Mapping world cultures: Cluster formation, sources and implications

Abstract

This paper extends and builds on Ronen and Shenkar's synthesized cultural clustering of countries based on similarity and dissimilarity in work-related attitudes. The new map uses an updated dataset, and expands coverage to world areas that were non-accessible at the time. Cluster boundaries are drawn empirically rather than intuitively, and the plot obtained is triple nested, indicating three levels of similarity across given country pairs. Also delineated are cluster adjacency and cluster cohesiveness, which vary from the highly cohesive Arab and Anglo clusters to the least cohesive Confucian and Far Eastern clusters. Exploring predictors of cluster formation, we draw on the ecocultural perspective and other inputs, and examine the combined role of language, religion, and geography in generating cluster formation. We find that these forces play a prominent yet complex role: for instance, the religion and language brought by the Spanish fail to create a singular, cohesive Latin American cluster akin to the Anglo cluster. The role of economic variables is similarly considered. Finally, comparing the current map with that of 1985, we find strong support for the divergence (vs convergence) argument. Implications for international business are delineated.

An overview of Hofstede-inspired country-level culture research in international business since 2006

“…The existence of such cultural zones was already included in Hofstede's original work (Hofstede, 1980, Chap. 7), and further confirmed in a recent meta-analysis by Ronen and Shenkar (2013).…”

“…The Anglo-Saxon cultural zone from culture research (Ronen & Shenkar, 2013), for example is very consistent with the free or liberal market model from varieties of capitalism (Hall & Soskice, 2001). Exploring supra-national cultural zones as a level of analysis can be equally useful as the above cited work on institutional typologies.…”

Conceptualizing and measuring culture in international business and management: From challenges to potential solutions

“…Analyzing data from 10 large-scale studies, Ronen and Shenkar (2013) clustered countries based on similarity and dissimilarity in work-related attitudes. At the heart of much of this work are attempts to measure the extent to which two or more locations are similar or different, addressing what Ghemawat (2001Ghemawat ( , 2004 has asserted should be the central question of IB research: "Why do countries differ?"…”

“…Even though culture is understood to be a grouplevel construct that influences an individual (e.g., a commonality of shared experiences) and socializing agents (e.g., language, religion, and geography as described in Ronen & Shenkar, 2013), it is traditionally measured by means that cannot capture the extent to which the individual interprets and internalizes that influence. For example, the four authors of this article cover three different nationalities (i.e., American, Australian, and Romanian), but all were educated in the United States, three were born in the United States, two hold multiple citizenships, and one is female.…”

Theoretical Foundations

“…By 2015, comprehensive conversion appears illusive, except in specific cases such as countries that joined the EU. Rather, diversity of economic and institutional conditions remains high (Ronen & Shenkar, 2013;Berry, Guillé n, & Hendi, 2014). Since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, such diversity has arguably increased worldwide (Bruton et al, 2015).…”