The cultural characteristic of individualism/collectivism: A comparative study of implications for investment in operations between emerging Asian and industrialized Western countries

Power, Damien; Schoenherr, Tobias; Samson, Danny

doi:10.1016/j.jom.2009.11.002

Cited by 137 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 101 publications

(176 reference statements)

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“…We do not even find significant support for the only dimension that previous literature agrees matters [7,10,13,14]: low degree of individualism, i.e. collectivism.…”

Section: Do Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Explain Differences In Xpscontrasting

confidence: 97%

The Insignificant Role of National Culture in Global Lean Programmes

Netland

Mediavilla

Errasti

2013

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology

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Abstract. Large corporations are increasingly implementing lasting corporate improvement programmes based on lean thinking in their global production networks. The aim is to improve operational efficiency by sharing best operational practices and foster continuous improvement among all subsidiaries. However, it remains an open question why implementation success differs substantially across cultures and sister plants for most companies. We review the existing literature on improvement programmes and culture, and compare the current state of the art with unique quantitative data from 80 factories belonging to two global manufacturing companies. We surprisingly find no explanatory power in national culture (measured with Hofstede's model) and propose that other factors such as the organisational culture and the strategic role of the plant matters far more.

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“…We do not even find significant support for the only dimension that previous literature agrees matters [7,10,13,14]: low degree of individualism, i.e. collectivism.…”

Section: Do Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Explain Differences In Xpscontrasting

confidence: 97%

The Insignificant Role of National Culture in Global Lean Programmes

Netland

Mediavilla

Errasti

2013

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology

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“…The role of national culture has been extensively researched in the context of manufacturing capability and performance (Chow et al, 1991, Abe and Fitzgerald, 1995, Voss and Blackmon, 1998, Flynn and Saladin, 2006, Ritzer, 2006, Montabon et al, 2007, Ramamoorthy et al, 2007, Naor, 2008, Stringfellow et al, 2008, Kull and Wacker, 2010, Metters et al, 2010, Power et al, 2010, Weingarten et al, 2011. The relationship between investment in sustainable manufacturing and performance has also been studied widely.…”

Section: National Culture and Investment In Espmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is so not just in this specific field of research, but in the operations management literature generally, leading to a recent call for more contingency focused research in operations management (Sousa andVoss, 2008, Jayaram et al, 2010). In particular, recent studies in related areas of operations management performance (Hahn and Bunyaratavej, 2010, Kull and Wacker, 2010, Naor et al, 2010, Power et al, 2010, Weingarten et al, 2011 have highlighted the importance of contingent effects associated with national cultural characteristics identified through both the Hofstede (Hofstede, 1980b) and GLOBE studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitive Goals and Plant Investment in Environment and Safety Practices: Moderating Effect of National Culture

et al. 2015

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This study uses data from a total of 1453 plants in 24 countries and tests for the moderating influence of seven of the national cultural characteristics developed through the GLOBE studies on investment at the plant level in Environment and Safety Practice (ESP). Specifically, we use the plant-level relationship between the evaluation of environmental and safety performance by senior management (EES) and investment in ESP to test for this moderation effect. The results show that four of the seven national cultural characteristics tested (Uncertainty Avoidance (UA), In-Group Collectivism (CG), Future Orientation (FO) and Performance Orientation (PO)) alter investment in this area away from an expected "rational" response. The contribution of this study is that although earlier studies have shown some effect on investment priorities for a single national cultural characteristic, or for a single or limited group of countries, this study provides strong evidence based on seven separate cultural factors using a sample drawn from 24 countries. The results indicate that when this diversion from the "rational" response is positive it is likely to be due to sensitivity to the focus of senior management (UA and PO) rather than a stronger commitment per se to ESP. When the divergence is negative it is when familial groups and local coalitions are powerful (CG) or where the focus is on future outcomes rather than current actions (FO). This latter finding is of particular interest as it is counter-intuitive and indicates that although a high FO culture may be consistent with high investment in ESP, FO itself reduces likelihood of investment at the plant level when senior management focus on this objective increases. Further to this there is no moderating effect recorded for Institutional Collectivism (IC) or Humane Orientation (HO) both of which (similar to FO) are intuitively consistent with values supporting investment in ESP. The inherent merits of ESP, therefore, do not seem to be a significant factor as there is no supporting evidence indicating that cultural characteristics that are consistent with an understanding potential benefits have a positive moderating effect. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

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“…As Power et al (2010) reveal, collectivistic cultures consider individuals as embedded within the group, while individualistic cultures put more emphasis on the individual's autonomy and independence.…”

Section: Individualism Versus Collectivism (Idv)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural relevance in corporate sustainability management: a comparison between Korea and Japan

Lee

Herold

2016

AJSSR

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Despite the increasing global popularity of corporate sustainability, a nation's culture and its effects on activities relating to corporate sustainability are little understood. From the perspective of cultural relevance, this paper investigates the similarities and differences between Korea and Japan in their practices of corporate sustainability. Using questionnaire survey data, we examine the usefulness and applicability of Hofstede's cultural values (power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long-term orientation) to corporate sustainability management in the context of Korea and Japan. We find that Hofstede's cultural values are partially useful and applicable in explaining corporate sustainability practices. From the aspect of the integration of corporate sustainability practices, Hofstede's cultural value model was applicable, but it was not applicable in explaining cultural differences. This study is the first attempt to examine the cultural relevance of Hofstede's model in corporate sustainability management practices in a study comparing Korea and Japan. A new theoretical foundation and insights into national culture and its effect on corporate sustainability management provide a basis for further studies.

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The cultural characteristic of individualism/collectivism: A comparative study of implications for investment in operations between emerging Asian and industrialized Western countries

Cited by 137 publications

References 101 publications

The Insignificant Role of National Culture in Global Lean Programmes

The Insignificant Role of National Culture in Global Lean Programmes

Competitive Goals and Plant Investment in Environment and Safety Practices: Moderating Effect of National Culture

Cultural relevance in corporate sustainability management: a comparison between Korea and Japan

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