Search Results (86)

Despite the growing importance of intercultural marketing in global consumer markets, limited research has examined how intercultural marketing factors interact and contribute to corporate competitiveness within internationally recognised consumer brands. Therefore, this case study investigates these relationships using the example of a globally recognised consumer brand. Drawing on Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory and intercultural marketing literature, this study investigates the relationships between event marketing, consumer behaviour and sales factors using the case of Red Bull in the global energy drink industry. Data obtained from 50 respondents were analysed using affinity diagrams, relationship diagrams, linear regression and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results confirmed positive relationships between event marketing and consumer behaviour (r = 0.401) and between consumer behaviour and sales factors (r = 0.400). The study contributes to international marketing literature by proposing an integrated framework linking intercultural marketing activities with corporate competitiveness and identifying the most influential marketing sub-criteria. The study further focuses on the identification and comparison of sub-criteria using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Full article

Against the backdrop of global sustainability transitions and the growing importance of ESG investing, firms face increasing trade-offs between short-term financial objectives and long-term ESG commitments. While previous studies have mainly examined how ESG performance affects financial outcomes, less attention has been paid to whether financial performance influences subsequent ESG strategies and how the national culture shapes this relationship. Drawing on the resource-based view and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, this study employs cross-country firm-level panel data and logistic regression models to examine whether prior-year financial performance target achievement promotes subsequent ESG improvement. The results show that firms achieving their financial targets are significantly more likely to improve ESG performance in the following year, suggesting that financial success provides the resources needed to support ESG investment. Moreover, the effect varies across national cultural contexts, highlighting the moderating role of cultural heterogeneity. By examining the reverse pathway from financial performance to ESG, this study extends the conventional ESG–financial performance literature and provides new evidence of the dynamic interaction between financial objectives and ESG strategies. These findings also contribute to understanding how national culture influences corporate sustainability decisions and strategic resource allocation. Full article

Transnational Education (TNE) at the university level is commonly evaluated through visible pedagogical and institutional mechanisms, including quality assurance, curriculum alignment, and degree legitimacy. Less attention has been given to the socio-cultural conditions through which faculty experience power in Joint Venture Universities (JVUs). This article examines power distance as a lived institutional practice at an anonymised Sino-British JVU in mainland China, drawing on 32 semi-structured faculty interviews, as part of a wider paired-site qualitative study. The interview schedule was informed by Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Compass. Interviews were analysed inductively, with Hofstede used experimentally as a sensitising analytical framework rather than as a measure of national culture. This article presents findings on the power distance dimension and identifies four organisational themes—authority, hierarchy, inequality, and networks—which are presented as finding-led groupings rather than formal sub-dimensions of Hofstede’s power distance. Faculty described and perceived power as an everyday professional experience shaped by control over teaching, regulation, and institutional direction; chains of command and indirect disagreement; inequalities in voice, promotion, favouritism, funding, language, and gender; and informal networks affecting access, visibility, and professional boundaries. These accounts indicate that power is produced through the intersection of Chinese regulatory conditions, institutional centralisation, professional status, and informal relational norms. The article argues that greater attention to these relations is essential for understanding faculty voice, autonomy, and value cohesion in Sino-British TNE partnerships, and thus offers leadership recommendations towards strengthening cross-cultural value cohesion. Full article

Digital transformation among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries is limited by a persistent gap between prevailing adoption frameworks and the sociocultural realities of target populations. Frameworks such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, UTAUT, and IDT were originally developed for industrialized contexts and do not adequately account for the cultural factors influencing adoption behavior in structurally distinct environments. A systematic mapping of 256 articles revealed that only 14 consider cultural behavior as a variable, and none utilize a validated cultural measurement instrument. This study introduces the Culturally Contextualized Digital Transformation Model (CC-DTM), a four-layer theoretical architecture that integrates the TOE framework, TAM constructs, and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, operationalized as individual-level espoused values rather than national aggregate scores. The model incorporates a novel meso-level construct, Ecosystem Density, which mediates the relationship between environmental context and organizational readiness. The CC-DTM specifies 22 constructs and 15 directional hypotheses, organized into an initial empirical agenda (H1–H12) and deferred extensions (H13–H15). Additionally, a three-configuration typology based on internal SME attributes is developed. A two-phase validation roadmap, consisting of expert-panel content assessment and configurational case illustration across ten Chilean SMEs, is proposed. Full article

