Chinese values in Singapore: Traditional and modern

Abstract

A series of three studies was conducted to test the internal structure of the Chinese value hierarchy (CVH) in Singapore. Study 1 identified the empirically best-fit model with six factors: Prudence, Industry, Civic-Harmony, Moral Development, Social Power and Moderation. Relative magnitudes and interfactor correlations suggested that these factors could be further grouped into two superordinate clusters: (i) The Modern factor, with significantly higher magnitude, consisted of Prudence, Industry, Civic-Harmony and Moral Development; and (ii) the Tradition factor, with lower magnitude, consisted of Social Power and Moderation. Study 2 surveyed university students with differential preference for language usages: English or Chinese. Both language groups were equally high on the Modern factor, but the Chinese-language-preferred group showed a significantly higher endorsement for the Tradition factor, Chinese Worldview (CWV) and Chinese Health Beliefs (CHB). Further convergent validation for the Modern and the Tradition factors was provided by investigating their correlations with traditional Chinese beliefs and practices for the two language groups separately. Study 3 tested generation differences in CVH. University participants (Self) were compared with their parents (Parents) and friends (Friends). There were no differences between Self and Friends on both the Modern and Tradition factors, CWV and individual differences of modernity. Parents and Self did not differ on individual differences of modernity. Parents, however, were higher on the Modern factor, the Tradition factor and CWV. Results were discussed to support the concept of 'multiple modernity' (Tu, 2000) in Asian societies, and the 'revised convergence hypothesis' proposed by Yang (1988).

Does a Connection Exist Among National Culture, Alliance Strategy, and Leading Ict Firms’ Performance?

“…Recently, some strategic management researchers have started considering the impact of cultures on inter-firm alliance creation; in the international management field, a large number of studies exist on the effect of cultural factors on direct strategic alliances, partnering strategies for joint ventures, and cross-cultural contexts. Studies show that national culture influences firms' models of organization (Hofstede 2005), internal processes and decision-making processes (Rugman, Collinson 2009), strategic choices (Kogut, Singh 1988), performance (Ghamewat 2001) and members' values (Chang et al 2003). Understanding the role of contextual factors like national culture in alliance portfolio formation and its influence on firms' performance in the context of global competition seems to be particularly important in the fast growing and rapidly changing ICT industry.…”

“…Globalization processes do not change the values and beliefs across countries: Strong traditional values, such as group solidarity, interpersonal harmony, and paternalism, can coexist with modern values of individual achievement and competition (Chang et al 2003;Zhang et al 2003). It is worth noting that the top-down effects on cultural change are also moderated by culture itself (Inglehart, Baker 2000).…”

“…Much evidence exists on the influence of national culture on a firm's international investments (Kogut, Singh 1988), decision processes (Rugman, Collinson 2009), leadership values (Ralston et al 1997), employee values (Chang et al 2003), inter-firm cooperation (Child, Faulkner 1998), and performance (Ghamewat 2001). National culture affects the organizational model, decision-making processes, people's values and perceptions, and organizational governance as well as controlling information and its use from a centralized to a decentralized perspective (Davenport 1997, Hofstede 2005.…”

Diversity from within: The Impact of Cultural Variables on Emotion Expressivity in Singapore

“…This program was integrated into the education system to help Singaporeans acquire and maintain their respective cultural history and values through their mother tongue whilst sharing a national identity (Chua, 2009). Its impact can be observed in a comparison of Chinese and English speaking students which found that those students who preferred speaking in their mother tongue were more acculturated with traditional Chinese values (Chang, Wong, & Koh, 2003). The bilingual education system works alongside familial nurturing to engender different cultural values learned by each ethnic group.…”

Decision Sciences, Economics, Finance, Business, Computing, and Big Data: Connections

“…In the above section, we discussed Chang, Wong, Teo, and Fam (1997), Chang, Wong, and Teo (2000), Chang, Wong, and Koh (2003), Liao, Shi, and Wong (2012), Liao and Wong (2008, Moslehpour, Wong, Aulia, and Pham (2017), Moslehpour, Wong, Lin, and Huyen (2017). For further detailed analysis, the interested reader is referred to Wong (2016a, c, 2017a, b).…”