Business Unethicality as an Impediment to Consumer Trust: The Moderating Role of Demographic and Cultural Characteristics

The article reports the findings of a study conducted among 387 consumers regarding their perceptions of the unethicality of business practices of firms and how these affect their response behavior, in terms of trust, satisfaction, and loyalty. The study confirmed that high levels of perceived corporate unethicality decrease consumer trust. This in turn reduces consumer satisfaction, which ultimately has negative effects on customer loyalty. It was also revealed that, although both consumer gender and urbanity have a moderating effect on the link between perceived unethicality and trust, the age group and level of education of the consumer did not exhibit such an effect. With regard to consumer cultural characteristics, both high uncertainty avoidance and low individualism were found to increase the negative impact of business unethicality on trust, as opposed to power distance and masculinity that did not have any moderating effect on this relationship. Implications for managers are extracted from the study findings, as well as directions for future research.     

Cultural influences on B2B service quality-satisfaction-loyalty

The link between service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty has drawn the attention of both academic researchers and practitioners. They are also focusing on the effect of cultural differences on customer attitudes and behaviour in the global service industry. This paper examines the relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty as well as the moderating effect of cultural differences on the above relationships in the industrial business-to-business (B2B) service sector. The paper presents an empirical study using datasets collected from 7652 industrial customers across 55 countries and uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypotheses. The application of Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a customer loyalty metric based on customer experience management (CEM) is studied in relation to customer satisfaction. The study results demonstrate the positive relationship of service quality, satisfaction, and loyalty. In terms of the effect of cultural differences, the study finds that cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance negatively moderate the relationship between service quality and satisfaction, while individualism positively moderates the relationship between service quality and satisfaction. However, cultural differences do not impact on the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty.     

E-Service Quality: A Meta-Analytic Review

The dominance of the internet as a shopping and distribution channel also necessitates an understanding of e-service quality. Using means-ends-chain theory, we develop a conceptual framework to understand the different models and the associated multiple measures that have been developed to examine this construct. We test the measures empirically using meta-analytic techniques. We also summarize the impact of e-service quality on key outcomes—customer satisfaction, repurchase intentions, and word-of-mouth, as well as the moderating impact of three contextual factors: country culture, regulatory environment, and industry context. Results indicate that e-service quality has four underlying dimensions (website design, fulfilment, customer service, and security/privacy) though their relevance for overall e-service quality is moderated by country-specific (uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, power distance, individualism), regulatory environment-specific (financial secrecy, rule of law), and industry-specific (services/goods, retailing/banking) factors as well as research-design factors.     

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Ethical Attitudes of Business Managers: India Korea and the United States

Culture has been identified as a significant determinant of ethical attitudes of business managers. This research studies the impact of culture on the ethical attitudes of business managers in India, Korea and the United States using multivariate statistical analysis. Employing Geert Hofstede's cultural typology, this study examines the relationship between his five cultural dimensions (individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and long-term orientation) and business managers' ethical attitudes. The study uses primary data collected from 345 business manager participants of Executive MBA programs in selected business schools in India, Korea and the United States using Hofstede's Value Survey Module (94) and an instrument designed by the researchers to measure respondents' ethical attitudes (attitudes toward business ethics in general and toward twelve common questionable practices in particular). Results indicate that national culture has a strong influence on business managers' ethical attitudes. In addition to national culture, respondents' general attitudes toward business ethics are related to their personal integrity; their attitudes toward questionable business practices are related to the external environment and gender, as well as to their personal integrity. A strong relationship exists between cultural dimensions of individualism and power distance and respondents' ethical attitudes toward certain questionable practices. The analysis of the relationship between cultural dimensions of masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation and respondents' ethical attitudes toward questionable practices produced mixed results, likely due to the lack of notable differences in cultural dimension scores among the countries surveyed.     

