Tomasz Lenartowicz

Measuring Hofstede's Five Dimensions of Cultural Values at the Individual Level: Development and Validation of CVSCALE

ABSTRACT Hofstedes (1980 and 2001) renowned five-dimensional measure of cultural values is the overwhelmingly dominant metric of culture. His measure has been used as a contextual variable, but it is often required to directly measure cultural values for individual consumers or managers. The purpose of this research is to respond to the call for developing a psychometrically sound measure of Hofstedes culture at the individual level. Past research in this area has developed a scale for only one of Hofstedes dimensions, a highly work-oriented scale, or a scale with poor reliability. By overcoming every major weakness of past studies, this research offers CVSCALE, a 26-item five-dimensional scale of individual cultural values that assesses Hofstedes cultural dimensions at the individual level. The scale shows adequate reliability, validity, and across-sample and across-national generalizability.

The neglect of intracountry cultural variation in international management research

Abstract We examine the importance of regional subcultures and intracountry cultural variation in international management research. We seek to demonstrate that equating “culture” with “country” can result in erroneous nonsignificant findings of cross-national differences and a disregard of cultural similarities across countries that may be relevant to management practice and research. Drawing upon literature from anthropology and sociology, we generate hypotheses about (1) the existence of clearly defined subcultures in six locations in Latin America and (2) the relationship between subcultures within and across national and linguistic boundaries. Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) data from a sample of 368 managers supported our hypotheses. We discuss the importance to international management research of taking into account both the presence and impact of subcultures and the need to adjust research methods in order to identify and accommodate subcultures.

Staffing managerial positions in emerging markets: a cultural perspective

Purpose – This paper examines the challenges facing multinational enterprises (MNEs) in finding competent managers to staff operations and subsidiaries in emerging market economies (EMEs).Design/methodology/approach – The key question examined is – who is going to manage the business expansion of MNEs in EMEs? Will it be host country nationals who know and understand the local business environment; parent country nationals (PCNs) who are sent on an overseas assignment by the parent corporation; or third country nationals (TCNs) recruited for their unique set of skills and expertise?Findings – There is no “one size fits all” solution; for most multinational corporations (MNCs), a combination of strategies will work. One approach is to seek out EME nationals that are currently working or studying in the MNCs home country. Other MNCs seek recruits directly in the EMEs and then put the recruits through an intensive training program. An alternative is to improve the cross‐cultural training provided to expatria...

The application of learning theories to improve cross-cultural training programs in MNCs

Cultural intelligence and intercultural competence are concepts that have been identified as antecedents for success in global management, and both depend on the acquisition of cultural knowledge. However, although a lack of cultural knowledge is cited in the international management literature as a frequent source of failure in expatriate assignments, there is scant research about how cultural knowledge is created and diffused within organizations. We cite evidence that cross-cultural training programs, which are widely utilized for cross-cultural knowledge transfer, tend to be ineffective in transferring cultural knowledge, and we examine in detail how cultural knowledge is acquired in MNCs and reveal the importance of its tacit component. Then, drawing upon five relevant learning models, we propose a framework for the effective transfer of cultural knowledge. Based on this theoretical underpinning, we offer four sets of effective cross-cultural training methods, as a function of the resources available, that the firm can apply to achieve more effective cross-cultural training for global managers.

Multiculturalism and Entrepreneurial Intentions: Understanding the Mediating Role of Cognitions:

Biculturals, or people who identify with two or more cultures, are said to play an important role in economic development by starting new ventures. However, little research has theorized or analyzed the factors that influence their propensity to do so. Based on an identity integrationist perspective, we contribute to filling this gap. We hypothesize that identity integration is a critical factor that influences entrepreneurial intentions of bicultural individuals. In addition, we hypothesize that cognitive and metacognitive cultural intelligence mediate this relationship. Empirical analyses based on survey data supported our hypothesized arguments. The findings provide guidance on the role of psychological and cognitive factors in influencing intentions.