Search Results (175)

Upcycled foods, produced from edible side-streams that would otherwise be discarded, offer a promising pathway toward circular and sustainable food systems. However, consumer acceptance in China remains limited. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and integrating eco-wellness awareness and cultural values, this study examines the drivers of Chinese consumers’ acceptance of upcycled foods. Survey data from 612 consumers across multiple provinces were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results show that attitude is the strongest predictor of purchase intention, followed by subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. Health awareness and consumer innovativeness significantly enhance both attitude and perceived behavioural control, while environmental awareness primarily strengthens perceived behavioural control. Collectivism positively influences all TPB components, whereas frugality strengthens attitude and subjective norms only. Perceived risk plays a limited role. The findings highlight the importance of health-oriented and culturally grounded communication strategies for promoting circular food consumption in China. Full article

The rise of digital platforms has transformed marketing landscapes, with live-streaming emerging as a powerful tool for engaging audiences and shaping consumer behavior. While live-streaming e-commerce is rapidly expanding in Chinese and North American markets, empirical research comparing live-streaming impulse buying (LSIB) across cultural contexts remains limited. This study examined how atmospheric cues (ACs) are associated with LSIB in China and the United States through hedonic value (HV) and utilitarian value (UV), while also considering cultural value boundary conditions. Data were collected from 396 Chinese and 408 American consumers through online survey platforms. The measurement structure was first assessed using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, and the main structural relationships were then tested using controlled multi-group latent structural equation modeling (SEM). Composite score path models were estimated as robustness checks, and moderation hypotheses were examined using interaction regressions on composite scores. In both countries, AC was positively associated with HV and UV, and HV was positively associated with LSIB. In the U.S. sample, UV was negatively associated with LSIB, whereas the corresponding association was not significant in China. Formal Wald tests did not indicate statistically significant cross-country differences in the focal structural paths. On the HV pathway, collectivism strengthened the relationship between AC and HV in China, and long-term orientation strengthened the relationship between AC and HV in the U.S. The findings suggested that the core stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) mechanism replicated across two market contexts, while cultural orientations mainly condition the hedonic route. The study contributed to cross-context understanding of live-streaming consumption and provides evidence-based implications for digital marketing strategy. Full article

This study examines how ethical leadership promotes employees’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a sequential mechanism of Trust in leadership and organizational commitment, and whether this process differs across national contexts. Survey data were collected from SME employees in Pakistan (n = 102), India (n = 70), and Taiwan (n = 96). Using a multi-group partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach with bootstrapping, we test direct, indirect, sequential mediation, and moderation effects linked to national culture (collectivism) and institutional support. Results show that ethical leadership has a positive direct effect on CSR engagement and an additional indirect effect via Trust in leadership and organizational commitment. The strength of these relationships varies across the three countries, underscoring the importance of cultural and institutional conditions when translating leadership ethics into CSR-oriented behaviors. The findings extend CSR micro foundations in SMEs and offer actionable guidance for leadership development and policy support in emerging and advanced economies. Full article

Chronic diseases—including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and autoimmune disorders—remain the leading causes of global morbidity and mortality. While biomedical pathophysiology defines the etiology and progression of these conditions, cultural factors significantly modulate how patients perceive illness, engage in treatment, and adhere to medical recommendations. This review synthesizes evidence from cross-cultural studies, with a specific focus on medical manifestations and therapeutic challenges, to examine how sociocultural determinants intersect with biological disease processes. We highlight nuanced case comparisons between South Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern, African, Latinx, and Indigenous populations, illustrating how cultural constructs such as collectivism, fatalism, stigma, reliance on traditional medicine, and health literacy directly influence outcomes in chronic disease management. Importantly, we integrate evidence-based recommendations for healthcare professionals, emphasizing culturally tailored interventions, precision medicine approaches, and the role of interdisciplinary care teams. Full article

This paper explores the controversial issue of the extent to which human rights values are universal and applicable within all cultural contexts across the contemporary world. It evaluates three claims that are commonly made by those working in the field of intercultural education: (i) because human rights are a product of Western ways of thinking, they are incompatible with the values and norms of non-Western cultures; (ii) applying human rights to non-Western cultures is culturally insensitive and a form of cultural imperialism; and (iii) human rights are based on an individualistic conception of the human being and are therefore inappropriate for collectivistic cultures. This paper provides a critical review of all three claims, with the aim of evaluating each of them in turn. The review reveals that the claim that human rights are incompatible with the values and norms of non-Western cultures is both factually incorrect and analytically problematic; that historically, the contents of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were shaped and endorsed by both Western and non-Western actors; and that human rights are based on a collectivistic and communitarian—not an individualistic—conception of the human being. It is argued that the approach to human rights that is compatible with these conclusions is relative universalism, according to which the implementation of human rights principles should always display flexibility so that cultural specificities can be appropriately balanced against the general principles of universal human rights. Two further issues that are also discussed are the organised hypocrisy in the policies of many Western governments in relationship to human rights and the need for greater material equality to ensure the effective implementation of human rights. The conclusion that is drawn from the review is that there is no ethical dilemma for those working in the field of intercultural education in embracing and endorsing universal human rights, that a culturally sensitive approach can, and indeed should, be adopted in applying universal human rights principles in all cultural contexts, and that the assault on universal human rights from intercultural education is based on widely repeated misunderstandings and myths about human rights. Full article

