Linking culture and behavior in organizations: Suggestions for theory development and research methodology

To guide scholars interested in incorporating culture into research on behavior in organizations, this chapter discusses cross-level approaches to the study of culture that go beyond simplistic comparative analyses. We focus on the major issues confronting a cross-cultural management researcher. We consider diverse theoretical, research design, and analytical approaches that allow the researcher to link culture to organizational behavior. A central theme in our discussion is the paramount importance of a model that specifies mechanisms that link culture to lower levels of analyses, such as organizations, teams, and individuals. Our recommendations for empirical research revolve around the informed use of cross-level theoretical models to guide research design and analytical choices. We conclude with general recommendations for future research on culture and behavior in organizations.

[1]  Cristina B. Gibson,et al.  Taking Stock in Our Progress on Individualism-Collectivism: 100 Years of Solidarity and Community , 1998 .

[2]  P. Earley.  Social Loafing and Collectivism: A Comparison of the United States and the People's Republic of China. , 1989 .

[3]  P. Earley.  East Meets West Meets Mideast: Further Explorations Of Collectivistic and Individualistic Work Groups , 1993 .

[4]  Michael Harris Bond,et al.  On the Empirical Identification of Dimensions for Cross-Cultural Comparisons , 1989 .

[5]  Martha L. Maznevski,et al.  Understanding Our Differences: Performance in Decision-Making Groups with Diverse Members , 1994 .

[6]  A. Marsella.  The measurement of emotional reactions to work: Conceptual, methodological and research issues , 1994 .

[7]  P. Christopher Earley,et al.  Impetus for action: A cultural analysis of justice and , 1997 .

[8]  H. Triandis.  The Self and Social Behavior in Differing Cultural Contexts , 1989 .

[9]  Geert Hofstede,et al.  Individual Perceptions of Organizational Cultures: A Methodological Treatise on Levels of Analysis , 1993 .

[10]  Kerr,et al.  Twenty-Five Years of Social Decision Scheme Theory. , 1999, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[11]  K. Klein,et al.  Levels Issues in Theory Development, Data Collection, and Analysis , 1994 .

[12]  Mark S. Granovetter.  Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness , 1985, American Journal of Sociology.

[13]  R. Rohner,et al.  Toward a Conception of Culture for Cross-Cultural Psychology , 1984 .

[14]  Earley,et al.  Playing Follow the Leader: Status-Determining Traits in Relation to Collective Efficacy across Cultures. , 1999, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[15]  Jorge Correia Jesuino,et al.  Role-Conflict, Ambiguity, and Overload - a 21-Nation Study , 1995 .

[16]  S. Schwartz,et al.  Toward A Universal Psychological Structure of Human Values , 1987 .

[17]  L. James,et al.  Mediators, Moderators, and Tests for Mediation. , 1984 .

[18]  P. Earley,et al.  International and intercultural research: What's next? , 1995 .

[19]  J. Wagner,et al.  Individualism-Collectivism: Concept and Measure , 1986 .

[20]  L. James.  Aggregation Bias in Estimates of Perceptual Agreement. , 1982 .

[21]  H. A. Witkin,et al.  Psychological Differentiation in Cross-Cultural Perspective , 1975 .