The expanded view of individualism and collectivism: One, two, or four dimensions?

Recent research to analyze and discuss cultural differences has employed a combination of five major dimensions of individualism–collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, femininity–masculinity (gender role differentiation), and long-term orientation. Among these dimensions, individualism–collectivism has received the most attention. Chronologically, this cultural attribute has been regarded as one, then two, and more recently, four dimensions of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. However, research on this issue has not been conclusive and some have argued against this expansion. The current study attempts to explain and clarify this discussion by using a shortened version of the scale developed by Singelis et al. ((1995) Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism: a theoretical and measurement refinement. Cross-Cultural Research 29(3): 240–275). Our analysis of aggregate data from 802 respondents from nine countries supports the expanded view. Data aggregation was based on the Mindscape Theory that proposes inter- and intracultural heterogeneity. This finding is reassuring to scholars who have been using the shortened version of the instrument because confirmatory factor analysis indicated its validity. The findings of the present study provides clarification of some apparent ambiguity in recent research in specifying some cultures such as India, Israel, and Spain as individualists or collectivists. By separating the four constructs, more nuanced classification is possible. Also, such a distinction enables us to entertain such concepts as the Mindscape Theory that proposes a unique intracultural and transcultural heterogeneity that do not stereotype the whole culture as either individualist or collectivist.

Research on the attribute of product design material elements based on system theory

The main purpose of this study is to apply the theory of system to the field of product design and to research the properties of product materials. According to the sorting and analysis of the relevant research results and literature and based on the systematic method the perception attribute is studied through the humanistic characteristics of product materials; the cultural attribute is studied through the historical characteristics of product materials; the commercial attribute is studied through the economic value characteristics of product materials; the environmental attribute is studied from the perspective of the ecological and sustainable development of product materials. On this basis, the feasibility suggestions for future research in this field are put forward.

Pragmatism and the Mass Public

This article examines public opinion as it relates to the primary tenets of the pragmatic philosophy. Anti-foundationalism, fallibilism, and an emphasis on practical consequences are observed in American public opinion. In addition, there is strong support for pragmatic politics in America. The evidence suggests that pragmatism is a common cultural attribute in American society.

Outsourcing destination choices: the role of economic and cultural attributes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how country-of-origin (COO) perceptions of managers affect their provider selection for offshoring and offshore-outsourcing of services. In particular, it examines how economic and cultural attributes of the supplier’s host nation shape these choices and identifies whether these attributes have a substitutive, complementary, or competing relationship. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative study was performed using data collected from 235 managers in Saudi Arabia, which has relatively homogeneous managerial population with a clear significant cultural attribute and so presents an ideal setting to study the theory developed in this paper. Data were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance and a repeated-measures and doubly multivariate analysis of variance. Findings – Building on signaling theory, it is shown that buyers from developing countries prefer suppliers from developed rather than culturally distant developing economies as stronger institutions in developed nations increase the credibility of firms. It is also shown that they prefer suppliers from developing countries that share a common cultural attribute such as religion over other developing countries, supporting social identification behavior and a substitutive relationship between cultural and economic attributes. Finally, they are indifferent between suppliers located in a developed and in a culturally similar developing country, even when the cost of obtaining the service is the same in both countries. In such cases, economic and cultural COO attributes have a competing relationship in provider selection. Research limitations/implications – It would be interesting to examine if the results of the current study extend to cultural attributes/cues other than religion that may shrink the social distance between buyers and suppliers. Practical implications – Service multinationals from developing countries may struggle to establish credibility in the eyes of potential customers, who consistently evaluate them lower than firms in developed markets or firms from developing countries that share a common social trait with the potential customers. They can compensate for this by adopting policies that enhance pre-contract trust, invest in homogeneity capital that decreases the social distance between the two firms, or by focussing their sales efforts on countries with which they share a social/cultural attribute. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the marketing and international business literatures by providing insights on how firms from developing countries can effectively compete in the global marketplace given COO effects. Overall, the results provide novel evidence of the importance of co-membership in transnational communities (for instance, religious groups across countries) in supplier selection and its relationship to economic attributes.

Analysis of Structure Technology and Sports Buildings Design Factors

Sports building are different from the common civil buildings, which are characterized by strong professional, high technical requirements, especially in large scale, complex function of large-scale comprehensive stadium, frequently become the latest technology, strong ability of science and technology places. At the same time, structural engineering, material engineering, ecology and intelligence information and other scientific and technological achievements to provide a great degree of freedom and comprehensive technical support for the development of sports buildings, this also fully annotated sports material and cultural attribute of buildings. This paper will analyze the main technical factors involved in sports building design, to explore the basic idea of sports building technology based on.

The Measurement of Strategic Orientation and Its Efficacy In Predicting Financial Performance

For decades, the strategic management literature has recognized strategicorientation as an important cultural attribute in the investigation of the link betweenorganizational culture and firm performance. Using three studies, we develop a surveymeasure of strategic orientation that is unidimensional, reliable, and predictiveof financial performance. Our final study uses a sample of 779 respondents from 20companies and empirically demonstrates a positive relationship between strategicorientation and firm performance. Our results support the notion that managersshould both encourage and support behaviors and execute actions that are consistentwith our measure of strategic orientation to create a coherent strategic approach,resulting in improved financial performance.