Cross-cultural differences in decision-making styles: A study of college students in five countries

The major goal of this study was to explore cultural differences in decision-making styles of college students from five countries: Korea, Japan, China, the United States, and Canada. On the basis of previous scholarly findings, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to 837 college students in the five countries. Of these, 815 were included in the statistical analysis. Two hypotheses were established that examine five decision-making styles: cooperative, collaborative, avoidant, competitive, and dominant. The results provide only limited support for the hypotheses. Further, some results ran counter to the expectations of cultural variability. The findings of the study imply that culture may not be a stagnant phenomenon, and more variables should be explored to accurately evaluate cultural differences in decision-making styles. Scholars have suggested that the success of reaching the best possible decision or solution to a problem in interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup situations depends on many factors. These include cohesiveness (Positive effect: Mullen, Anthony, Salas, & Driskell, 1995; Pavitt & Curtis, 1990; Negative effect: Galanes, Adams, & Brilhart, 2000), presence or absence of decisional conflict (Brilhart & Galanes, 1998; Pavitt & Curtis, 1990), gender (Byers, 1997), group size (Wood, Phillips, & Pedersen, 1992), group leadership (Patton, Giffin, & Patton, 1989; Ross, 1989), and goals or objectives (Hirokawa, 1992). Only a few studies and books, however, have dealt with how cultural characteristics influence decision-making and problem-solving styles in interpersonal and group interactions (e.g., Beebe & Masterson, 2000; Mann, 1986). Today, more than ever, North Americans - as well as people in or from the East - have a greater chance to interact with people from different cultures. During their interactions, people from individualistic cultures tend to value personal goals over group goals, personal concerns over group concerns, and personal rights and needs over collective responsibilities and obligations (Gudykunst et al., 1992; Triandis, 1996). In contrast, people from collectivistic cultures tend to value group goals over personal goals, group concerns over personal concerns, and collective needs over personal needs (Ayyash-Abdo, 2001). Because of these different value systems in societies, people of different cultural origin are likely to reveal different attitudes and styles of decision making in negotiation, bargaining processes, and problem solving in various social settings. CULTURAL DISTINCTIONS IN DECISION-MAKING STYLES Brilhart and Galanes (1989) present their view that "we (Americans) are competing with societies - Japanese, Chinese, and Korean - that are more skilled than we at collective decision making" (p. 260). This opinion appears to be particularly pertinent because people from collectivistic cultures, such as Japanese (Hendry, 1987; Okawara, 1982; Sours, 1982) and Korean (Brandt, 1971), prefer group decision by consensus with emphasis on cooperation, harmony, and interdependence in social life. On the other hand, people from individualistic cultures prefer decision by majority vote (Beebe & Masterson, 2000; Berry, Poortinga, Seagall, & Dasen, 1992) and place more importance on independence and the self (e.g., Ayyash-- Abdo, 2001; Triandis, 1996). Although consensus/unanimity is a desirable objective, it is not the overriding concern. Of greater importance is the necessity to maximize individual interests or rewards of any particular decision. When unanimity is unattainable, the group turns to majority rule for resolving disputes, each member voting according to partisan or self-interest. (Mann, Radford, & Kanagawa, 1985, p. 1557) Regardless of cultural backgrounds, "goals and objectives are created by each person according to that person's value system" (Cherrington, 1989, p. 609) when making decisions, and the values of a certain culture motivate its members to behave cooperatively or competitively (Boyd & Richerson, 1991). …