Russian and Georgian Entrepreneurs and Non-Entrepreneurs: A Study of Value Differences

Abstract

This study seeks to extend the body of knowledge of international and cross-cultural entrepreneurship and management research by testing hypotheses dealing with the degree of variance in cultural values between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in two countries of the former Soviet Union: Russia and Georgia. A total of 867 entrepreneurs, managers, and production employees responded to a survey based on Hofstede’s work-related cultural values framework. Significant differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs existed on three of five cultural dimensions: Power Distance, Masculinity, and Long-term Orientation. However, the study also demonstrated that, in international entrepreneurship research, making distinctions between entrepreneurs and the rest of the population is not as fruitful as contrasting entrepreneurs with specific occupational and status groups. Thus, in this study entrepreneurs were, in some cases, different from managers but similar to employees, and, in some other cases, similar to managers but different from employees. An important implication is that some values are deeper rooted in a culture’s fabric and are less malleable than others. Thus, for Russia, Power Distance and Masculinity were substantially different from the earlier reported levels, whereas Individualism and Long-term Orientation were close to them. Also, for constructs measured in this study, significant differences were found in entrepreneurial and work-related values between the two countries of the former USSR, despite similarities in economic, political, and ideological legacies.