As global urban centers transition into “Super-Aged Societies,” the paradigm of urban sustainability has shifted from mere housing provision to the development of Sustainable Care Retirement Communities (SCRCs). This study addresses a critical gap in the urban aging literature: the lack of culturally sensitive frameworks for social resilience in non-Western contexts. By integrating Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory, this research investigates how national culture influences the prioritization of community attributes within the “15 min city” framework. Methodologically, a hierarchical evaluation framework comprising 4 dimensions and 26 indicators was established. It employed the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) to achieve expert consensus among stakeholders in Taiwan’s Long-term Care 3.0 ecosystem. Analysis using Double Triangular Fuzzy Numbers identified the “Charging Model,” “Staff-to-Resident Ratio,” and “Zoning with Care Continuity” as the highest-priority factors ($G^i$ ≥ 7.8). These results indicate that in cultures with high uncertainty avoidance, institutional financial stability and human-centric staffing are perceived as the structural bedrock of social resilience. Furthermore, the study highlights the emergence of AI-driven “Active Sensing” environments as a pivotal component of technical resilience, mitigating the loneliness epidemic while maintaining institutional efficiency. The findings suggest that social resilience in SCRCs is not merely a product of physical accessibility but is theoretically inferred by experts to be deeply rooted in the synergy of Bonding and Bridging Social Capital, rather than being a directly measured outcome. This research provides urban planners and policy-makers with a robust, evidence-based toolkit to design inclusive, resilient, and culturally aligned aging-in-place environments in the face of unprecedented demographic challenges. Full article

The pedagogical efficacy of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in education heavily depends on cultural, technological, and cognitive contexts. Prior studies examined AI-driven learning outcomes without accounting for cultural variability or sufficiently anchoring their analyses in robust theoretical frameworks. The current study discusses the interconnection between AI technologies, learner competencies, and educational outcomes, in addition to the significance of digital and media literacy in secondary foreign language teaching. It employs Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, the technology acceptance model, and sociocultural learning theory to examine how AI technologies affect learning outcomes of English as a foreign language among Lebanese high school students. One hundred and eighty high school students in Mount Lebanon were given a 20-item survey using a quantitative research design. The results were analyzed using statistical tests and analyses in SPSS version 27.0.1. The findings indicate that AI technologies significantly enhance student learning outcomes: affective and motivational outcomes (45%), social and collaborative competencies (35%), and English language proficiency (accounting for 43% of variance). Furthermore, these relationships are strongly moderated by digital and media literacy, which increases the beneficial effects of AI on learning outcomes. The findings also show that students’ opinions, engagement, and acceptance of AI-supported language learning are influenced by cultural traits. Full article

Student employment has become an increasingly common feature of higher education, yet research on international students has predominantly approached paid work as an economic necessity. This article examines student employment as a culturally embedded social practice among international students in Hungary, focusing on employment patterns and cultural value orientations. The study applies a mixed-methods design, combining a focus group interview with an online questionnaire survey conducted among international students at a Hungarian university (N = 61). Cultural value orientations were measured using Hofstede’s Values Survey Module, and differences between working and non-working students were analyzed using inferential statistical methods. The results show that international students’ employment is dominated by flexible, low-entry-threshold jobs, particularly platform-based delivery work, while study-related or professional positions remain less common and are associated with higher income levels. Employment participation was significantly related to gender and academic year, with male students and those in higher years of study being more likely to work. Regarding cultural value orientations, a statistically significant difference between working and non-working students emerged only along the masculinity–femininity dimension, with working students displaying more performance-oriented values. The findings highlight that international student employment is associated with both structural constraints and culturally grounded value orientations. Full article

Background: Antimicrobial consumption (AMC) varies widely across European countries, and cross-national studies have linked this variation to cultural values. However, two critical gaps remain: it is unclear whether these associations differ between community and hospital sectors or across antimicrobial classes. This study directly tests these differences. Methods: We analysed country-level AMC data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for EU/EEA countries, combining sector-specific (community, hospital) and Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) group-specific data. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients (ρ) were calculated between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and AMC. We compared correlations across sectors within ATC groups, and between community antibacterials for systemic use (J01) and other community medicine classes, using differences in correlations (Δρ). Uncertainty was assessed with non-parametric bootstrap 95% confidence intervals and paired-label permutation tests, with false discovery rate control. Sensitivity analyses included leave-one-country-out checks and replication using Kendall’s τ-b. Results: Cultural values, especially Power Distance Index (PDI) and Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), were more strongly associated with community antibiotic use than with hospital antibiotic use or other community medicine groups. PDI and UAI showed significantly stronger correlations with community J01 use than with hospital J01 use and with several other community ATC groups. These patterns were robust in sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: The national cultural context appears more closely related to community antibiotic use than to hospital use or other community medicines, particularly for PDI and UAI. This demonstrates that cultural drivers of AMC are context-specific, necessitating stewardship strategies tailored to community settings to address norms around hierarchy and uncertainty. Full article

