A Multinational Examination of the Validity of the Cube One Framework: Comparison of Results in the U.S., Brazil, and Singapore

The Cube One framework posits that successful organizations will enact high levels of three sets of practices: enterprise-, employee- and customer-directed. Dividing levels of enacted practices into three levels-high, middle, and low-organizations that are high in enacting all three sets of practices are classified in Cube One; those low on all three sets of practices are classified in cube 27. A schematic representation of the Cube One framework is provided in Figure 1.Enterprise-directed practices are related to improving productivity, and the motivation, knowledge and skills of employees. Among these practices is a set that has been called GMFAC: the extent to which organizations set goals, measure performance, provide feedback on performance, hold individuals accountable, and provide appropriate consequences such as individual or team-based rewards. These practices have been measured by 10 items (see Kopelman & Prottas, 2012, for all 30 items assessing enterprise, customer-, and employee directed practices). Customer-directed practices include measuring customer satisfaction, attempting to continually improve service/product quality, and providing employees the latitude to satisfy customers. Employee-directed practices are those which are enacted to enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty, and include the minimization of status differences, the provision to the extent possible of employment security, providing accommodations to ameliorate work-life conflicts and so forthResearch and writing on national cultures has long held that it is imperative that management practices be in alignment with national cultures. According to Hofstede (1993) there are "cultural constraints in management theories," (p. 81) which means that "not only practices but also the validity of theories may stop at national borders. " (p. 82). In his follow-up work Hofstede (2001) advised as follows: "For best results, a multinational's management practices should fit the local culture" (p. 441). Thus, national culture perspectives emphasize that cultural differences constrain or even dictate whether management practices will be effective in different cultures (e.g., Adler, 2008). Crossland and Hambrick (2011) indicate that country-level variables will at minimum moderate effects of management practices.Within the past few years research has found that a fit between national culture and management practices was not essential. Rable, et al. (2014) in a meta-analytic review of 156 studies involving more than 35,000 firms and establishments in 29 countries found results which were startling. They found that the fit between high performance work practices and business performance was "on average more strongly related in countries where the degree of a priori hypothesized consistency between [practices] and national culture (according to national culture perspectives) was lower. " (p. 1011). Further, they add: "[i]n fact, although we found moderating effects of national culture, these effects were mostly the opposite of those hypothesized a priori using standard national culture-based logic. " (p. 1020). They found that high performance work practices were positively related to business performance in all 29 countries, and significantly so in all but three countries.Along these lines, Hartnell, et al. (2016) found that when it comes to task orientation, leaders are more effective when their leadership style is at odds with organizational culture. More specifically, they found that firm performance was highest when a leader's task orientation is dissimilar to the organization's culture. Firm performance was lower when leader task orientation matched that of the organizational culture (i.e., high-high and low-low). Bloom and colleagues (2012) in a study of more than 10,000 organizations across 20 countries found that three sets of practices were consistently associated within and across countries with higher productivity, profits and growth. …