Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behaviour.
Cultural dimension (suggested by Hofstede, 1980)
1. individualism/collectivism
The following section will be looking into individualism/collectivism and long-term/short-term orientation
Individualism vs Collectivism
Petrova et al. (2007)
Aim: To investigate level of compliance between collectivist and individualist (FITD technique)
Procedure:
Long-term and short-term orientation
Basset (2004)
Aim: To investigate differences in Chinese and Australian students' perception of conflict resolution in relation to (1) collectivist vs individualist dimension and (2) long-term vs short-term orientation
Procedure:
1. individualism/collectivism
- relates to the relationship between the individual and the group
- refers to the extent to which different cultures promote and legitimize power and status difference between individuals
- refers to the extent to which different cultures tolerate uncertain and ambiguous situations
- high masculinity: emphasize on achievement, success and possession
- high femininity: emphasize
- reflects the extent to which a culture has a dynamic future-orientated mentality and refers to the degree to which a culture encourages delayed gratification of material, social and emotional needs among its members
The following section will be looking into individualism/collectivism and long-term/short-term orientation
Individualism vs Collectivism
Petrova et al. (2007)
Aim: To investigate level of compliance between collectivist and individualist (FITD technique)
Procedure:
- participants: 3000 students at a US university; half were native US students, half were Asian students
- researcher sent email asking them to participate in a survey. One month later, they received another email asking them whether they would agree to take part in an online survey
- Findings:
- first request: the proportion of Asian students agreeing to it is higher than it was among US students
- second request: compliance on the first request had a stronger impact on the second one among US students than among Asian students
- the proportion of US students who agreed to the second request (and agreed with the previous one too) is twice as high as it was among Asian students
- collectivist show lower levels of compliance than individualists when the FITD technique is used
Long-term and short-term orientation
Basset (2004)
Aim: To investigate differences in Chinese and Australian students' perception of conflict resolution in relation to (1) collectivist vs individualist dimension and (2) long-term vs short-term orientation
Procedure:
- qualitative cross-cultural study, participants: Australian and Chinese bachelor students of business and management
- participants were asked to analyze a potential conflict situation between a Japanese supervisor and a Canadian visiting assistant teacher
- question: "discuss how this conflict might be resolved in Australia (or in China)", depending on where the student is from
- data confirmed Hofstede's individualist and collectivist dimensions
- Chinese tend to have long-term orientation (their data confirmed the importance of this dimension in understanding behavior) while Australian tend to have short-term orientation