Contradictions in national culture: Hofstede vs GLOBE

Abstract

The concept of national culture has been a core topic of international business research for many years, based in large part on the seminal model developed by Geert Hofstede. A recent research project, the GLOBE study, presents an additional, expanded model of cultural measures. This paper takes the opportunity to compare cultural dimensions across these two important studies looking for consistencies and support in both data and analysis. Rather than mutual support, we found major inconsistencies and anomalies across the studies, in particular in respect of the key dimension of Uncertainty Avoidance. The most worrying of these is the highly significant negative correlation between GLOBE uncertainty avoidance practices measures and Hofstede’s uncertainty avoidance index for specific cultures. If left unresolved these inconsistencies will erode the confidence researchers have in the foundations of much cross-cultural research.

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