Chapter 2

DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

Tra T Ngo, 2021, UEL, VNU HCMC

 Learning Outcomes

1. IDENTIFY the major dimensions of culture relevant to

work settings, and discuss their effects on behavior in
an international environment.
2. DISCUSS cross-cultural differences and similarities
in international business.

3. REVIEW cultural differences in select countries and

regions, and note some of the important strategic
guidelines for doing business in each.
 1. Cultural dimensions

• There are many studies measuring the differences in

culture, but the most outstanding 3 studies:
– The cultural dimensions of Hofstede
– The cultural dimensions of Trompenaars
– Recently, cultural dimensions of the project
GLOBE
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

q Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede identified four dimensions,

and later a fifth dimension, of culture that help explain how
and why people from various cultures behave as they do.
q His initial data were gathered from two questionnaire
surveys with over 116,000 respondents from over 70
different countries around the world—making it the largest
organizationally based study ever conducted.
q https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

• Extent to which less powerful members of

Power
Distance PDI institutions and organizations accept that
power is distributed unequally
– High power distance countries: people blindly
obey the orders of their superiors, centralized
and tall organization structures
– Low power distance countries: flatter and
decentralized organization structures, smaller
ratio of supervisors
Power distance index (PDI) world map
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Extent to which people feel threatened by
Power
ambiguous situations and have created
Distance beliefs and institutions that try to avoid
such situations
Uncertainty – High uncertainty avoidance countries: people
Avoidance have high need for security, strong belief in
UAI experts and their knowledge, structured
organizational activities, more written rules, less
risk taking by managers
– Low uncertainty avoidance countries: people
are more willing to accept risks associated with
the unknown, less structured organizational
activities, fewer written rules, more risk taking
by managers, higher employee turnover, more
ambitious employees
Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)
World map
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Individualism: Tendency of people to look after
Power themselves and their immediate family only
Distance – Countries high in individualism: tend to be
wealthier, support protestant work ethic, greater
Uncertainty individual initiative, promotions based on market
Avoidance value
• Collectivism: Tendency of people to belong to
Individualism
/Collectivism groups or collectives and to look after each
IDI other in exchange for loyalty
– Countries high in collectivism: tend to be poorer,
less support for protestant work ethic, less
individual initiative, promotions based on
seniority
Individualism world map
Chapter 4 The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture 119

5
◆ Guatemala
Legend regression line
Figure 4–4
◆ Ecuador
Panama ted Asia and Muslim countries GNP per Capita in 2000
◆ slan versus Individualism
s ia ◆ Colombia ◆ Venezuela regular Europe and Anglo countries
n e
Indo ◆ ◆ a n
15 Pakis t ◆ Costa Rica italics Latin America
n
◆ Peru ◆ Trinidad rea ◆ Ta
iwa
S . Ko regression line IDV on GNP
sh ◆
lade◆ China ailand ◆ Salvador
Bangrica◆ ◆ ◆ Th ◆
f ap ore
W A Vietnam Sing
◆ Chile
Serbia
25 ca ◆
◆ Malay
sia ◆
E Af ◆
ri g Kong
◆ ◆ Portugal
Slovenia
Hon
Romania
collectivist

Bulgaria Mexico
◆◆ ◆
◆ nes
ppi ◆ Croatia
Phili
35
u r k ey ◆ Uruguay
◆ Greece
b c trs T◆
Ar a ◆ ◆ Brazil
Russia◆ ◆Jamaica
◆
Iran
Individualism (IDV)

co
45 oroc
◆M ◆ Argentina n ◆
◆ Suriname Japa
◆
In ia
d
Spain ◆
◆ Slovakia
◆ Israel Austria
55 ◆

◆
Czech Rep.
◆ Malta
Estonia◆ ◆ Poland Luxembourg (4434) ◆
individualist

Finland ◆
65 ◆
S. Africa
◆ Germany Switzerland
Ireland ◆ ◆
◆ Norway
◆ ◆ Sweden
France
◆
75 Denmark
Italy ◆
◆ Belgium
◆
◆ Hungary New Zealand Canada ◆ ◆ Netherlands