Culture, product type, and price influences on consumer purchase intention to buy personalized products online

With personalization, consumers can choose from various product attributes and a customized product is assembled based on their preferences. Marketers often offer personalization on websites. This paper investigates consumer purchase intentions toward personalized products in an online selling situation.The research builds and tests three hypotheses: (1) intention to purchase personalized products will be affected by individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity dimensions of a national culture; (2) consumers will be more likely to buy personalized search products than experience products; and (3) intention to buy a personalized product will not be influenced by price premiums up to some level. Results indicate that individualism is the only culture dimension to have a significant effect on purchase intention. Product type and individualism by price interaction also have a significant effect, whereas price does not. Major findings and implications are discussed.     

Boundary-spanning activity,role dynamics,and job satisfaction: A longitudinal study

Boundary-spanning activity and its effects on role conflict and ambiguity and job satisfaction were studied in a large manufacturing organization. Longitudinal data were collected 11 months apart from 132 managerial, engineering, and supervisory employees. A corrected cross-lagged correlational analysis suggests no casual relationships between boundary-spanning activity and role conflict and ambiguity. Causal, positive relationships are suggested, however, between boundary-spanning activity and satisfaction with work, promotions, supervision, co-workers, and overall job satisfaction.     

消费文化变迁测量及其对冲动购买的影响研究

随着市场经济的快速发展,中国消费文化也在变迁。尽管越来越多的学者和企业已关注到了消费文化变迁的重要作用,但是目前多数对于消费文化变迁的相关研究还停留在理论描述的定性研究阶段。文章基于霍夫施泰德的文化模型并结合中国消费文化变迁的研究成果严谨地开发了消费文化变迁构念的测量量表,并系统地研究了中国消费文化变迁对冲动购买的影响。研究结果显示消费文化的五个维度,即权力距离、个人主义、不确定性规避、社会的男性化程度和长期导向的变迁都与冲动购买正相关。文章的理论贡献在于首次系统开发并形成了关于消费文化变迁的量表,从而实现了对中国消费文化变迁的定量测量,并进一步系统地研究了消费文化变迁对冲动购买的影响。     

Examining the influence of cultural and ethical ideology on consumers’ perceptions about the ethics of online retailers and its effects on their loyalty

The main purpose of this study was to develop and empirically test an integrated model that examines the antecedents and outcomes of consumers perceptions regarding online retailing ethics. A quantitative approach was utilised and the data were collected from 797 consumers. We used AMOS 22.0 for assessing the associations between the latent variables. The results of the analyses revealed that uncertainty avoidance and power distance are a key driver of idealism, while masculinity and individualism are a key predictor of egoism. Idealism was negatively related to consumers perceptions about e-retailing ethics, while egoism had a positive effect. Finally, customers perceptions about e-retailing ethics was positively related to customers loyalty. Implications for practitioners and academics were discussed.     

National culture and socially responsible fund flows

We investigate the impact of national culture on socially responsible investment (SRI) fund flows. Drawing on prior literature suggesting that non-financial attributes and social preferences explain SRI decisions, we hypothesize that cultural traits may drive SRI fund flows. We use a dataset covering mutual funds from 45 countries over the period 1997 to 2019. Our results reveal that higher SRI flows are associated with low masculinity and uncertainty avoidance and, to a lesser extent, to high religiosity.On the contrary, power distance and individualism affect conventional fund flows but do not have any significant differential effect on ethical money flows.     

How national culture impacts teenage shopping behavior: Comparing French and American consumers

The global teen market has significant spending power and an important impact on the world economy. However, much remains unknown about the social motivations of teenage consumers and cross-national cultural differences in teenage shopping. This research studies teenage shopping motivations in two nations: the U.S., which is a highly individualistic national culture with low power distance and low uncertainty avoidance, and France, which is perhaps a somewhat more collectivist, more inter-dependent national culture with high power distance and high uncertainty avoidance. This research samples 570 teenage consumers. Susceptibility to peer influence (SPI) drives teenage consumer shopping in France, while both need for uniqueness (NFU) and SPI motivate teenage shopping in the U.S.     

