Assignment 3: Research Manuscript Critique Part 1
dr_mic
busmm_software_of_the_mind.pdf
JITTA JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY THEORY AND APPLICATION
Tuure Tuunanen acted as the senior editor for this paper.
Gaspay, A., S. Dardan, and L. Legorreta, “„Software of the Mind‟ – A Review of Applications if
Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research,” Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3
2008,1-37.
“SOFTWARE OF THE MIND” – A REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS
OF HOFSTEDE’S THEORY TO IT RESEARCH
ANASTASIA GASPAY, Sacramento State University College of Business Administration, C/O Dr. Legorreta, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819-6088,
Tel: (916) 565-3436, Email: [email protected]
SHANA DARDAN, Susquehanna University Sigmund Weis School of Business, 514 University Avenue, Selinsgrove, PA 17870, Tel: (570) 372-4465,
Email: [email protected]
LEONARDO LEGORRETA, Sacramento State University College of Business Administration, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819-6088, Tel: (916) 278-7120,
Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
We review applications of Hofstede’s cultural theory to IT research. The
objective of this paper is to integrate disparate applications of Hofstede’s
framework in IT research and provide a detailed synthesis of the existing
literature grouped by specific IT areas across each of Hofstede’s cultural
dimensions. In this review we carry out an exhaustive quantitative and
qualitative analysis of articles that applied Hofstede’s framework to IT-related
research and find that, despite inherent limitations, a national culture
perspective has proven useful to all areas of IT-research. We also identify gaps
in the existing literature and propose several streams of potential research. Some
gaps are due to recent developments in Hofstede’s framework. Long-Term
Orientation, for example, is a recent development and has been applied to IT-
research in only a few instances. Other gaps are due to the sporadic and
seemingly random application of Hofstede’s framework to IT-research. There are
only a few instances, for example, of applications of Hofstede’s framework to
software development research. The findings of this review will benefit IT
researchers wishing to conduct cultural research and will allow researchers to
uncover differences and similarities in complex populations that characterize
today’s IT-enabled workforce. By using value-based cultural indicators, such as
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
2
the dimensions developed by Hofstede (2001), researchers can readily examine a
variety of important issues facing the field of IT in today’s global environment.
INTRODUCTION
In the emerging global environment
diversity is playing an increasingly important
role. More and more often organizations are
trying to boost their competitive advantage by
utilizing outsourcing, cross-cultural teams, and
other international relationships. This
phenomenon is also reflected in the increased
demographic diversity of the US. According to
Census Bureau, US demographics are
undergoing a rapid change. As Figure 1 shows,
the immigrant population in the US comes
from many diverse regions, and comprises
12.4% of the total US population.
One of the consequences of
globalization is the increased need for people
from different cultural backgrounds to work
with each other. In the IT context, to
effectively use various technologies and to
enable valuable relationships and
collaborations, organizations will gain from
understanding the role culture plays in
conceptualizing, inventing, adapting, and
defining information technologies.
Much of what we enjoy from a given
technology may depend on our cultural
heritage. What technologies one culture may
find enjoyable and worthy of diffusion, may be
seen as frivolous and unimportant by the next.
The iPod took the United States by storm, but
has had success mitigated by strong rivals in
Korea. If we are to understand the
effectiveness of information technologies, we
must grapple with the impact culture has on
individuals‟ attitudes towards these tools.
Hence in this study we set out to review
applications of cultural theories to IT-related
research. We found that among competing
cultural frameworks Hofstede‟s framework is
the most widely used in IT research. We
believe that Hosfstede‟s value-based
perspective is appropriate to understand the
role culture plays in an increasingly global
economy, but note that other perspectives are
needed if we are to manage this complex and
important subject, the interrelationship
between culture and IT.
Dutch scientist Geert Hofstede (2001)
defines culture as “the collective programming
of the mind that distinguishes the members of
one group or category of people from others”
and examines culture from a value-based
perspective. For Hofstede (2001), cultural
patterns remain stable. From his perspective,
culture is viewed as a homeostatic (self-
regulating) quasi-equilibrium. Alternative
perspectives view culture as more fluid. For
example, Myers and Tan (2002) view culture
as something that is invented and re-invented
and always in a state of flux.
