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Claiming too much, delivering too little: testing some of Hofstede’s generalisations

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  • McSweeney Brendan

    (School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

  • Brown Donna

    (School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

  • Iliopoulou Stravroula

    (School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

Abstract

This paper considers Geert Hofstede’s claim that his national cultural ‘dimension scores’ and related rankings of countries enable effective prediction by examining a causal generalisation he has repeatedly used to illustrate that capability. When tested against cross-sectional and longitudinal empirical data about conflicts in industrial relations, the generalisation is shown not to have predictive power. A second generalisation is then tested, which also fails to demonstrate predictive capability. This paper discusses some characteristics of valid cross-national research in the light of these predictive failures.

Suggested Citation

  • McSweeney Brendan & Brown Donna & Iliopoulou Stravroula, 2016. "Claiming too much, delivering too little: testing some of Hofstede’s generalisations," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 35(1), pages 34-57, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:irjman:v:35:y:2016:i:1:p:34-57:n:3
    DOI: 10.1515/ijm-2016-0003
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