Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory


Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory is a framework for cross-cultural psychology, developed by Geert Hofstede. It shows the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor analysis.
Hofstede developed his original model as a result of using factor analysis to examine the results of a worldwide survey of employee values by International Business Machines between 1967 and 1973. It has been refined since. The original theory proposed four dimensions along which cultural values could be analyzed: individualism-collectivism; uncertainty avoidance; power distance and masculinity-femininity. The Hofstede Cultural Dimensions factor analysis is based on extensive cultural preferences research conducted by Gert Jan Hofstede and his research teams. Hofstede based his research on national cultural preferences rather than individual cultural preferences. Hofstede's model includes six key dimensions for comparing national cultures: the Power Distance Index, Individualism vs. Collectivism, Masculinity vs. Femininity, the Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation, and Indulgence vs. Restraint. Each dimension highlights how cultures differ in terms of authority, social relationships, achievement focus, tolerance for uncertainty, time orientation, and levels of self-control. The PDI describes the degree to which authority is accepted and followed. The IDV measures the extent to which people look out for each other as a team or look out for themselves as an individual. MAS represents specific values that a society values. The UAI describes to what extent nations avoid the unknown. LTO expresses how societies either prioritize traditions or seek for the modern in their dealings with the present and the future. The IVR index is a comparison between a country's willingness to wait for long-term benefits by holding off on instant gratification, or preferences to no restraints on enjoying life at the present.
Independent research in Hong Kong led Hofstede to add a fifth dimension, long-term orientation, to cover aspects of values not discussed in the original paradigm. In 2010, Hofstede added a sixth dimension, indulgence versus self-restraint. Hofstede's work established a major research tradition in cross-cultural psychology and has also been drawn upon by researchers and consultants in many fields relating to international business and communication. The theory has been widely used in several fields as a paradigm for research, particularly in cross-cultural psychology, international management, and cross-cultural communication. It continues to be a major resource in cross-cultural fields.

History

In 1965 Hofstede founded the personnel research department of IBM Europe. Between 1967 and 1973, he executed a large survey study regarding national values differences across the worldwide subsidiaries of this multinational corporation: he compared the answers of 117,000 IBM matched employees samples on the same attitude survey in different countries. He first focused his research on the 40 largest countries, and then extended it to 50 countries and 3 regions, "at that time probably the largest matched-sample cross-national database available anywhere." The theory was one of the first quantifiable theories that could be used to explain observed differences between cultures.
This initial analysis identified systematic differences in national cultures on four primary dimensions: power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity, which are described below. As Hofstede explains on his academic website, these dimensions regard "four anthropological problem areas that different national societies handle differently: ways of coping with inequality, ways of coping with uncertainty, the relationship of the individual with her or his primary group, and the emotional implications of having been born as a girl or as a boy". Geert Hofstede created the cultural dimensions theory in 1980. In 1984 he published Culture's Consequences, a book which combines the statistical analysis from the survey research with his personal experiences.
In order to confirm the early results from the IBM study and to extend them to a variety of populations, six subsequent cross-national studies were successfully conducted between 1990 and 2002. Covering between 14 and 28 countries each, the samples included commercial airline pilots, students, civil service managers, 'up-market' consumers and 'elites'. The combined research established value scores on the four dimensions for a total of 76 countries and regions.
In 1991 Michael Harris Bond and colleagues conducted a study among students in 23 countries, using a survey instrument developed with Chinese employees and managers. The results from this study led Hofstede to add a new fifth dimension to his model: long-term orientation, initially called Confucian dynamism. In 2010, the scores for this dimension were extended to 93 countries thanks to the research of Michael Minkov, who used data from the recent World Values Survey. Further research has refined some of the original dimensions, and introduced the difference between country-level and individual-level data in analysis.
Finally, Minkov's World Values Survey data analysis of 93 representative samples of national populations also led Geert Hofstede to identify a sixth last dimension: indulgence versus restraint.