85
Great Britain
Australia ◆
◆
United States ◆

95
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Source: From Hofstede and Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind.
Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

of the multicultural environment, but the general groupings outline common ground that
one can use as a starting point. Figure 4–5, which incorporates power distance and indi-
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Masculinity: a culture in which the dominant
Power social values are success, money and things
Distance – Countries high in masculinity: great importance
on earnings, recognition, advancement,
Uncertainty challenge, and wealth. High job stress.
Avoidance
• Femininity: a culture in which the dominate
Individualism/ social values are caring for others and the
Collectivism quality of life
– Countries high in femininity: great importance on
Masculinity/ cooperation, friendly atmosphere, employment
Femininity security, group decision making, and living
MAS environment. Low stress and more employee
freedom.
Femininity/Masculinity (MAS)
World map
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Integrating the Dimensions

•A description of the four dimensions of culture is useful
in helping to explain the differences between various
countries
•Hofstede’s research has extended beyond this focus and
shown how countries can be described in terms of pairs
and clusters of dimensions.
•Eg, a pair of power distance index and individualism
index
120 Part 2 The Role of Culture

5
Figure 4–5 ◆ Guatemala
◆ Ecuador
Power Distance versus
Venezuela ◆ Panama
Individualism tan Colombia
Pakis ia
◆
◆ n e s
Costa Rica ◆ ◆ Indo
15 ◆
. Korea ◆ Peru
Trinidad ◆ S ◆

collectivist
an ◆ Salvador nam rica glad
esh
T iw
a d◆
◆ Viet ◆W Af , Ban
i l a n ◆ ◆ ◆ i n a
Tha e Ch
apor
Chile ◆ Sing o n g
◆ Hoa
ng K aysia
25
ric
◆ Serbia Mal◆
A f
Portugal ◆◆ E ◆ Slovenia
Romania
Bulgaria ◆ ◆ ◆ ines
Mexico
◆ Ph
ilipp
◆ Croatia
Greece
35 ◆
Uruguay ◆
ey ◆ ◆ Russia
Turk ◆ ctrs
Jamaica ◆ Brazil Arab ◆
Iran
◆

Individualism (IDV)
co
45
Argentina ◆ ◆ Japa
n
◆M
oroc
◆ Ind
ia ◆ Suriname

◆ Spain
◆
◆ Israel Slovakia
55 ◆
Austria
Czech Rep.
◆
Estonia, Luxembourg ◆
◆ Malta ◆ Poland

◆ Finland
◆ Switzerland Fr
65 ◆ S. Africa
◆ Germany
Switzerland Ge
◆ ◆ Norway
Ireland ◆ ◆ Sweden ◆ France
◆ ◆ Belgium Fr
◆ Denmark Canada Quebec
75
individualist

Italy ◆
New Zealand ◆ Belgium NI
◆ Canada total
◆◆ ◆
Netherlands Hungary Legend

ted Asia and Muslim countries

85 slan
Great Britain regular Europe and Anglo countries
◆
Australia ◆ italics Latin America
◆
United States quadrant partition lines

95
10 30 50 70 90 110

small Power Distance (PDI) large

Source: From Hofstede and Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind.
Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

Figure 4–6 plots the uncertainty-avoidance index for the 74 countries against the
 Attitudinal Dimensions of Culture
• Work value and attitude similarities
– Smallest space analysis (SSA) yields clusters of
countries similar to each other
1. Anglo-American (U.S., U.K., Australia)
2. Nordic (Norway, Finland, Denmark)
3. South American (Venezuela, Mexico, Chile)
4. Latin European (France, Belgium)
5. Germanic (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
• Other researchers have found other clusters, depending on
variables used
Synthesis of Country Clusters

Adapted from Figure 4–8: A Synthesis of Country Clusters

Hofstede’s
cultural
dimensions
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions
Ø Another Dutch researcher, Fons Trompenaars, is
receiving increasing attention as well.
Ø Trompenaars’s research was conducted over a 10-
year period to collect questionnaires from over
15,000 managers from 28 countries and received
usable responses from at least 500 in each nation;
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

• Universalism vs. Particularism

• Individualism vs. Communitarianism (collective)
• Neutral vs. Emotional
• Specific vs. Diffuse
• Achievement vs. Ascription
• Time
• Environment
 Universalism vs. Particularism

• What is more important: rules or relationships?

