Cultural Dimensions

Five cultural dimensions

1. power distance

2. uncertainty avoidance

3. masculinity vs femininity

4. individualism vs collectivism

5. long-term vs short-term orientation

Power distance

The extent to which people accept unequal distributions of power/high power distance culture = boss makes all important decisions and employees accept total authority of superiors/low power distance culture = decisions are made collaboratively and all employees have a say in how things are done

Uncertainty avoidance

The tolerance for ambiguity/high uncertainty avoidance = strict rules and guidelines that establish how things must be done/less uncertainty avoidance = acceptance for different ways of doing things and a more free-flowing and unpredictable environment

Masculinity vs femininity

The importance given to achievement and striving for success/masculine culture = more competition, focus on material rewards and assertiveness/feminine culture = emphasis on cooperation, modesty and quality of life

Individualism vs collectivism

The importance given to group belonging and integration/individualistic culture = looser ties to social groups, independence, personal goals/collective culture = strong bonds with social groups, group loyalty, cooperation with others

Long-term vs short-term orientation

How people think about time/short-term culture = focus on the past and the present, immediate gratification/long-term culture = focus on the distant future, delayed immediate gratification in favour of working towards long-term goals

Chen

A: how long-term or short-term orientation affects decision making

P: bicultural Singaporean-Americans/exposed to Singaporean and American cultures/randomly assigned to have one of their cultures primed (photo of New York skyline or Chinese lanterns/instructed to order a book from online shop/two delivery options/1. free shipping = book took longer to arrive/2. immediate shipping = faster delivery for an extra fee

F: participants primed with American culture were more likely to pay for immediate shipping/participants primed with Singaporean culture were more likely to opt for free shipping

C: Singaporean culture has long-term orientation = values patience and saving money/reminding participants of this culture led to different behaviour than a reminder of American culture (favours immediate gratification)

Evaluate Chen

• Well designed experiment: demonstrated a casual relationship between which culture was primed and which shipping option was selected

• Suggests that bicultural participants absorbed the values of two cultures and will act according to whatever culture is brought to mind in the moment

• Only Singaporean-American: low generalisability

• May be other differences that explain the findings