Integrating National Culture into IS Research: The Need for Current Individual Level Measures

Cross-cultural IS research is beginning to mature; however, much is left to do. This article reviews the most popular conceptualization of National Culture and offers suggestions for improvements in measurement. While Hofstede’s culture dimensions ─ uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity/femininity, and individualism/collectivism ─ are still widely used in many disciplines, it is not guaranteed that the measures still hold after over 30 years. Empirical evidence is presented from two studies that indicate that shifts might have occurred. Because the usual national culture constructs are measured at the national level, they also should not be used in individual models of behavior or technology acceptance.