Are cultural values the same as the values of individuals? An examination of similarities in personal,social and cultural value structures

Abstract

Value dimensions are used widely to make distinctions between countries and also serve to explain behaviour of individuals within countries. There is a paradox: leading researchers (Hofstede, 1980; Schwartz, 1994) have been adamant that country-level value structures differ from those at individual level. A recent analysis has suggested that dimensional structures at the two levels show substantial overlap. The current multi-level study extends previous research by examining to what extent ratings of the values of others can serve as an intermediate structure to help determine the degree of isomorphism between individual and culture-level structures. The findings indicate that a single value structure across levels is most parsimonious. Implications for international business research are discussed.