Sustainable service excellence in globalized industries requires organizations to develop workforce capabilities that support long-term relationship-building, cultural respect, and effective cross-cultural communication. This study examines how cultural intelligence functions as a mechanism for sustainable cross-cultural workforce development by investigating relationships among individual cultural values, cultural intelligence dimensions, and influence tactics among airline cabin crew members. Integrating Hofstede’s cultural dimensions framework, Ang and colleagues’ cultural intelligence model, and Yukl’s influence tactics taxonomy, we test a comprehensive mediation model using survey data from six hundred and sixty-three cabin crew members employed by international airlines operating in Turkey. The findings reveal that collectivism, long-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance positively predict cultural intelligence development, creating foundations for sustainable cross-cultural competence. Cultural intelligence dimensions demonstrate differentiated effects on influence tactics, with metacognitive and behavioral cultural intelligence enhancing rational persuasion, behavioral cultural intelligence exclusively predicting relational tactics, and complex competitive mediation patterns for coercive tactics wherein motivational cultural intelligence reduces pressure-based influence while cognitive and behavioral dimensions increase strategic assertiveness. Cultural values directly influence tactics beyond cultural intelligence effects, with uncertainty avoidance most strongly predicting both rational and relational approaches that support relationship sustainability, while masculinity and power distance drive coercive tactics that may undermine long-term service relationships. These findings demonstrate that cultural intelligence functions as a multidimensional mediating mechanism with sometimes opposing effects, challenging assumptions that cross-cultural competencies uniformly produce sustainable outcomes. The research contributes to sustainable human resource management theory by illuminating how cultural socialization influences behavioral outcomes through complex psychological pathways, while offering practical guidance for aviation industry recruitment, training, and performance management systems seeking to build sustainable cross-cultural service capabilities. By revealing that certain cultural intelligence dimensions can enable both relationship-building and strategic coercion, the study highlights the importance of coupling cross-cultural skill development with ethical frameworks and motivational engagement to ensure that enhanced cultural capabilities support rather than undermine sustainable, respectful cross-cultural service relationships. Full article

Classroom management is a crucial aspect of effective teaching. However, little is known about how teachers’ approaches vary across countries. This study identified classroom management profiles using data from the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey in five countries: Brazil, Canada (Alberta), Japan, Portugal, and South Africa. We applied latent class analysis (LCA) to four behavioral indicators, testing structural invariance and exploring associations with teacher characteristics and cultural dimensions. Three profiles emerged: Rule-Enforcing, Rule-Balanced, and Rule-Avoidant, which were structurally invariant across countries but varied in prevalence. Rule-Enforcing teachers reported the highest classroom management self-efficacy, whereas Rule-Avoidant teachers reported the lowest, with differences also observed in instructional and engagement efficacy. Cross-national variation in profile prevalence aligned descriptively with Hofstede’s cultural values, suggesting that cultural context shapes how universal management dimensions are enacted. These findings support the notion that classroom management is a universal construct shaped by significant national and cultural specificities. Full article

This study challenges the traditional perception of cultural values as uniform at the national level, particularly in light of globalization and demographic changes that reveal substantial intra-nation diversity. Utilizing a person-centered approach through Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), the research synthesizes Schwartz’s value orientations and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to analyze data from 595 respondents in the United States, exemplifying a multicultural diverse society. The findings indicate that cultural value profiles primarily cluster around hierarchy and power distance, reflecting sociocultural attitudes toward authority and relational dynamics relevant to current social and political contexts. Notably, individual-level analysis reveals significant variations in how cultural values are internalized and enacted, suggesting that these values influence personal behavior rather than merely serving as collective descriptors. The study emphasizes the coexistence of conflicting cultural and value orientations within an individual and highlights the need to consider individual differences in cultural analysis. While the research contributes valuable insights into cultural psychology, the research is limited by its cross-sectional design and focus on a single nation, suggesting the need for future studies to adopt longitudinal and cross-national approaches. This research advances a more nuanced understanding of cultural values, with implications for management, policymaking, and education in multicultural societies. Full article

