| Biography | |
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 Prof. Xiumei Shi Dalian University of Foreign Languages, China |
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| Title: Tacit but Irrevocable Factors in Hofstede Model and GLOBE Model: Which way to go for Cross-Cultural Research? | |
| Abstract: With the rapid development of economic globalization, more and more companies go abroad for new markets. Therefore, a company will inevitably operate under two or more cultural backgrounds. How to make these local enterprises operate smoothly and successfully in other countries has become a new subject to scholars. Therefore, understanding culture would also be viewed as increasingly important.(Mooij M. and Hofstede G., 2010) Research into the international business (IB) has become a dynamic study area over the past four decades and is likely to become even more so as the process of economic globalization continues into the future (Brewer P. and Venaik S.,2010).Cultural models define patterns of basic problems that have consequences for the functioning of groups and individuals, e.g. (a) relation to authority; (b) the conception of self, including ego identity; and (c) primary dilemmas of conflict and dealing with them (Kluckhohn F.R. and Strodtbeck F. L. ,1961;Inkeles A. ,1997). In order to understand cultural differences, several models have been developed, such as the Hofstede Model (Hofstede G.,2001; Hofstede G. and Hofstede G.J., 2005; Hofstede G., 2007), studies by Schwartz (Schwartz S.H. & Bilsky W. ,1987), Trompenaars (Trompenaars K.,1993), and GLOBE (the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) Model Model (House R.J. and Hanges P.J., Javidan M., Dorfman P.W., Gupta V.,2004), of which the Hofstede Model has been applied most(Mooij M. and Hofstede G., 2010). Among these studies, the cultural model developed by Hofstede and the much more recent GLOBE Model conducted by House et al., have both provided scholars with much-needed insights into the structure of national cultures. However, ever since the publication of House et al.’s GLOBE Model in 2004, debate between Hofstede and GLOBE team never comes to a halt and it upsurges to its climax from 2010 till now which reflects itself from the special issue on “Culture in International Business Research” in the JIBS (Journal of International Business Studies) by many IB scholars from 2006 and years after. While Hofstede’s work was not the first systematic study on Cross-Cultural Research (CCR), his cultural dimensions succeeded in putting CCR at the forefront of IB research and his influence in the fields of IB and management remained undeniable despite the criticisms that have voiced against his study for so long time. The GLOBE cultural dimension Model is considered to be one of the most recent studies (Chhokar et al., 2007) on organisational values and cultures (Pramila Rao，2009). GLOBE study is less criticized than Hofstede’s work, possibly not because there are fewer controversial issues, but perhaps more because it is much more recent, and therefore researchers have not yet fully analyzed and tested it. Given the increasing globalization of industrial organizations and the growing interdependencies among nations, the need for a better understanding of cultural influences and cross-cultural management has become even greater. My speech begins with a brief description of the Hofstede and GLOBE Model, and then followed by the difference analysis of various aspects of the two models, which are the data collection, the countries (and regions) participating in both Models, and the decisions of cultural dimensions. The cultural distance between China and US from the 9 dimensions in GLOBE Model and the 5 dimensions in Hofstede Model is fully compared, and the different results yielded are analyzed. Then PDI (Power Distance Index), UAI (Uncertainty Avoidance Index), TO (Time Orientation) have been chosen specifically to be further discussed to show the inconsistence between the two models and finally a way forward in the future research into this fundamental area of international business are is suggested and canvassed. | |
| Biography: Xiumei Shi was born in Dalian, Liaoning, China in 1974 and she received her B.A. degree in literature from Liaoning Normal University (Dalian), M.S. in Economics from Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (Dalian) and the Ph.D. degree in Management from Central University of Finance and Economics (Beijing) in 1996, 2007, 2012 respectively. From November 2009 to November 2011, she was a Visiting Scholar in University of California, Irvine. From 2013 to 2016, she was doing her research in the Post-Doctoral Research Center in Central University of Finance and Economics. She is currently a Professor in School of International Business in Dalian University of Foreign Languages. Her current research interests include cross-cultural management, Language management, FDI and PPP. She has got two monographs and more than 30 papers published, and right now one monograph and 2 papers on the way. | |
