Beyond sophisticated stereotyping: Cultural sensemaking in context

Executive Overview Much of our cross-cultural training and research occurs within the framework of bipolar cultural dimensions. While this sophisticated stereotyping is helpful to a certain degree, it does not convey the complexity found within cultures. People working across cultures are frequently surprised by cultural paradoxes that do not seem to fit the descriptions they have learned. The authors identify the sources of cultural paradoxes and introduce the idea of value trumping: In a specific context, certain cultural values take precedence over others. Thus, culture is embedded in the context and cannot be understood fully without taking context into consideration. To decipher cultural paradoxes, the authors propose a model of cultural sensemaking, linking schemas to contexts. They spell out the implications of this model for those who teach culture, for people working across cultures, and for multinational corporations.