Application of the 6D Hofstede Model in an Analysis of the Polish and Portuguese Business Culture

Abstract

Business management in a culturally diverse environment, that is acting in different business cultures, is one of the major challenges facing managers nowadays. Cultural differences among societies have been known to exist for ages, but a holistic view of their impact on the business culture in particular countries, development of cultural typologies and studies into the nature of interactions between the business and organisational culture date back to the 1980s. The acceleration of social, technological and demographic changes, a more rapid process of globalisation as well as some disturbances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine or the intensifying rivalry between China and the United States of America, increase organisational uncertainty. Such changes require a new cultural sensitivity as well as new, modified systems of values. The objective of this study has been to determine and compare the Polish and Portuguese business cultures. To this end, the contemporary Polish and Portuguese business cultures have been analysed according to the 6D Hofstede model.

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“…Longterm orientation and indulgence were also added to the model during later studies (Lee et al, 2022;Heydari et al, 2021). Hofstede's model has long been accepted by many researchers as a reliable tool to describe not only national cultures but also organizational cultures (Siemiński et al, 2022). A cultural dimension, according to Hofstede (2011), is a measurable aspect of culture that enables it to be positioned in relation to other cultures.…”

“…In this society, everyone accepts a hierarchical structure with no further justification and where everyone finds their place (Pukin, 2020: 167;Pieczewski and Sidarava, 2022). Hierarchy is seen as a reflection of inherent inequality, and the fact that power is distributed differently justifies the fact that those in positions of power enjoy greater advantages than those in less powerful positions, such as wealth, prestige and superiority (Siemiński et al, 2022). Status symbols play a significant role because of the disparity between those with less power and those with more power.…”

“…In our context, individualism characterizes the extent to which the links between people in society are loose or integrated into society (Hofstede, 2001). In individualistic societies, accompanied by a loosely-knit social framework, individuals look after themselves and their immediate families and they sometimes prioritize their own interests at the expense of the society (Andrijauskienė and Dumčiuvienė, 2017;Pukin, 2020;Siemiński et al, 2022). Collectivism, in contrast, refers to societies based on loyalty and relationships (Andrijauskienė and Dumčiuvienė, 2017).…”

“…Collectivism, in contrast, refers to societies based on loyalty and relationships (Andrijauskienė and Dumčiuvienė, 2017). In collective cultures, individuals see themselves as firmly associated with their society, will quite often embrace the standards and obligations predominant in the society as rules, and join a lot of significant worth to their associations with different individuals from the society (Siemiński et al, 2022). It is posited that highly individualistic cultures encourage a high level of invention and innovation (Andrijauskienė and Dumčiuvienė, 2017).…”

“…Hence, one cannot expect extraordinary loyalty of workers to their group. If a worker sees a better opportunity, they will take advantage of it (Siemiński et al, 2022). Polish culture sits at the intersection of eastern and western traditions.…”