Since the vast majority of research in
this area uses Hofstede‟s framework, we made
applications of Hofstede‟s framework to IT-
related research focus of our review. We begin
by giving a brief overview of alternative
CONTRIBUTION
This review points IT researchers towards value-based cultural determinants developed
by the Dutch scientist Geert Hofstede and illustrates the versatility of this approach. It also
shows that culture has stable as well as unstable components, even when limited to the value-
based perspective (Myers and Tan 2002). This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by
integrating disparate applications of Hofstede‟s framework to IT research. This integration is
achieved through exhaustive quantitative and qualitative synthesis of the existing literature in
the area of IT that relies on Hofstede‟s theory. In addition, we identify several streams for
future research, show importance of including dynamic perspectives offered by Myers and Tan
(2002) and Jones and Alony (2007), and confirm that Hofstede‟s theory is an excellent tool for
business. This paper benefits anyone doing IT research from the cultural perspective by
allowing them to uncover differences and similarities in complex populations, such as today‟s
IT-enabled workforce.
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 3
cultural theories, and note that these have
rarely been applied to the IT field. Next, we
summarize Hofstede‟s dimensions of culture
and review critiques of his work. From this
background we carry out a quantitative
analysis and a qualitative analysis of the
applications of his model to IT research. We
conclude by identifying potential directions for
future research and by highlighting the
business benefits of this approach.
ALTERNATIVE CULTURAL MODELS
The concept of culture is originally
rooted in anthropology (Zakour 2003). Current
body of cultural research is based on the work
of several key researchers; chief among,
Edward T. Hall, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck,
Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, Schwartz,
and Geert Hofstede.
Edward T. Hall wrote two seminal
works Beyond Culture (1989) and Hidden
Differences (1987), in which he identified two
dimensions of culture: high-context versus
low-context and polychromic versus
monochronic. The high versus low context
concept is primarily concerned with the way in
which information is transmitted (Dahl 2004).
Polychronic versus monochronic time
orientation deals with the ways in which
cultures structure their time (Dahl 2004). In
addition, Hall (1987) identified perception of
space, which he categorized as intimate, social,
or public. Hall‟s work is widely used in
business and mass communication research.
Hall‟s work is clearly relevant to IT research,
but it has been rarely applied. Hall‟s constructs
are well established and widely used in other
fields. They may fit well within Myer and
Tan‟s appeal for a new perspective in IT-
related cultural research. The same observation
applies to other value-based cultural
frameworks, including Kluckhohn and
Stodtbekc (1961) and Trompenaars and
Hampden-Turner (1998).
Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961)
developed the foundations for the Value
Orientations Method (VOM), which proposes
that one can distinguish cultures based on how
they address five universal human concerns:
human nature, man-nature relationship, time
sense, activity, and human relations (Gallagher
2001). Given its perspective it is difficult to
find ready applications of VOM to IT research,
but certainly not impossible. There are
extremely few instances of applications of
VOM to IT research.
Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner
(1998) classified cultures along a mix of
behavioral and value patterns and focused their
research on the cultural dimensions of business
executives (Dahl 2004). Although this
classification grew out of management
research, it has not seen many applications in
business IT.
OTHER REGIONS
ASIA
EUROPE
Caribbean
Central America
South America
South America 6.0%
Central America 37.7%
Caribbean 9.7%
ASIA 25.4%
EUROPE 13.6%
OTHER REGIONS* 7.5% LATIN AMERICA 53.5%
OTHER REGIONS
ASIA
EUROPE
Caribbean
Central America
South America
South America 6.0%
Central America 37.7%
Caribbean 9.7%
ASIA 25.4%
EUROPE 13.6%
OTHER REGIONS* 7.5% LATIN AMERICA 53.5%
Figure 2. US Foreign Born Population by Region of Birth – 2004 (in percent)
* includes Northern America, Africa, and Oceania
Source: US Census Bureau (2004)
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
4
Schwartz (1994) took a different
approach to finding (cultural) value
differences. His “SVI” (Schwartz Value
Inventory) asks respondents to assess how
important a list of 57 values are as “guiding
principles of one‟s life” (Dahl 2004).
Schwartz‟s work is separated into individual-
level and culture-level analyses, which makes
the SVI markedly distinct from the other
models including those of
Trompenaars/Hampden-Turner and Hofstede.
Despite its versatility, the SVI is rarely used in
IT research.
In sharp contrast to all the alternative
cultural frameworks, Hofstede‟s framework is
widely accepted and used in IT research. This
is a serious gap in the literature. Filling this
gap may go along way in addressing the
concerns raised by Myers and Tan (2002) and
Jones and Alony (2007). Next we explore the
application of Hofstede‟s work to IT research
in detail. We begin with an overview of his
framework.
CULTURAL THEORY OF GEERT
HOFSTEDE
This review focuses on Hofstede‟s
theory because it dominates (national) cultural
research in IT. In 1980, Geert Hofstede
introduced a national cultural framework based
on data collected in two survey rounds
between 1967 and 1973 (Yamamura, Satoh
and Stedham 2003) and developed a set of
dimensions to characterize the concept of
national culture (Zakour 2003).
Hofstede‟s dimensions have several
advantages. First, Hofstede‟s dimensions rely
on variables that are more directly linked to
social and organizational processes by
focusing on human values, rather than on
general beliefs and practices (Zakour 2003).
Second, Hofstede‟s constructs although tied to
national characteristics are abstractions that
lend themselves well to applications. Third,
Hofstede‟s dimensions are the most widely
used and accepted in cross-cultural research
not just in IT but generally; they have become
a defacto standard. Forth, Hofstede‟s work has
been validated directly or indirectly by many
other researchers (Zakour 2003).
Hofstede (2001) defines culture as “the
collective programming of the mind that
distinguishes the members of one group or
category of people from others.” His cultural
framework identified five dimensions of
culture: (1) Power Distance (PDI), which is
related to the difference in solutions to the
basic problem of human inequality; (2)
Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), which is related
to the level of stress in a society in the face of
an unknown future; (3) Individualism (IDV)
vs. Collectivism, which is related to the
integration of individuals into primary groups;
(4) Masculinity (MAS) vs. Femininity, which
is related to the division of emotional roles
between men and women; and (5) Long-Term
Orientation (LTO) vs. Short-Term Orientation,
which is related to the choice of focus for
people‟s efforts: the future or the present
(Hofstede 2001, Hofstede and Bond 1988).
Table 1 summarizes five cultural dimensions
of Geert Hostede.
Hofstede empirically discovered and
validated each dimension. As a result, each
country can be positioned on an axis
represented by each dimension and assigned an
index value. Initially, 50 countries and three
regions received index values. However, in his
latest book, Cultures and Organizations:
Software of the Mind (2005), which Hofstede
co-authored with his son, Gert Jan Hofstede,
additional index values were developed based
on replications and estimates. Consequently,
Hofstede‟s latest research contains values for
74 countries and regions. Total list of countries
surveyed by Hofstede and their corresponding
indices are shown in Appendix A.
The constructs are not independent. For
example, Appendices B and C include two
graphical representations that illustrate the
correlation between Power Distance and
Uncertainty Avoidance, and between Power
Distance and Individualism, respectively.
Nonetheless, the dimensions are statistically
distinct and occur in all possible combinations,
although some combinations are more frequent
than others (Hofstede 2001). Hofstede believes
these national cultural characteristics to be
enduring and relatively stable over time
(Yamamura, Satoh and Stedham 2003).
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 5
Table 1. Five Dimensions of Culture
Cultural
Dimension
Definition
Power Distance Power Distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of
institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power
is distributed unequally.
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Uncertainty Avoidance is defined as the extent to which the members of a
culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations.
Individualism
vs. Collectivism
Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are
loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her
immediate family. Collectivism, its opposite, pertains to societies in which
people from birth onward are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups,
which throughout people‟s lifetime continue to protect individuals in
exchange for unquestioning loyalty.
Masculinity vs.
Femininity
A society is called masculine when emotional gender roles are clearly
distinct: men are suppose to be assertive, tough, and focused on material
success, whereas women are suppose to be more modest, tender, and
concerned with the quality of life. A society is called feminine when
emotional gender roles overlap: both men and women can be modest,
tender, and concerned with quality of life.
Long- vs. Short-
Term
Orientation
Long-Term Orientation stands for the fostering of virtues oriented toward
future rewards – in particular perseverance and thrift. Its opposite pole,
short-term orientation, stands for fostering of virtues related to the past and
present – in particular, respect for tradition, preservation of “face,” and
fulfilling social obligations.
Source: Hofstede and Hofstede (2005)
CRITIQUE OF HOFSTEDE’S THEORY
Criticism of Hofstede's differentiation
into national cultures and national markets is
based on the apparent homogenizing effect of
globalization (Hermeking 2005). As Hewling
(2005) highlighted, an increase in cross-border
movement of people around the world means
that many individuals are operating within at
least two nation-based frames of cultural
reference.
Hofstede‟s response to this criticism
can be found in the latest edition of Cultures
and Organizations (2005). Relying on the
definition of culture as mental programming or
software of the mind, Hofstede and Hofstede
(2005) argue that most of these programmed
patterns of thinking are formed early in
childhood, because the sources of one‟s mental
programs lie within the social environment in
which one grew up and collected life
experiences. The core of culture, according to
Hofstede and Hofstede (2005), is formed by
values, defined as tendencies to prefer certain
states of affairs over others. The term practices
for Hofstede and Hofstede (2005) are merely
the visible part of culture: the collection of
symbols (such as words, gestures, pictures, or
objects); heroes (such as persons, alive or
dead, real or imaginary); and rituals (such as
collective activities). Unlike values, practices
are formed later in life and are much easier to
change. Figure 2 shows the distinction between
values and practices.
Critics of Hofstede‟s theory do not
always differentiate between values and
practices. Therefore, it could be argued that
person‟s practices are easily changed through
the homogenizing effect of globalization;
however, values as defined by Hofstede
change little. As Hofstede pointed out, if
young Turks drink Coca-Cola, this does not
necessarily affect their attitudes toward
authority nor their view on gender roles.
Consequently, even if the person relocates to a
different culture his or her values are likely to
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
6
Values
Practices
Age
10
0
20
School
Work
Family
Values
Rituals
Heroes
Symbols
Pr ac
tic es
Values
Practices
Age
10
0
20
School
Work
Family
Values
Rituals
Heroes
Symbols
Pr ac
tic es
Figure 2. The Learning of Values and Practices
Adapted from Hofstede and Hofstede (2005)
remain relatively stable, perhaps even over
generations. This distinction between values
and practices has important implications for
research in the technology area. Hofstede and
Hofstede (2005) highlight, “There is no doubt
that dazzling technological changes are taking
place that affect all but the poorest or remotest
of people. But people put these new
technologies to familiar uses.” We will use
technology as we see fit within our cultural
paradigms, perhaps even use IT to extend and
perpetuate these paradigms. This places
Hofstede‟s framework in an important
cornerstone position.
In addition, critics point out that even
within any given culture, there is a myriad of
minority subcultures which could be very
distinct from the majority culture. To clarify
why diversity within cultures (such as ethnic
and religious minorities) does not negate the
concept of national culture Hofstede and
Hofstede (2005) took a historical perspective
and asserted that national and regional
differences today still partly reflect the
boarders of former empires. They
demonstrated that Latin cultures, for instance,
hold common traits derived from the Roman
Empire, and that Chinese cultures reflect the
inheritance of the Chinese Empire. Further,
within nations that existed for some time there
are strong forces toward integration: (usually)
one dominant national language, common mass
media, a national educational system, etc.
(Hofstede and Hofstede 2005). “Even if a
society contains different cultural groups (such
as blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Caucasians
in the United States), these usually share
certain cultural traits with one another that
make their members recognizable to foreigners
as belonging to that society (Hofstede 2001).”
Moreover, religious minorities are alleged to
be a result of previously existing cultural
differences, rather than the cause of these
differences (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005).
Another common critique of Hofstede‟s
work is that it relied on interviews with IBM
employees in the 1960‟s and 1970‟s, thus
raising questions of applicability of his finding
to national culture (Ess and Sudweeks 2005).
However, Hofstede and Hofstede (2005) argue
that IBM employees were an excellent
population to study cultural differences
precisely because they were so similar in all
other ways except their culture. Thus, subjects‟
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 7
similarities magnified their difference at the
level of culture and allowed Hofstede to
extract and statistically validate those
differences.
Lastly, some researchers insist that
within any particular culture values may vary
to a great degree among members of a society.
However, Hofstede never claimed that his
dimensions are designed to measure cultural
values at an individual level. Hofstede insists
that cultural dimension index values accurately
reflect cultural values of a group of individuals
that share the same national culture.
Despite these concerns, Hofstede‟s
theory has been widely accepted and adopted.
Next we examine the applications of his theory
to IT research in detail.
APPLICATIONS OF HOFSTEDE’S
THEORY IN IT RESEARCH
In this section we carry out a
Quantitative Synthesis and a Qualitative
Synthesis of the existing literature in the area
of IT and review Representative Studies of
applications of Hofstede‟s theory in this area.
Quantitative Synthesis
We found 50 IT articles that use
Hofstede‟s framework. We find that his
framework has been applied in the areas of :
IT adoption and diffusion (Jarvenpaa and
Leidner 1998; Zakour 2003; Hwang 2004;
Van Everdingen and Waarts 2003;
Yeniyurt and Townsend 2003; Yaveroglu
and Donthu 2002; Dwyer, Mesak and Hsu
2005; Lynn and Gelb 1996),
IT use and outcomes (Lippert and
Volkmar 2007),
Information Systems (IS) development
(Kankanhalli, Tan, Wei and Holmes
2004),
Internet and e-commerce (Barnett and
Sung 2005; Gefen and Heart 2006; Gong,
Li and Stump 2007; Hermeking 2005; Lim
2004; An and Kim 2007),
Website design (Marcus and Gould 2000;
Callahan 2005),
Technology-mediated communication
(Kersten, Koeszegi and Vetschera 2003;
Lim and Yang 2007; Hewling 2005;
Hornik and Tupchiy 2006; Tung and
Quaddus 2002), and
IT management and strategy (Husted
2000).
Each of the 50 articles reviewed
focused on a single area of IT research; and
some only focused on select Hofstede‟s
cultural dimensions. Some studies established
clear relationships between the Hofstede
dimensions and their variables of interests;
while others made only general conclusions
about the applicability of Hofstede‟s
framework. In Table 2 we grouped the articles
by area of IT research and by Hofstede
Cultural Dimension and counted the results.
Among these articles a large number
focus on IT adoption and diffusion. This
finding is not surprising for two reasons. First,
Hofstede‟s framework lends itself well to
adoption research. Just as Hofstede‟s
framework is widely used in marketing
Table 2: Results Summary by Area and Dimension
IT-related area PDI UAI IDV MAS LTO Total*
Information Systems development 1 2 3 2 - 8
Internet/ E-commerce 3 2 2 2 1 10
IT adoption and diffusion 11 10 8 5 2 36
IT management and strategy 4 5 7 4 - 20
IT use and outcomes 5 7 7 5 - 24
Technology-mediated communication 4 3 5 2 - 14
Website design 3 3 4 4 1 15
Total * 31 32 36 24 4
* These totals represent results, not studies. A given study may have more than one result.
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
8
research, viewing IT adoption as a product
placement issue, it makes sense to inquire
about the cultural nature of the target user.
Second, given the success of the Technology
Acceptance Model (Davis 1989; Venkatesh
and Davis 2000), it makes sense that this sub-
area of IT research is equally dominated by
adoption results.
Equally noticeable are the gaps. See
Figure 3. For example, the Internet/e-
commerce area is not very mature. This can be
due to two reasons. First, the Internet is
relatively new compared to other areas such as
IT adoption and diffusion, IT management and
strategy, and IT use and outcomes. The
Internet has been around for a long time, but
has been used for commercial purposes
recently. On the other hand, we have been
developing and using business information
systems since the early 1950s. Second,
collecting data about Internet use is not as easy
as it is about other information technologies.
Most scientific studies will develop according
to how easy it is to obtain results. IS research
is no different. The above table, in fact,
illustrates that certain areas have developed
ahead of others, perhaps for this reason.
The area of information systems
development is the least complete among
examined IT-related areas. This is surprising,
considering that many software development
projects today utilize cross-cultural teams and
many companies outsource their IS functions
to other nations.
Lastly, the gap in Long-Term
Orientation related studies is noticeable. This
is perhaps due to the fact that Hofstede
introduced this dimension later. Currently the
LTO index is known for only a handful of
countries. See Figure 3 and Appendix A.
Qualitative Synthesis
The Power Distance dimension was
widely used in IT research, especially in the
area of IT adoption and diffusion. Moreover,
the studies consistently show that high Power
Distance inhibits adoption, diffusion, and
innovation. The area of IT management and
strategy is more complicated. At this point in
the development of this area, there are few
general results. Some sources are consistent
with Hofstede‟s PDI research (e.g., Milberg,
Burke, Smith and Kallman 1995); and some
6%
8%
28%
16%
19%
11%
12%
Information Systems Development
Internet/ E-commerce
IT adoption and diffusion
IT management and strategy
IT use and outcomes
Technology mediated communication
Website design
24%
25% 28%
19%
3%
Power Distance
Uncertainty Avoidance
Individualism-Collectivism
Masculinity-Femininity
Long vs. Shor-Term Orientation
6%
8%
28%
16%
19%
11%
12%
Information Systems Development
Internet/ E-commerce
IT adoption and diffusion
IT management and strategy
IT use and outcomes
Technology mediated communication
Website design
24%
25% 28%
19%
3%
Power Distance
Uncertainty Avoidance
Individualism-Collectivism
Masculinity-Femininity
Long vs. Shor-Term Orientation
Figure 3. Graphical Summary by Area and Dimension
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 9
are not (e.g., Shore, Venkatachalam,
Solorzano, Burn, Hassan and Janczewski
2001). Although the results in the area of IT
use and outcomes are not completely
consistent, most studies in this area show that
high PDI cultures make better use of IT. This
is consistent with Hofstede‟s work. Hofstede
found that high PDI cultures, while more
reluctant to adopt IT, expect more from it after
adoption than would low PDI cultures. The
unique feature of the technology-mediated
communication area is the use of PDI as
dependent variable. Here studies consistently
found that technology-mediated
communication altered the impact of PDI. The
few studies in the website design area
consistently show that in high PDI cultures,
local websites will display more PDI-related
features such as formal symmetry, official seals
and logos, and provide more detailed
explanations.
The Uncertainty Avoidance dimension
is also extensively used in IT research. In the
IT adoption and diffusion area most studies
show that high UAI cultures are risk averse
and more reluctant to adopt new technology.
The area of IT use and outcomes has mixed
results. According to some studies low UAI
cultures are more likely to use technology
(e.g., Johns, Smith, and Strand (2003), and
prefer to use more efficient forms of
technology (Downing, Gallaugher, and Segars
(2003). On the other hand, some studies (e.g.,
Choe 2004; Leidner, Carlsson, Elam and
Corrales 1999) found that high UAI cultures
had more positive outcomes using technology.
This may be due to the fact that, once low UAI
cultures become familiar with a given
technology, this technology is seen as an
uncertainty reducing influence. The few results
in the website design area are contradictory.
Marcus and Gould (2000) showed that high
UAI websites display simple, clear imagery
and limited choices, while low UAI websites
display more complexity of content and
choices. This study is consistent with
Hofstede‟s UAI analysis. The remaining two
studies (Callahan 2005; Singh, Zhao and Hu
2005) are inconsistent with Hofstede‟s
framework. Results in the technology-mediated
communication area are consistent with
Hofstede‟s UAI analysis. High UAI cultures
displayed Uncertainty Avoidance behavior in
relationship to technology-mediated
communication.
The most widely used cultural
dimension was Individualism-Collectivism, as
shown in Table 2. In the technology adoption
and diffusion area, the generally accepted view
is that Collectivism is a barrier to adoption
(Lynn and Gelb 1996; Jarvenpaa and Leidner
1998). However, collectivistic cultures will be
favorably disposed towards technologies that
support or enhance group processes, but not
favorably disposed towards technologies that
replace face-to-face interactions (Hasan and
Ditsa 1999). Although there are as of yet
relatively few results in the systems
development area, several of them make use of
the Individualism-Collectivism dimension
perhaps because software is typically
developed in teams. The IT management and
strategy area examined a variety of issues
including software piracy, IS management,
hiring practices, and quality of service.
Nonetheless, all results were consistent with
Hofstede‟s definition of Individualism-
Collectivism.
The Masculinity-Femininity dimension
is not as widely used as the previously
discussed cultural dimensions. This may be
because this dimension is difficult to
understand and easily confused with gender
roles and issues. In the IT adoption and
diffusion area there are but a few studies that
rely on this dimension. Nonetheless, these
studies seem to indicate that adoption and
diffusion is negatively correlated with
Masculinity (Van Everdingen and Waarts
2003; Hasan and Ditsa 1999). In the area of IT
use and outcomes researchers found that
Masculinity is an important factor, see Table 2.
Similarly, with the exception of one study
(Dormann and Chisalita 2002), Masculinity
was found to be related to web design
elements, see Table 2.
In general, Hofstede dimensions are
widely used in IT research to help explain a
variety of issues. Results from these studies are
sometimes consistent with Hofstede‟s analysis,
but many times they are not. See Table 3. This
means Hofstede‟s framework will explain the
impact of culture only to some degree. Culture
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
10
is a complicate construct. As Myers and Tan
(2002) point out, IS researchers should adopt a
more dynamic view of culture. Behavior
depends on both the individual and the
situation (Hofstede 2001). Hofstede‟s
framework should not be used to predict
individual behavior; instead it should be used
to understand nuances in how diverse groups
view, adopt, and use technology.
Table 4 shows illustrative studies that
are inconsistent with Hofstede‟s framework.
These inconsistencies are perhaps to
due to emerging practices, and illustrate that
culture needs to be studied at many different
levels (Myers and Tan 2002). These
inconsistencies highlight the need to extend
Hofstede‟s framework to include more
dynamic perspectives of culture as suggested
by Myers and Tan (2002) and Jones and Alony
(2007).
Representative Studies
Jarvenpaa and Leidner (1998)
conducted a single site case study of a
Mexican firm through the prism of Hofstede‟s
framework and in particular the Collectivism
and the Uncertainty Avoidance dimensions.
Mexico is a high Collectivism and a high
Uncertainty Avoidance culture. Their study
found that certain managerial actions used to
develop employee competencies led to the
shaping of an organizational culture that was
receptive to the IT industry. In turn this new
organizational culture led to greater acceptance
of company‟s products.
Hofstede‟s framework was also applied
in technology acceptance studies. For example,
Zakour (2003) utilized four dimensions from
Hofstede‟s framework to investigate to what
extend national culture influences information
technology acceptance. In another example,
Dorfman and Howell (1988) first modified
Hofstede‟s framework so that it can be applied
at the individual-level. Hwang (2004) then
used this modified instrument to determine the
impact of Power Distance, Uncertainty
Avoidance, and Collectivism on Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) system adoption at
the individual level.
Similarly in the area of IT adoption,
Van Everdingen and Waarts (2003) studied the
effect of all five cultural dimensions on
adoption of ERP systems across ten European
countries. The purpose of their study was to
investigate why Nordic countries (Denmark,
Sweden, Norway) have relatively high
adoption rates, while the UK and southern
countries like Spain score significantly lower.