Dimensions of national cultures

  • Power distance index : The power distance index is defined as "the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally". A higher degree of the Index indicates that hierarchy is clearly established and executed in society, without doubt or reason. A lower degree of the Index signifies that people question authority and attempt to distribute power.
  • Individualism vs. collectivism : This index explores the "degree to which people in a society are integrated into groups". Individualistic societies have loose ties that often only relate an individual to his/her immediate family. They emphasize the "I" versus the "we". Its counterpart, collectivism, describes a society in which tightly integrated relationships tie extended families and others into in-groups. These in-groups are laced with undoubted loyalty and support each other when a conflict arises with another in-group.
  • Uncertainty avoidance : The uncertainty avoidance index is defined as "a society's tolerance for ambiguity", in which people embrace or avert an event of something unexpected, unknown, or away from the status quo. Societies that score a high degree in this index opt for stiff codes of behavior, guidelines, laws, and generally rely on absolute truth, or the belief that one lone truth dictates everything and that people know what it is. A lower degree in this index shows more acceptance of differing thoughts or ideas. Society tends to impose fewer regulations, ambiguity is more accustomed to, and the environment is more free-flowing.
  • Motivation towards Achievement and Success '''. MAS: In this dimension, masculinity is defined as "a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and material rewards for success." Its counterpart represents "a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak, and quality of life." Women in the respective societies tend to display different values. In feminine societies, they share modest and caring views equally with men. In more masculine societies, women are somewhat assertive and competitive, but notably less than men. In other words, they still recognize a gap between male and female values. This dimension is frequently viewed as taboo in highly masculine societies. The name of this dimension was changed by Hofstede Insights around late 2023 or early 2024 as "not timely anymore" as it "caused discomfort among some of our customers and website visitors for treating gender as a binary concept".
  • Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation : This dimension associates the connection of the past with the current and future actions/challenges. A lower degree of this index indicates that traditions are honored and kept, while steadfastness is valued. Societies with a high degree in this index view adaptation and circumstantial, pragmatic problem-solving as a necessity. A poor country that is short-term oriented usually has little to no economic development, while long-term oriented countries continue to develop to a level of prosperity.
  • Indulgence vs. restraint : This dimension refers to the degree of freedom that societal norms give to citizens in fulfilling their human desires. Indulgence is defined as "a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun". Its counterpart is defined as "a society that controls gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms".

    Differences between cultures on the values dimensions

Putting together national scores, Hofstede's six-dimensions model allows international comparison between cultures, also called comparative research:
  • Power distance index shows very high scores for Latin American and Asian countries, African areas and the Arab world. On the other hand, Germanic countries, including Anglophone countries, have a lower power distance.
  • Germany scores a high UAI and Belgium even more compared to Sweden or Denmark despite their geographic proximity. However, few countries have very low UAI.
  • Motivation towards Achievement & Success is extremely low in Nordic countries: Norway scores 8 and Sweden only 5. In contrast, MAS is very high in Japan, and in European countries like Hungary, Austria and Switzerland influenced by German culture. In the Anglo world, MAS scores are relatively high with 66 for the United Kingdom for example. Latin American countries present contrasting scores: for example Venezuela has a 73-point score whereas Chile's is only 28.
  • High long-term orientation scores are typically found in East Asia, with South Korea having the highest possible score of 100, Taiwan 93 and Japan 88. They are moderate in Eastern and Western Europe, and low in the Anglo countries, Africa and in Latin America. However, there is less data about this dimension.
  • Individualism is high in the US, Australia, and Great Britain. Contrarily Hong Kong and Serbia, Malaysia, and Portugal are considered to be collectivists.
  • There is even less data about the sixth dimension. Indulgence scores are highest in Latin America, parts of Africa, the Anglo world and Nordic Europe; restraint is mostly found in East Asia and Eastern Europe.