• A friend hit another person because of driving too fast
with his/her car. The interviewees were asked if they
would save their friend by making a false testimony.
• Map shows % of people who would NOT make a false
testimony to help their friend.
% of people do NOT make a false testimony
to help their friend
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Universalism VS. Particularism

• Universalism: belief that ideas and practices can be

applied everywhere in the world without modification
– In countries with high universalism, focus is more on
formal rules, business contracts are adhered to closely,
people believe “a deal is a deal”
– Includes Canada, U.S., Germany, U.K., Netherlands,
France, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong.
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Universalism VS. Particularism

• Particularism: belief that circumstances dictate how

ideas and practices should be applied and something
cannot be done the same everywhere
– In countries with high particularism, legal contracts often
modified, well-acquainted people often change the way in
which deals are executed
– Includes China and South Korea
3/11 9:44 AM user-f494 /203/MHBR222/Lut12575_disk1of1/0078112575/Lut1257

Universalism vs. Particularism

Part 2 The Role of Culture

Universalism Particularism

USA Aus Ger Swe UK NL Czh Ita Bel Brz Fra Jap Arg Mex Tha HK Chi Ido CIS Ven
ns
Swi Sin
Universalism vs. Particularism

Individualism Communitarianism

USA Czh Arg UK Swe Spa Brz Swi Bel Ven HK Ita Ger Chi Fra Ido Jpn Tha Sin
CIS Aus NL
Mex
Individualism vs. Communitarianism
 Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Universalism VS. Particularism

• Recommendations:
– Individuals from particularist cultures who do business in a
universalistic culture should be prepared for rational,
professional arguments and a “let’s get down to business”
attitude.
– Individuals from universalist cultures who do business in a
particularist environment should be prepared for personal
meandering or irrelevancies that seem to go nowhere and
should not regard personal, get-to-know-you attitudes as
mere small talk.
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Individualism VS. Communitarianism

• Individualism: people regard themselves as individuals

– In countries high on individualism, people stress personal
and individual matters, and are more likely to make
negotiated decisions on the spot by a representative,
achieve things alone and assume great personal
responsibility
– Includes Canada, Thailand, U.K., U.S., Netherlands,
France, Japan, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Individualism VS. Communitarianism

• Communitarianism: people regard themselves as part of

a group
– In countries high on communitarianism, people value
group-related issues, refer decisions to committees,
achieve things in groups and jointly assume responsibility
– Includes Malaysia and Korea
 Universalism Particularism
Individualism vs communitarianism
USA Aus Ger Swe UK NL Czh Ita Bel Brz Fra Jap Arg Mex Tha HK Chi Ido CIS Ven
s
Swi Sin
Universalism vs. Particularism

Individualism Communitarianism

USA Czh Arg UK Swe Spa Brz Swi Bel Ven HK Ita Ger Chi Fra Ido Jpn Tha Sin
CIS Aus NL
Mex
Individualism vs. Communitarianism

Neutral Emotional

Jpn UK Sin Aus Ido HK Tha Bel Swe Czh Spa Ita CIS Brz Chi Swi NL Mex
Ger Arg Fra Ven
USA
 Trompenaars‘ Cultural Dimensions

Individualism VS. Communitarianism

• Recommendations:
– People from cultures with high individualism who deal with those from
communitarianistic cultures should have patience for the time taken to
consent and to consult, and aim to build lasting relationships.
– People from cultures with high communitarianism who deal with those
from individualistic cultures should be prepared to make quick decisions
and commit their organization to these decisions.
– Communitarianists dealing with individualists should realize that the
reason they are dealing with only one negotiator (as opposed to a group)
is that this person is respected by his or her organization and has its
authority and esteem.
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Neutral VS. Emotional

• Neutral: culture in which emotions are held in

– In high neutral culture countries, people try not to show their
feelings, act stoically and maintain their composure
– Includes Japan and the U.K.
• Emotional: culture in which emotions are expressed openly
and naturally
– In high emotional culture countries, people smile a great deal, talk
loudly when excited and greet each other with enthusiasm
– Includes Mexico, the Netherlands and Switzerland
 Individualism Communitarianism
Neutral vs Emotional
USA Czh Arg UK Swe Spa Brz Swi Bel Ven HK Ita Ger Chi Fra Ido Jpn Tha Sin
CIS Aus NL
Mex
Individualism vs. Communitarianism

Neutral Emotional

Jpn UK Sin Aus Ido HK Tha Bel Swe Czh Spa Ita CIS Brz Chi Swi NL Mex
Ger Arg Fra Ven
USA
Neutral vs. Emotional