Large language-model chatbots such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek are quickly gaining traction as an easy, first-stop tool for trip planning because they offer instant, conversational advice that once required sifting through multiple websites or guidebooks. Yet little is known about the biases that shape the destination suggestions these systems provide. This study conducts a controlled, persona-based audit of the two models, generating 6480 recommendations for 216 traveller profiles that vary by origin country, age, gender identity and trip theme. Six observable bias families (popularity, geographic, cultural, stereotype, demographic and reinforcement) are quantified using tourism rankings, Hofstede scores, a 150-term cliché lexicon and information-theoretic distance measures. Findings reveal measurable bias in every bias category. DeepSeek is more likely than ChatGPT to suggest off-list cities and recommends domestic travel more often, while both models still favour mainstream destinations. DeepSeek also points users toward culturally more distant destinations on all six Hofstede dimensions and employs a denser, superlative-heavy cliché register; ChatGPT shows wider lexical variety but remains strongly promotional. Demographic analysis uncovers moderate gender gaps and extreme divergence for non-binary personas, tempered by a “protective” tendency to guide non-binary travellers toward countries with higher LGBTQI acceptance. Reinforcement bias is minimal, with over 90 percent of follow-up suggestions being novel in both systems. These results confirm that unconstrained LLMs are not neutral filters but active amplifiers of structural imbalances. The paper proposes a public-interest re-ranking layer, hosted by a body such as UN Tourism, that balances exposure fairness, seasonality smoothing, low-carbon routing, cultural congruence, safety safeguards and stereotype penalties, transforming conversational AI from an opaque gatekeeper into a sustainability-oriented travel recommendation tool. Full article

This study develops and empirically validates a framework integrating cultural factors into sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) for emerging economies. We introduce the Cultural Affinity Index (CAI), a multi-dimensional construct quantifying cultural compatibility between supply chain partners based on language compatibility, regional trust, trade networks, and historical trade patterns. Using publicly available data from UN COMTRADE, the World Bank, and Hofstede Insights, we analyze 850 supplier–manufacturer dyads across five Southeast Asian countries (2019–2023). Through Monte Carlo simulation with empirically calibrated parameters, we demonstrate that high cultural affinity (CAI > 0.7) shows positive associations with economic performance (+18.0%), environmental compliance (+12%), and social sustainability (+32%) compared to baseline scenarios. We test both linear and interaction models, finding that language compatibility and regional trust exhibit synergistic effects ($\beta$ = 0.15, p < 0.01). Multi-objective optimization reveals Pareto-optimal solutions achieving simultaneous improvements across all triple bottom line dimensions. Sensitivity analysis confirms robustness across varying cultural weights (±20%) and institutional contexts. The framework’s effectiveness varies by institutional quality, with stronger associations in weaker institutional environments (correlation = −0.92). While focused on manufacturing, we discuss adaptations for service sectors. This research provides both theoretical contributions to the SSCM literature and practical tools for organizations managing culturally diverse supply chains in emerging markets. Full article

This study proposes and validates a culturally responsive instrument for assessing Student Experience (SX) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Guided by Customer Experience (CX) theory and Hofstede’s cultural framework, we drafted a thirty-item scale: nine educational, seven social, three personal, and twelve cultural items spanning Indulgence–Restraint, Individualism–Collectivism, Masculinity–Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long- versus Short-Term Orientation, and Power Distance. Undergraduate respondents from universities with contrasting cultural profiles completed the survey. Confirmatory factor analyses affirmed a three-dimensional SX structure (Educational, Social, Personal) and six first-order cultural dimensions. A hierarchical second-order Structural Equation Model (SEM) linked the higher-order construct Cultural Aspects (CA) to the higher-order construct SX. The path from CA to SX emerged positive and statistically relevant, indicating that national-culture orientations systematically color students’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral evaluations of institutional touchpoints. The scale enables researchers and academic managers to pinpoint SX gaps, benchmark performance internationally, and design culturally congruent and sustainability-aligned interventions. The article deepens theoretical understanding of how culture shapes service perceptions in global HEIs by explicitly integrating cultural theory and cultural studies into SX evaluation. Full article

In this study, we examine banks’ sustainability orientations (SOs) in the Baltic region, focusing on how institutional, stakeholder, national culture, and leadership factors influence strategic alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We assess how Baltic banks integrate sustainable development using a bibliometric review, financial performance analysis, Spearman’s rank correlation, and content analysis of sustainability-related disclosures for 2023, and interpret Hofstede’s cultural dimensions of the Baltic countries alongside these results. Our bibliometric review reveals limited research on SO and SD in banking, with a gradual annual increase of 14.8%. Our content analysis findings suggest that smaller banks are more broadly aligned with the SDGs; however, 36.4% of the largest banks in the region did not have a dedicated sustainability report a year before ESRS and CSRD requirements became mandatory. Notably, the reporting approach shows no statistically significant correlation with assets, size, global/local coverage, or the number of aligned SDGs. Furthermore, our content analysis findings reveal a persistent sustainability paradox: while economic and environmental goals are strategically prioritised, social SDGs are significantly underrepresented. We propose that this reflects a lack of demand for socially sustainable development rooted in regional contexts and national culture, which shape SO and organisational and leadership responses. Full article