Social media platforms serve as critical channels for autism support groups to communicate and seek assistance. This study employed Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling to analyze discourse patterns within the Autism Bar on Baidu Tieba, a major Chinese social media. A dataset of 14,151 posts was collected through web crawling, with 12,667 posts retained after preprocessing. The analysis revealed two key findings: (1) The discourse among autism support communities on Baidu Tieba focuses on four central themes: intervention and therapy, early educational journey, early symptom detection and family interaction, and access to educational resources and community support. (2) Sociocultural factors exert a significant influence on autism-related discourse, particularly in shaping societal attitudes toward individuals with autism and the formation of support networks. Traditional Chinese cultural values, such as collectivism and familial centrality, impact the behavioral patterns and decision-making processes of families with autistic children. This study has demonstrated the unique needs and challenges faced by the autism support community, while also informing strategies to promote social media platforms as spaces for support and information exchange. The findings have practical implications for designing targeted interventions and support mechanisms for individuals with autism and their families. 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

Recent studies in the Romanian Western Carpathians have revealed increasing socio-demographic fragility in rural areas and small towns, driven by depopulation, population aging, and declining living standards. These trends stem from the legacy of forced collectivization and industrialization (1950–1990) and the post-1990 transition, which triggered extensive out-migration and the erosion of local socio-economic structures. This study examines the fragility of human communities in the Trascău Mountains in order to evaluate spatial, demographic, and economic recovery dynamics and to assess settlement vulnerability as a major obstacle to sustainable regional development. Fragility was measured using indicators of population density and change, age structure, accessibility, and socio-demographic dynamics, based on comparative data for the interval of 1977–2021. These variables were integrated into a composite development index (Id), derived from twelve indicators covering demography, economy, infrastructure, and living standards, enabling the hierarchical classification of settlements by degree of vulnerability. The methodological framework combines empirical and analytical methods, statistical, cartographic, bibliographic, and field-based analyses within evolutionary, structural–functional, and typological perspectives. The results identify the main drivers of decline, quantify their impacts, and outline development prospects and policy directions for reducing territorial disparities. Overall, fragile settlements emerge as critical pressure points that undermine sustainability, intensify regional instability, and increase risks related to migration and social cohesion. Full article

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in China has evolved from reproducing Western-centric frameworks to engaging with the institutional and political particularities that shape how CSR is reconfigured and practiced. Yet few studies have critically reviewed this growing body of literature to capture the core characteristics and mechanisms of state-corporate coordination in China. This paper fills this gap by reviewing 112 peer-reviewed English-language studies published between 2007 and 2025, synthesizing how CSR in China is conceptualized, embedded, and operationalized across cultural, economic, political, and global dimensions. This review identifies three institutional logics structuring Chinese CSR: (1) moral–cultural framing rooted in Confucian ethics and socialist collectivism; (2) economic coordination under state-led capitalism and selective neoliberalism; and (3) political signaling through Party-state governance and legitimacy negotiation. It also outlines six major research themes—CSR as a legitimacy strategy, CSR reporting, CSR in Chinese multinational enterprises, CSR’s link to financial performance, environmental CSR, and civil CSR—highlighting the mechanisms underlying each. Findings show that CSR in China is different from the managerial-stakeholder framework (e.g., explicit/implicit CSR, pyramid model or integrative model). Instead, it operates as an adaptive political technology within state-led capitalism, reinforcing moral legitimacy and political conformity as firms—especially SOEs and politically connected private enterprises—align with state-defined priorities. Through a comparative perspective, this review demonstrates how China’s CSR model fundamentally recalibrates corporate agency toward political negotiation rather than stakeholder responsiveness, offering a distinct configuration that challenges the presumed universality of Western CSR theories. Full article

The persistent gap between consumers’ pro-environmental attitudes and their sustainable behavior continues to challenge both scholars and practitioners. While social norms are often viewed as a lever for encouraging sustainable behavior, empirical results remain inconsistent. This paper develops a conceptual model of sustainable behavior that integrates insights from prior research on social norms, culture, and self-construal. Specifically, the paper links social norms, self-construal, macro-culture, and environmental awareness to explain their combined influence on sustainable behavior. Drawing from social norms theory, self-construal theory, cross-cultural psychology, and environmental psychology, the model proposes that appeals combining specific types of norms (injunctive vs. descriptive) with targeted self-construal activation (independent vs. interdependent) can strengthen purchase intentions, moderated by cultural context and environmental awareness. Eight testable propositions that distinguish established effects from novel extensions are advanced, thereby clarifying boundary conditions and guiding future empirical testing. By synthesizing insights from fragmented literature, the framework positions social norms as the central explanatory construct and provides practical guidance for designing culturally attuned, norm-based sustainability communications. Full article

