Cooperation across cultures: An examination of the concept in 16 countries

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    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    10 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Businesses are coordinated organizations, and cooperation among employees reduces overall organizational costs. Understanding how important cooperation is among different cultures is important, as business becomes increasingly global. However, cross-cultural literature on cooperation deals with firm alliances, joint ventures, and other firm interrelationships, but not on societal differences in cooperation. Is cooperation similar across cultures? Using proxies, this study sought to operationalize cooperation and examine its underpinnings in countries, using the cultural dimensions of individualism and power distance. Although the initial hypotheses stated that cooperation would look different across these dimensions, the international set of 6452 respondents showed that the overwhelming majority had a similar view of cooperation. The study adds to our understanding of cooperation in different societies and contexts, and suggests that there may be a universal view of cooperation across cultures.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)238-247
    Number of pages10
    JournalInternational Journal of Intercultural Relations
    Volume36
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 1 2012

    Keywords

    • Collectivism
    • Cooperation
    • Culture
    • Individualism
    • Management
    • Power distance

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Business and International Management
    • Social Psychology
    • Sociology and Political Science

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