Cultural Distance and its Impact on Expatriation

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Economics - International Economic Relations, grade: 1,0, University of Paderborn (International Business Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Kabst), course: Exzellenzseminar Management, language: English, abstract: As the business world is becoming increasingly global, cultures of the world interconnect and hence cultural barriers present new challenges and opportunities. In the field of international business research cross-cultural analysis continuously gains in importance.

Hofstede¿s systematic study on cross-national cultures in the 1980s is considered one of the most influential contributions to cross-cultural research. Capturing several of Hofstede¿s cultural dimensions, the project Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) presents a more up-to-date research program dealing with the effects of cultures on organizational processes. Project GLOBE offers additional insights into the relationship between cultural distance and expatriate adjustment by introducing the dimensions Performance Orientation, Humane Orientation and Assertiveness.

The GLOBE authors House et al. (2004) performed a large-scale cross-cultural study in 62 societies across the world during the 1990s. The methodological approach included a survey of approximately 17,000 middle managers. The results were published and edited by House et al. in 2004. The most salient finding was that there exist nine cultural dimensions. Moreover, the authors subdivided each of the dimensions into 2 facets: society as it is and society as it should be, meaning a description of some prevalent practices and personality traits in the society and a concept of an ideal society, according to the respondent.