The COVID-19 disease outbreak is the deadliest viral pandemic our generation has experienced, and much uncertainty remains over the varying vulnerability of different populations to the virus. This study investigates whether long-term evolutionary processes, such as genetic diversity and culturally embedded behavioural norms, can help explain why countries experienced different levels of COVID-19 infections and mortalities. Using a sample of 133 countries, we find that populations with higher expected genetic heterozygosity and greater historical exposure to infectious diseases are associated with lower COVID-19 case and death rates. We reveal two distinct pathways through which these effects manifest. Firstly, populations that migrated further from the evolutionary origins of Homo sapiens in East Africa exhibit lower genetic heterozygosity, which, in turn, is linked to greater susceptibility to COVID-19. Secondly, regions with higher historical disease prevalence tend to develop collectivist cultural norms and behaviours that are shaped to reduce disease transmission, which appear to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. These findings suggest that differences in vulnerability are not random but rather deeply rooted in genetic and cultural evolution. The analysis remains robust after accounting for socioeconomic, geographical, and institutional controls. Our findings offer policymakers fresh perspectives by integrating genetic theory and sociocultural dynamics into contemporary public health strategies. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic altered individuals’ worldviews. This study examined how cultural values shaped the ways students navigated stress and adapted after the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory and cultural psychology frameworks of individualism and collectivism, we hypothesized that university students in two culturally distinct contexts—China and Canada—would demonstrate resilience differently. Chinese students would display collectivistic coping strategies (e.g., social responsibility and perspective-taking), while Canadian students would show resilience through individualistic strategies (e.g., personal reflection and self-efficacy). A total of 814 students completed a mixed-methods survey assessing resilience, cognitive reflection, and post-pandemic adaptations. Quantitative data were analyzed using factor analysis and stepwise regression to identify predictors. Qualitative responses were thematically analyzed for context. Results revealed cultural differences in resilience and adaptation, with social responsibility, healthy habits, and third-person perspective-taking predicting the responses of Chinese students, whereas internal emotional processing and personal moral reflection predicting it for Canadian students. This study enhances cross-cultural understanding of resilience and adaptation after collective trauma. Full article

Perspective-taking is fundamental to social interaction. In line with psychosocial ideas that Eastern societies value the individual’s interdependence, recent experimental work suggests that they are more inclined to endorse another person’s perspective than people from Western countries. There are, however, more cultural differences between those societies than interdependence. Because Eastern societies also sustain a more holistic nature of cognition, people from Eastern countries may simply tend to interpret the surrounding world from a less ego-centred perspective. Direct support for this idea was found when comparing the responses of Japanese and French participants in level-2 visuo-spatial perspective-taking tasks. As predicted, we observed a less egocentric bias in Japanese than in French participants. Crucially, this bias was not caused directly by a greater proportion endorsing the point of view of another person but rather indirectly by a higher disposition to spontaneously adopt non-human-centred perspectives. Full article

This study examined cultural differences in teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in Jewish and Arab Israeli schools. We explored whether cultural differences influence attitudes and perceptions, considering the distinct educational contexts and cultural values. The research involved 1191 teachers who completed an inclusion questionnaire. Jewish teachers rated inclusion more positively across all domains, with no significant differences between school levels. Arab teachers showed more positive attitudes in elementary schools, but these declined in high schools, reflecting cultural tendencies toward community-oriented practices at the primary level. The study highlights the role of cultural values, such as collectivism in Arab communities, in shaping educational practices and underscores the impact of sociocultural dynamics on the success of inclusive education. Full article

This theoretical article examines how belongingness, defined as the sense that one’s participation is legitimate and valued, interacts with cultural value orientations to help explain persistent disparities in U.S. technology engagement, including emerging technologies, across racial and ethnic groups. While structural barriers (e.g., racism, poverty, linguistic bias, etc.) remain essential to understanding such inequity, we argue that engagement patterns in technology also reflect how different cultural communities may define and experience belongingness in relation to digital domains. Drawing on Triandis and Gelfand’s framework, and focusing specifically on educational contexts, we propose the Belongingness through Cultural Value Alignment (BCVA) model, whereby belongingness serves as a catalyst between cultural value orientations and technology engagement, with vertical collectivism deriving belongingness primarily through structured skill development and validation while horizontal collectivism focusing instead on belonging based on community integration. When technological environments value practices that are consistent with vertical collectivist norms, individuals from horizontal collectivist cultures may experience cultural misalignment not from disinterest in technology or exclusionary efforts but, instead, because dominant engagement modes conflict with their familiar frameworks for fostering a sense of belonging. By examining how cultural value orientations mediate the sense of belonging in contexts involving modern technologies, the proposed perspective offers a novel framework for understanding why access alone may have proven insufficient to address technological participation gaps, and suggests directions for creating technology spaces where individuals from a wider range of communities can experience the authentic sense of belonging. Full article