How Different Are We? an Investigation of Confucian Values in the United States

As a result of the increased globalization of markets in recent years, a large number of researchers have focused their efforts on many of the interesting differences that exist across diverse cultures (i.e. Adler, 1983; Hofstede, 1980, 1991; Husted et al., 1996; Schlegelmilch and Robertson, 1995; Trompenaars, 1994). The work of Hofstede (1980, 1983, 1984) and his four cultural dimensions of individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and power distance has been extremely well documented in the literature (Abratt et al., 1992; Geletkanycz, 1997; Vitell et al., 1993). Hofstede and Bond (1988) recently developed a fifth dimension, Confucian Dynamism, which is designed to assess a culture's tendency toward certain Confucian traits such as concept of time. While there have been myriad studies which have analyzed culture at the societal level of analysis, little has been done to explore how individual members of certain cultures may vary in their perceptions of cultural traits (Dorfman and Howe ll, 1988). In fact, many of the generalizations about cultural implications related to organizational behavior have minimal support at the individual level and may be inappropriate (Chen et at., 1998). Although many economists have projected that the Chinese economy will be one of the world's largest in the next decade, the Western understanding of traditional Chinese work values is marginal. Much of the recent industrial success of Hong Kong and Taiwan has been attributed to Confucianism (Yeung and Tung, 1996). As the level of influence on world trade patterns by traditional Confucian societies increases it will be advantageous for trade partners to obtain a better conceptualization of how Confucian values relate to their own traditional value systems. Moreover, growing ethnic diversity within the United States, in particular the increase of descendants from Asian nations, has added credence to the study of cultural differences between Asian and Anglo value sets. Managers in multinational firms that either employ Asian workers or engage in trade with Asian firms will be at a serious competitive disadvantage if they overlook the importance of Asian traditions and values in the workplace as we approach the new millennium. The purpose of this article is to report the results from a test of the relationship between Confucian Dynamism and Hofstede's (1980) four initial cultural dimensions at the individual level of analysis. Subsequent studies by Triandis et al. (1985) and Dorfman and Howell (1988) have found significant support for the existence of Hofstede's (1980) dimensions at the individual level. Hofstede (1980, 1991) also contends that variation does exist related to his cultural dimensions within societies. Nevertheless, researchers have overlooked the link between Confucian Dynamism and Hofstede's (1980) initial dimensions at the individual level. A study of this nature is important for both theoretical and practical reasons. From a theory development perspective, the extension of Confucian Dynamism to the individual-level of analysis will help build on the prior work of Triandis et al. (1985) and Dorfman and Howell (1988). While individual-level measures have been developed and validated for dimensions such as individualism versus collectivism and uncertainty avoidance, the work on Confucian Dynamism at this level is still in its infancy stage. Executives and managers in nations that have a wealth of people from diverse backgrounds may also find the results of this study interesting. As the Overseas Chinese population continues to swell worldwide, a deeper understanding of Confucian values will be useful. Further, a knowledge of the different perceptions of time among workers has implications for motivation, training, and policy development. In the next section, the initial cultural dimensions of Hofstede (1980) will be reviewed. This will be followed by an analysis of Confucian Dynamism (Hofstede and Bond, 1988) and how these societal level cultural dimensions have been extended to individuals. …