HOFSTEDE S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS ARE （霍夫斯泰德的文化维度是）.pdf

1 HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS: ARE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IMPORTANT? 2005 International Journal of Business Research, 2(1), 161-166 Raymond K. Van Ness, Ph.D. State University of New York at Albany, Charles F. Seifert, Siena College Gary Franko, Siena College, and Cheryl Buff, Ph.D. Siena College ABSTRACT Understanding cultural dimensions becomes increasingly important as multinational business activities continue to increase. To remain competitive and minimize problems, businesses cannot assume an ethnocentric approach to staffing (Kopp, 1994). In an attempt to identify how an organization should be structured internationally, considerable research has been conducted to identify various cultural dimensions. Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions (1980) has become the most widely accepted and most frequently cited model for cross-cultural research (Bhagat McQuaid, 1982; Lonner Berry, 1998; Sivakumar and Nakata, 2001; Sondergaard, 1994). However, the model assumes similar responses from all individuals within a culture and does not account for individual differences. The finding from this study found significant intracultural differences based on gender and religious orientation. The impact from the findings and needs for future research are also discussed. Keywords: National Culture, Cultural Differences, Cultural Dimensions, Hofstede HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS: ARE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IMPORTANT? INTRODUCTION Businesses competing internationally face