ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NATIONAL CULTURE DIFFERENCES FOR DOMESTIC COMPANIES THAT EXPAND TO THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Yıl 2011, Cilt: 3 Sayı: 2, 237 - 247, 01.12.2011

Paris Bayias Vassilis Assimakopoulos

Öz

This work investigates the importance of national culture differences for domestic
companies that consider international expansion. Is it a factor of prime
importance for companies that expand internationally, as some researchers say,
or it is overrated, being lower in the significance list? A group of 61 managers
from 7 internationalized companies listed in the Athens Exchange SA contribute
to the research. Findings seem to support those authors that say that national
culture differences do influence the strategy, tactics and management practices of
domestic companies that plan international expansion, but this influence is not of
prime importance. Findings show that there are other factors such as market
potential, legal framework, market infrastructure, broad economic indicators and
technology barriers that are more significant than national culture issues, with
the latter being overrated.
.

Anahtar Kelimeler

national culture differences, internationalisation, globalisation

Kaynakça

• Adler, Nancy and Susan Bartholomew (1992), “Academic and professional communities of discourse: generating knowledge on transnational human resource management”, Journal of International Business Studies, 23(3), pp.551-570.
• Adler, Nancy, Robert Doktor and Gordon Redding (1986), “From the Atlantic to the Pacific century: Cross-cultural management reviewed”, Journal of Management, 12(2), pp.295-318.
• Bigoness, William and Gerald Blakely (1996), “A cross-national study of managerial values”, Journal of International Business Studies, 27(4), pp.739-752.
• Clark, Peter and Frank Mueller (1996), “Organizations and nations: from universalism to institutionalism?”, British Journal of Management, 7, pp.125-139.
• Dodor, Jean Baptiste and Dharam Rana (2007), “Culture and economic development: An investigation using Hofstede cultural dimensions”, International
• Journal of Business Research, VII: 2, pp.75-84. Fan, Pan and Zhang Zigang (2004), “Cross-cultural challenges when doing business in China”. Singapore Management Review, 26(1), pp.81-90.
• Gerhart, Barry (2008), “How Much Does National Culture Constrain
• Organizational Culture?”, Management and Organisation Review, 5:2, pp.241- Hofstede, Geert (1991), Cultures and organisations: Software of the mind. McGraw-Hill, UK.
• Hofstede, Geert (1993), “Cultural constraints in management theories”. Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), pp.81-94.
• Hofstede, Geert (1996), “An American in Paris: The influence of nationality on organization theories”, Organisation Studies, 17(3), pp.525-537.
• Hofstede, Geert (2001), Cultures Consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2 nd ed.). Sage publications.
• Hofstede, Geert (2007), “Asian management in the 21st century”, Asia Pacific
• Journal of Management, 24, pp.411-420. Hofstede, Geert and Michael Harris Bond (1988), “The Confucius Connection:
• From Cultural Roots to Economic Growth”, Organizational Dynamics, 16(4), pp.5-21. Kvedaraviciene, Goda and Vytautas Boguslauskas (2010), “Underestimated
• Importance of Cultural Differences in Outsourcing Arrangements”, Inzinerine Ekonomika-Engineering Economics, 21(2), pp.187-196. Laurent, Andre (1983), “The cultural diversity of Western conceptions of management”, International Studies of Management and Organisation, 8(1-2), pp.75-96.
• Levitt, Theodore (1983), “The globalisation of markets”, Harvard Business Review, 61(3), pp.92-102.
• Lubatkin, Michael, Momar Ndiaye and Richard Vengroff (1997), “The nature of managerial work in three developing countries: A test of the universalist hypothesis”, Journal of International Business Studies, 28(4), pp.711-733.
• Markoczy, Livia (1998), “Us and them”, Across the Board, 35(2), pp.44-49.
• Markoczy, Livia and Jeff Goldberg (1998), “You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nodes, but you can’t pick your friends’ nodes: misattributions of others’ priorities”, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, (5), pp.893-909.
• Markoczy, Livia (2000), “National culture and strategic change in belief formation”, Journal of International Business Studies, 31(3), pp.427-442.
• Newman, Karen and Stanley Nollen (1996), “Culture and congruence: the fit between management practices and national culture”, Journal of International
• Business Studies, 27(4), pp.753-779. Pooley, Richard (2005), “When cultures collide”, Management Services, 49(1), pp.28-31.
• Porter, Michael (1990), “The competitive advantage of nations (cover story)”,
• Harvard Business Review, 68(2), pp.73-93. Pressey, Andrew and Habte Selassie (2002), “Are cultural differences overrated?
• Examining the influence of national culture on international buyer-seller relationships”, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 2(4), pp.354-368. Schneider, Susan (1989), “Strategy formulation: The impact of national culture”,
• Organisation Studies, 10(2), pp.149-168. Tayeb, Monir (1994), “Organisations and national culture: Methodology considered”, Organization Studies, 15(3), pp.429-446.
• Wood, Van and Kim Robertson (2000), “Evaluating international markets. The importance of information by industry, by country of destination, and by type of export transaction”, International Marketing Review, 17(1), pp.34-55.