Specific Diffuse

Aus UK USA Fra NL Bel Brz Czh Ita Arg Ido CIS HK Spa Chi Ven
Swi Ger Jpn Tha Sin
Mex Swe
 Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Neutral VS. Emotional

• Recommendations:
– Individuals from emotional cultures who do business in neutral
cultures should put as much as they can on paper and submit it to
the other side. Lack of emotion does not mean a lack of interest or
boredom, but rather that people from neutral cultures do not like to
show their hand.
– Those from neutral cultures who do business in emotional cultures
should not be put off stride when the other side creates scenes or
grows animated and boisterous, and they should try to respond
warmly to the emotional affections of the other group.
 Specific vs. Diffuse

• How separate we keep our working and living lives?

• The interviewees were asked what they would do if their
boss asked them to help him/her with painting his/her
house in their free time.
• Map shows % of people who would NOT help their boss
with painting the house.
% of people do NOT help their boss with
painting the house
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Specific VS. Diffuse

• Specific culture: individuals have a large public space

shared with others and a small private space they guard
closely and share only with close friends and associates
– In high specific cultures, people are more open and
extroverted, and there is a strong separation of work and
private life
– Includes Austria, U.K., U.S. and Switzerland
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Specific VS. Diffuse

• Diffuse culture: public and private space are similar in

size, individuals guard public space carefully because it
is shared with private space
– In high diffuse cultures, people often appear to be indirect
and introverted, and work and private life often are closely
linked
– Includes Venezuela, China, and Spain
 Neutral Emotional

Jpn UK
Specific
Sin Aus Ido
HK
vs Diffuse
Tha Bel Swe Czh Spa Ita CIS Brz Chi Swi
Ger Arg Fra Ven
NL Mex

USA
Neutral vs. Emotional

Specific Diffuse

Aus UK USA Fra NL Bel Brz Czh Ita Arg Ido CIS HK Spa Chi Ven
Swi Ger Jpn Tha Sin
Mex Swe
Specific vs. Diffuse

Achievement Ascription

Aus USA Swi Swe Ger Arg Tha Bel Fra Ita NL SpaJpn Czh Sin CIS Chi Ido Ven
UK Mex Brz HK
Achievement vs. Ascription
Source: Adapted from information found in Fons Trompenaars, Riding the Waves of Culture (New
 Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Specific VS. Diffuse

• Recommends:
– Those from specific cultures who do business in diffuse cultures
should respect a person’s title, age, and background
connections, and should not get impatient when people are being
indirect or circuitous.
– Individuals from diffuse cultures who do business in specific
cultures should try to get to the point and be efficient, learn to
structure meetings with the judicious use of agendas, and not use
their titles or acknowledge achievements or skills that are
irrelevant to the issues being discussed.
 Achievement vs. Ascription

WHAT YOU DO WHO YOU ARE

STATUS
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Achievement VS. Ascription

• Achievement culture: status is accorded based on how

well people perform their functions
– Includes Austria, U.S., Switzerland and the U.K.

• Ascription culture: status is based on who or what a

person is
– Includes Venezuela, Indonesia, and China
 Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Achievement VS. Ascription

• Recommendations:
– Individuals from achievement cultures who do business in ascription
cultures should make sure that their group has older, senior, and formal
position holders who can impress the other side, and should respect the
status and influence of their counterparts in the other group.
– Individuals from ascription cultures who do business in achievement
cultures should make sure that their group has sufficient data, technical
advisers, and knowledge- able people to convince the other group that
they are proficient, and should respect the knowledge and information
of their counterparts on the other team.
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Time
• Sequential approach
– People do only one activity at a time, keep appointments strictly,
prefer to follow plans as laid out (United States)
• Synchronous approach
– People tend to multi-task, view appointments as approximate,
schedules are seen as subordinate to relationships (France, and
Mexico)
• Present oriented/future oriented
– Future is more important (U.S., Italy, and Germany
– Present is more important (Venezuela, Indonesia, and Spain
– All three time periods equally important (France and Belgium)
 Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

Time
• Recommendations:
– When doing business with future-oriented cultures, effective international
managers should emphasize the opportunities and limitless scope that
any agreement can have, agree to specific deadlines for getting things
done, and be aware of the core competence or continuity that the other
party intends to carry with it into the future.
– When doing business with past- or present-oriented cultures, managers
should emphasize the history and tradition of the culture, find out
whether internal relationships will sanction the types of changes that
need to be made, and agree to future meetings in principle but fix no
deadlines for completions.
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

