Replicating Hofstede in Jordan: Ungeneralized, Reevaluating the Jordanian Culture

Abstract

Hofstede was credited with completing the largest cross-cultural study applicable to international management theory and a review of the literature indicates that the dimensions identified by Hofstede capture the essence of many dimensions and value orientations proposed by other researchers. The effect of culture on people's life is so great that it will even affects the motives and choices of people's behavior. The aim of the study is to update the Hofstede cultural value dimensions. We argue that scores (findings) obtained by Hofstede in his previous studies conducted in Arab countries and then generalized to Jordanian culture are not scientifically valid. This study replicates Hofstede's study with data obtained from students studying for their master degrees in different universities in Jordan. Throughout the history of studying national cultures, a number of researchers, through their intense investigation of cultures, explored different cultural frameworks. This paper begins by reviewing the literature on culture and cultural frameworks. In the section after that, a replication of Hofstede's study was conducted and findings were obtained. The final section concludes with a discussion of findings, and why findings obtained differ from those found earlier by Hofstede himself in previous research.Keywords: Jordan, Culture, Cultural dimensions, Hofstede, Arab Countries, Individualism, Collectivism, Power distance, Uncertainty avoidance, Masculinity, Femininity Culture DefinedThe definition of culture and what is meant by culture has been open to debate and differences of interpretation (Ayoun, 2008). Culture is a complex universe including knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any capabilities and habits a member of society can obtain (Taylor, 1974). Culture can be learned and shared (Hofstede, 1980), is the social heritage and life regulator (Chang, 1987), continues to grow and change; and every field of human life is related to it (Soares, Farhangnher & Shohmes, 2008). In short, culture is the sum of all treasures created by human beings, and the generic term for all life demonstrated by society (Chang & Chwang, 2005 Cultures can be understood as systems of symbols and meanings that even their creators contest, that lack fixed boundaries, that are constantly in flux, and that interact and compete with one another (Swider, 1986). It is a complex construct that can be studied on different levels; organizational, regional, and national (Hofstede, 1998). Cultural FrameworksThe concept of culture can help us understand the puzzle of human diversity that is so dominant in public discussions today about multicultural societies Marketing and business researchers, on the other hand, view national culture more as a dynamic process affecting a wide range of behaviors, particularly those relating to buying and consumption (Chuang & Chang, 2005).Triandis (1994) illustrates that culture cannot be separated from the individual; it is not a system of abstract values that exists independently of ind...

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