Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions 30 Years Later: A Comparative Analysis

Hofstede’s (1984, 2001) work on work-related cultural dimensions has been regarded as a paradigm in the field of cross cultural studies. Specifically, his country classification on five work-related cultural values, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity, individualism-collectivism, and Confucian work dynamics, have been frequently cited by researchers in the past few decades. While his work has been used effectively, his data were collected 30 years ago and have become dated. By collecting data from one Eastern culture, Taiwan, and one Western Culture, the United States, this study has updated and re-examined Hofstede’s (1984, 2001) cultural dimensions in these two cultures. In addition, this study has extended Hofstede’s work by investigating occupational culture in the higher education setting. The results of this study suggested that work-related cultural values in a specific culture are not static and can be changed over time. When the political, societal, and economic environments change, people's cultural values also change. Thus, many cultural theories should be updated and re-evaluated periodically. Introduction In the past 3 decades, Hofstede’s (1984, 2001) work-related cultural dimensions were used as research paradigm in the field of intercultural communication, cross cultural psychology, and international management. His country classification on five work-related cultural values, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity, individualismcollectivism, and Confucian work dynamics, has been frequently cited by researchers in the past few decades. While his work has been used effectively, his data were collected 30 years ago and have become dated. In order to update and expand Hofstede’s (1984) research, there are two purposes of this current study. First, this study has collected data from one Eastern culture, Taiwan, and one Western culture, the United States, in order to provide updated information about work-related cultural values in these two cultures. Second, this study has expanded Hofstede’s (1984, 2001) study by studying work-related cultural values in the higher education setting. The following section of this paper reviews literature and scholarly research related to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Literature Review Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Hofstede’s (1984) Culture’s Consequences explores the domain of studying international organizations. He collected data from a large multinational corporation, IBM, and analyzed data collected from forty different countries. Through his empirical data analysis, he concluded that “organizations are cultural-bounded” (p. 252). In addition, he identified