The Environment

• Inner-directed: people believe in controlling outcomes

– Includes U.S., Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Indonesia,
Hong Kong, Greece, Singapore, and Japan

• Outer-directed: people believe on letting things take their

own course
– Includes China and many other Asian countries
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions

The Environment

• Recommendations:
– When dealing with those from cultures that believe in dominating
the environment, it is important to play hardball, test the
resilience of the opponent, win some objectives, and always lose
from time to time.
– When dealing with those from cultures that believe in letting
things take their natural course, it is important to be persistent
and polite, maintain good relationships with the other party, and
try to win together and lose apart.
Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions
 Integrating Culture and
Management: The GLOBE Project
• GLOBE: Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Effectiveness
• Project extends and integrates previous analyses of cultural
attributes and variables
• Evaluates nine different cultural attributes using middle managers
from 951 organizations in 62 countries
• Multi-cultural team of 170 scholars from around the world worked
together to survey 17,000 managers in 3 industries: financial
services, food processing, and telecommunications
• Covered every major geographic region of the world
GLOBE Project
 GLOBE Country Analysis
• The results of the GLOBE project
– Correspond generally with those of Hofstede and
Trompenaars
– Different from Hofstede in that many more researchers
with varied perspectives were involved (vs. Hofstede
workng alone); studied many companies vs. Hofstede’s
IBM
• GLOBE provides a current comprehensive overview of
general stereotypes that can be further analyzed for greater
insight
GLOBE Cultural Variable Results
 GLOBE Analysis:
Managerial Perspectives in
the United States and Brazil
 A comparison between
Hofstede & GLOBE project
 Review & Relax

• Cultural misunderstanding – Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYbynThuONs
• Cultural misunderstanding – Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glywa5MxbE4
• Cultural differences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlifMpIwPus&t=2s
 2. Cross-Cultural
Differences and Similarities

French culture U.S. culture

Adapted from Figure 4–2: Comparing Cultures as Overlapping Normal Distributions

 Cross-Cultural
Differences and Similarities

French culture U.S. culture

How the Americans How the French
see the French: see the Americans:
• arrogant • naïve
• flamboyant • aggressive
• hierarchical • unprincipled
• emotional • workaholic

Adapted from Figure 4–3: Stereotyping from the Cultural Extremes

 Cross-Cultural
Differences and Similarities

Parochialism & Simplification

• Parochialism
– View world through own eyes and perspectives
• Simplification
– Exhibit same orientation toward different cultural
groups
Six Basic Cultural Variations
 Cross-Cultural
Differences and Similarities in International Business

Russian culture American culture

 Cross-Cultural
Differences and Similarities in International Business

• Similarities across cultures:

– Not possible to do business same way in every global location
– Procedures and strategies that work well at home can’t be
adopted overseas without modifications
– Some similarities have been found
• Russia and U.S. (for example)
– Traditional management
– Communication
– Human resources
– Networking activities
– OB Mod
 Cross-Cultural
Differences and Similarities in International Business

• Differences across cultures

– Far more differences than similarities found in
cross-cultural research
– Wages, compensation, pay equity, maternity leave
– Importance of criteria used in evaluation of
employees
Cultural Clusters
 Cultural differences in IHRM

Figure 5–2 A Partially Completed Contingency Matrix for International Human Resource Management
 Cultural differences in IHRM
Source: Fred Luthans, Paul A. Marsnik, and Kyle W. Luthans, “A Contingency Matrix Approach to IHRM,”
Human ResourceManagement Journal, © 1997. Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 3. Cultural Differences in Selected
Countries and Regions
• Doing business in Vietnam
• Doing business in US
• Doing business in Mexico
• Doing business in Germany
• Doing business in Russia
• Doing business in China
• Doing business in Japan
 Cultural Differences in Selected
Countries and Regions

• Doing business in Malaysia

• Doing business in Thailand
• Doing business in United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Doing business in Australia
• Doing business in South Africa
 Review and Discuss

1. What are the dimensions of Hofstede’s model?

2. Describe Trompenaar’s research. What can we learn
from Trompenaar’s study?
3. What is the similarities and differences between
GLOBE project and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions ?