Testing Hofstede’s 6-D model in the North and Northwest regions of Morocco: Implications for human resource development

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Operating in foreign countries implies that organizations need to consider local cultures and adapt their human resource development (HRD) processes to local norms for an optimized performance. Such an adaptation requires the adoption of adequate cultural frameworks as Hofstede’s 6-D Model (Hofstede et al., 2010). A major limitation of Hofstede’s model is the missing consideration for regional and subcultural differences within the same country. Such a limitation may affect the success of HRD initiatives, as undertaken by global companies in a specific context.

OBJECTIVE:

This research intends to test Hofstede’s 6-D Model (Hofstede et al., 2010) at the subcultural level using the case of a multinational company operating in the North and Northwest regions of Morocco, and to provide a critical analysis of this theory as to its applicability in the context of multinational organizations.

METHODS:

A quantitative survey-based study was considered for this research, using the Value Survey Module 2013 (VSM). The sample included the managers and professional workers of the Moroccan subsidiary of a multinational company from various cities in two regions. A descriptive approach was adopted to interpret the main features from the collected data. The collected scores were then treated using SPSS and XLSTAT to conduct the T-test statistical analysis, allowing also for a critical analysis of the subcultural value scores.

RESULTS:

The results of this study show differences between the cultural value dimensions in the subcultures of the North and Northwest of Morocco and the national culture. The comparison of the scores between North and Northwest regions of Morocco and Hofstede’s Moroccan national score following the T-test statistical analysis shows differences between at least four indices in both regions, leading to the conclusion that the regional cultural scores are statistically different from national scores.

CONCLUSIONS:

Given the importance of HRD in contributing to learning and change strategies and the importance of aligning leadership development approaches with the cultural values of multinational organizations, this study provides a further understanding of how subcultures represent important platforms for building contextualized HRD systems that foster managerial effectiveness and performance.