Relationships Among Employee Perception of Their Manager’s Behavioral Integrity, Moral Distress, and Employee Attitudes and Well-Being

Hypothesized relationships among reports by employees of moral distress, their perceptions of their manager’s behavioral integrity (BI), and employee reports of job satisfaction, stress, job engagement, turnover likelihood, absenteeism, work-to-family conflict, health, and life satisfaction were tested using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce (n = 2,679). BI was positively related to job satisfaction, job engagement, health, and life satisfaction and negatively to stress, turnover likelihood, and work-to-family conflict, while moral distress was inversely related to those outcomes. The magnitudes of relationships with job satisfaction, job engagement, and life satisfaction were greater with BI than with moral distress. Moral distress mediated the relationships between BI and the employee outcomes, supporting the view that employee’s perceptions of their manager’s BI might influence the employee’s behaviors as well as their attitudes.     

Perceived Behavioral Integrity: Relationships with Employee Attitudes, Well-Being, and Absenteeism

Relationships between the behavioral integrity of managers as perceived by employees and employee attitudes (job satisfaction and life satisfaction), well-being (stress and health), and behaviors (absenteeism) were tested using data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce (n = 2,820). Using multivariate and univariate analysis, perceived behavioral integrity (PBI) was positively related to job and life satisfaction and negatively related to stress, poor health, and absenteeism. The effect size for the relationship with job satisfaction was medium-to-large while the effect sizes with respect to the other variables were small-to-medium. There was no support for the hypotheses that women would perceive lower levels of behavioral integrity and that the strength of the relationships between PBI and the outcomes variables would be stronger among women than among men.     

Impact of organizational justice on customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry of Pakistan: The moderating role of uncertainty avoidance

This study investigates the impact of distributive justice, procedural justice, interactional justice, and informational justice on customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry of Pakistan, also the study investigates the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance on all relationships. Data were collected from 309 consumers from all provinces of Pakistan. A significant positive impact of dimensions of organizational justice on customer satisfaction is found; however, contrary to expectations, no moderating role of uncertainty avoidance is proved for any of the relationships. At the end of the article, the results of the study are discussed. This study shows potential implications for service providers.     

Cultural influences on national rates of innovation

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of the cultural values of individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity on national rates of innovation in 33 countries in 1975 and 1980. The study found that rates of innovation are most closely associated with the cultural value of uncertainty acceptance, but that lack of power distance and individualism also are related to high rates of innovation. This research suggests that nations may differ in their rates of innovation because of the cultural values of their citizens.These findings have important implications for managers and policy-makers. First, culture matters. Countries may not be able to increase their rates of innovation simply by increasing the amount of money spent on research and development or industrial infrastructure. They also may need to change the values of their citizens to those that encourage innovative activity. This concept, in turn, suggests that national rates of innovation are driven by more fundamental forces than economic conditions, and that societal change may be necessary to make less innovative societies more innovative.Second, the values associated with high national rates of innovation are those that many scholars have long argued are important at the firm level. An acceptance of uncertainty appears to be necessary, probably because innovation requires a tolerance for risk and change. Individualism seems to be important, perhaps because of its association with autonomy, independence, and freedom. Lack of power distance appears important, perhaps reflecting the role that tolerance of change in the social order and distribution of power play in the innovation process.Third, the study indicates that the strength of the relationship between innovation and two cultural values—individualism and lack of power distance—were stronger in 1975 than in 1980, suggesting, perhaps, that these values are becoming less important in spurring the innovation process. This finding supports the anecdotal evidence that many collectivist and hierarchical Asian nations are becoming more innovative.Fourth, this study shows that per capita income is a more important economic variable than industrial structure in determining national rates of innovation. This finding confirms previous work that has shown that as nations become wealthier, they become more innovative. The reason may be that wealthier countries have more demand for innovations, both because innovations are often laborsaving, and because wealthier nations have greater demand for new and differentiated consumer goods.     

Some Cross-Cultural Evidence on Ethical Reasoning

This study draws on Kohlberg's Cognitive Moral Development Theory and Hofstede's Culture Theory to examine whether cultural differences are associated with variations in ethical reasoning. Ethical reasoning levels for auditors from Australia and China are expected to be different since auditors from China and Australia are also different in terms of the cultural dimensions of long term orientation, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and individualism. The Defining Issues Tests measuring ethical reasoning P scores were distributed to auditors from Australia and China including Hong Kong and The Chinese Mainland. Results show that auditors from Australia have higher ethical reasoning scores than those from China, consistent with Hofstede's Culture Theory predictions.     

International Franchising Decision-Making: A Model for Country Choice

The present study examines how a number of market conditions may drive diffusion of franchising. It considers a sample of 63 Spanish franchisors operating through 2321 franchisee outlets across 20 different Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela in January 2011. Results conclude that geographical and cultural distance between the host and home country, as well as the level of the host country's uncertainty avoidance, individualism, political stability, unemployment rate, market potential, and efficiency of contract enforcement, may drive the spread of international franchising. Results reinforce previous research on country choice as to the association between international franchising and the host country's unemployment rate and cultural distance, but also identify differences from other regions in some issues such as political stability. Moreover, new insights relative to the effect of market potential, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and the efficiency of contract enforcement on international franchise diffusion are also shown.     

A cross-cultural examination of the curvilinear relationship between perceived demands-abilities fit and risk-taking propensity

We propose a U-shaped relationship between perceived demands-abilities (D-A) fit and risk-taking propensity that is contingent on individual-level uncertainty avoidance and test this relationship in the U.S., China, and Japan. We find a consistent cross-cultural support for the main curvilinear relationships, whereas the moderating role of individual-level uncertainty avoidance is supported in the U.S. and Japan, but not China. Our results challenge the conventional wisdom that relationships between fit and job outcomes are linear and open up new research avenues for person-environment research which should examine both ‘bright’ and ‘dark’ sides of fit.     

Cultural distance and its implication for the duration of the international alliance in a high technology sector

This study examines the role of cultural distance in the duration of an international alliance in a high technology sector. The general view is that cultural distance between international partners can hamper the duration of the alliance. We propose the alternative argument that cultural distance can be a source of the alliance duration. We use cultural distance based on widely perceived five cultural dimensions (Hofstede et al., 2010). Overall, the result supports the proposition. The distance based on masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation tends to increase the duration of the alliance. The distance based on power distance and individualism tends to decrease the duration of the alliance. Nevertheless, the composite measure based on all five dimensions also shows a positive effect on the duration of the alliance. The study concludes that learning alliances prefer diversity of knowledge sources. Knowledge transfer is a context dependent phenomenon. The diversity of the context delays knowledge transfer. Therefore, learning alliances tend to be longer when there is a cultural distance between international partners. The article notes some implications and limitations for the future research.     

Does quality of innovation,culture and governance drive FDI?: Evidence from emerging markets

This study examines how technology, culture and corporate governance drive inward FDI in emerging economies. A study of 22 emerging economies shows that technology is the major attractive factor influencing inward FDI. Further, FDI increases as technology absorption and innovation capacity increase. The greater the quality of country governance, the greater the influence of corporate governance on FDI. Cultural dimensions such as individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance exhibit a weaker influence on inward FDI, while power distance and indulgence have a stronger influence on inward FDI. Our results support the leapfrogging approach of emerging economies towards promoting innovation and enhancing technology adoption to drive FDI. Interaction effect of country governance further highlighted that the better the governance of a country the impact of technology, innovation, corporate governance and culture in attracting inward FDI also increases.     

A Comparison of Communications Practices Among Indian and U.S. Scientists and Engineers

ABSTRACT

An investigation of communication practices among U.S. (n s= 90) and Indian (n = 71) engineers and scientists employed in the aerospace industry revealed statistically significant differences between the two cultures. The differences may be attributed to Hofstede's (1980) cultural dimensions of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance; Hofstede and Bond's (1988) Confucian dynamism; and Hall's (1976) cultural context. Implications for practice address strategies to accommodate foreign cultures and to develop complementary approaches using the strengths of both cultures. Areas for future research are offered.