this methodological problem and based on this evaluation some
suggestions have been proposed for future research.

From 1960s onwards, it was believed that culture has an influence on managerial behaviour
and performance. But at the same time there were many problems that created hurdle in the
advancement of research in culture. It made it difficult to reach to a point where the culture
and the management relationship could be clearly defined.

The cross cultural management researchers interests lies in the issue of cultural influences on
organisational behaviour and its outcomes. Different researchers have found out different
problems related to this methodological issue. According to many researchers like Lammers
and Hickson (1979: 403), the designing and redesigning of organizational life in terms of
culturally given models of organizing by the dominant elites in an organization, the formation
of cultural constraints by the outside agencies and because members themselves unofficially
tend to organize and to ‘counter-organize’ in ways derived from sub-cultures are the three
reasons that can prove that culture has a potential impact on organizational forms and
processes.

The academic world of cross cultural management has suffered from the problem of lack of
definition. The early research papers on cross cultural management rarely defined culture.
The problem of lack of common definition continued even after thirty years. In this article the
researchers has proposed few options regarding this problem. The most convenient and most
attractive option for many researchers is the option of borrowing from a widely referenced
definition. Hofstede’s definition is the most widely referenced definition in the cross cultural
management literature. This option will create a common definition among all the researchers
which is surely an advantage as all of them will then be able to speak in the same language
and will thus achieve some form of forced objectivity.

The problems related to sampling were also pointed out by many researchers. The problems
includes the number of cultures to be considered, the selection of cultures and subjects, the
representativeness of samples, and the independence of samples, the inclusion of only two
cultures, non representativeness of samples and the non-independence of sample or Galton’s
problem. Some solutions are suggested in this article. They are; to increase the number of
cultures in the samples, two culture studies should be treated as pilot studies upon which
findings can later be systematically integrated, the use of matched sample and to minimize
the effects of dispersion among the units in the sample.

The other methodological issue reported in this article is related to instrumentation and
measurement. The problem includes the use of culturally equivalent variable, translation into
a second language, and non – equivalent scaling. In handling these problems researchers have
suggested that variables used in cross-cultural research should be conceptually equivalent
among the target. Forward and back translation should be done to ensure equivalency. In
solving the problem of non-equivalent scaling two approaches has been suggested by the
researchers. One is to construct scales that are pan-cultural or free of cultural biases and the
second approach is to develop scales that use self-defined cultural norms as base referents.
After instrumentation and measurement, there are three problems stated in this article
regarding data collection. They are non-equivalent responses, status and psychologically
related biases, and cross-sectional versus longitudinal data. To achieve equivalent responses,
Sekaran has suggested solutions regarding these issues. These are: the adoption of
standardized data collection procedures in all the target cultures, pre-testing or undertaking of
a pilot study of the instrument before introducing the full research project and collection of
longitudinal data from the same targets.

The last methodological issue stated in this research article is related to data analysis and
interpretations. The problem in data analysis is the use of qualitative verses quantitative data,
and bivariate verses multivariate data. The direct effect of methodological difficulties in
conducting quantitative empirical research leads to an increase in the qualitative articles.
These qualitative data do not lend themselves to higher level, more powerful statistical
analyses. One solution for this problem is to collect more objective data that could be
amenable to parametric statistical analyses. The other solution is to use the process of
triangulation which refers to the combination of both the qualitative and quantitative research
methods. The problem with interpretation was identified by Hofstede as ecological fallacy
which means that researchers often categorize cultures as if they are individuals. The solution
suggested in this research article regarding ecological fallacy is that researchers should be
careful not to mix up the two levels - level of analysis and level of interpretation. It is
recommended in the article that researchers should be careful in the application of external
validity of the findings, which could be limited by data sampling procedures that were less
than required.

After nearly four decades of cross-cultural management research, there has yet to be an
acceptable theory capable of explaining cultural influences on organizations. Regardless of
the downside, researchers hold on to the belief that culture does have an impact on
organizations, but are unable to assume exactly how and when culture is an influence. The
inability to arrive at a theory to explain the cultural impact may be found in the shortcomings
of methodology. There is still a little uncertainty that over the decades, methodology has
made considerable progress.