Cognitive Structures and Processes in Cross-Cultural Management

Controversies about the psychological implications of culture pervade the crosscultural management literature. When management scholars presume that psychological topics are universal, they are berated for their ethnocentrism (Boyacigiller & Adler, 1991; Wilpert, 1995). However, attempts to link psychology with culture face the dual perils of attributing psychological qualities to societies or cultural qualities to individuals (Hofstede, 2001; Smith, 2004). Despite these perils, social and organizational psychologists have drawn from cognitive theory to connect culture and psychology in ways that are useful for crosscultural management research (Smith, Bond & Kagitcibasi, 2006). The present chapter begins by considering theories of motivation and personality, the psychological theories that build most directly on the perspective on values provided in Chapter 1. We then consider ways in which cognitive theory helps understanding of the link from person to culture by analyzing the proactive development of cultural mastery or expertise. In particular, we consider those research purposes for which a person’s society of origin may be a better indicator of cognitive characteristics than are the values that a person endorses on a questionnaire. Finally, we describe some core findings from cognitive psychology and suggest research agendas that link dimensional theories, recent cognitive theory, and the social structures of organizations. Throughout the chapter, we take the position that the treatment of motivation and personality dimensions in the field of cross cultural management is frequently dated and overly rationalistic. We propose that the field needs to draw from the major advances in psychology of the past three decades by placing