They found that Hofstede‟s Uncertainty
Avoidance, Masculinity, and the Power
Distance indices have significant negative
influence on ERP penetration; and that
Hofstede‟s Long-Term Orientation has a
significant positive influence on ERP
penetration (Van Everdingen and Waarts
2003). Van Everdingen and Waarts (2003)
also observed that the effect of Individualism
is positive in the early stages of adoption, but
that this effect diminishes and may be even
changing sign over time. Individualism
apparently works in a positive way in getting
the diffusion process started and a negative
effect at the later stages of the diffusion curve
(Van Everdingen and Waarts 2003). Long-
Table3. Consistency of IT Cultural Research with Hofstede’s Dimensions
IT-related area PDI UAI IDV MAS LTO
Information Systems
Development
Consistent Consistent Consistent Consistent Unknown
Internet/ e-commerce Consistent Consistent Consistent Consistent Unknown
IT adoption and diffusion Consistent Consistent Consistent Consistent Unknown
IT management and
strategy
Mixed results Mostly
consistent
Consistent Consistent Unknown
IT use and outcomes Mostly
consistent
Mixed results Mostly
consistent
Consistent Unknown
Technology-mediated
communication
Consistent Consistent Mostly
consistent
Mostly
consistent
Unknown
Website design Consistent Mixed results Mixed results Mixed Results Unknown
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 11
Table 4. Studies Inconsistent with Hofstede’s Framework
Source Dimension
examined
IT area Result Why it is inconsistent
Shore, Venkatachalam,
Solorzano, Burn,
Hassan and Janczewski
(2001)
PDI IT
management
and strategy
Students from high PDI culture perceived less of an ethical issue
with softlifting (copying software for personal use) than those from
low PDI culture.
High PDI culture are generally more
respectful of authority and law, thus, it
would make more sense if they
perceived more of an ethical issue with
softlifting.
Choe (2004) UAI IT use and
outcomes
Under a high level of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT),
the positive effect of AMT and information on the improvement of
production performance is greater in firms in Korea (high UAI) than
in Australia (low UAI).
In general high UAI cultures are less
likely to adopt new technologies. This
is perhaps because of the inherent risks
in new technology adoptions.
Leidner, Carlsson,
Elam and Corrales
(1999)
UAI IT use and
outcomes
High UAI cultures had more positive outcomes using technology. In
particular, Mexican managers perceived faster decision-making
speed with EIS use whereas Swedish mangers did not.
In general high UAI cultures are less
likely to adopt new technologies. This
is perhaps because of the inherent risks
in new technology adoptions.
Callahan (2005) UAI, IDV Web Design Analyzed university home pages from Malaysia, Austria, US,
Ecuador, Japan, Sweden, Greece and Denmark on the basis of two
criteria: organization and graphical design. Correlated element
frequency scores with Hofstede's indices and concluded that
correlations between Hofstede's scores and frequency counts of
interface elements were weaker than anticipated. Suggested that
there could be three possible explanations for the weak correlations:
(1) Hofstede's model may not be valid, as some of its critics suggest;
(2) Hofstede's model may be valid but the cultural markers
associated with each or some of the dimensions are based on faulty
assumptions; or (3) Hofstede's model is not applicable to the study
of graphical representations.
One would expect elements of local
website to reflect local values. Other
studies found that website elements
correlate with Hofstede‟s dimensions.
Singh, Zhao and Hu
(2005)
UAI Web Design Study did not confirm that local Japanese websites will depict
highest level of uncertainty reducing features. India had the highest
level of uncertainty reducing features.
One would expect elements of local
website to reflect local values. Other
studies found that website elements
correlate with Hofstede‟s dimensions.
Dormann and Chisalita
(2002)
MAS Web Design Found a limited correlation between the MAS index and masculine
and feminine values presented on the sites.
One would expect elements of local
website to reflect local values. Other
studies found that website elements
correlate with Hofstede‟s dimensions.
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
12
Term Orientation is a relatively recent addition
to Hofstede‟s cultural framework; and Van
Everdingen and Waarts study is one of the first
instances of an application of the Long-Term
Orientation index to IT research.
Yeniyurt and Townsend (2003)
investigated the role of cultural differences in
the acceptance of new IT products, as
moderated by socio-economic variables. They
utilized Hofstede's cultural dimensions, along
with secondary data representing socio-
economic structure and the penetration rate of
new IT products. The penetration of new IT
products was measured by the Internet usage,
PC ownership, and cellular phone ownership.
The results demonstrated that Hofstede‟s
Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance
have a negative effect on the acceptance of
new IT products; that Individualism has a
positive effect on the acceptance of new IT
products; and that Masculinity has no
significant on the acceptance of new IT
products. Yeniyurt and Townsend did not
report any finding regarding Hofstede‟s Long-
Term Orientation index.
In a similar study Yaveroglu and
Donthu (2002) examined cultural influences on
the diffusion of new products using data from
19 countries. They used Hofstede‟s Power
Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and
Individualism dimensions. IT products used to
calculate innovation and imitation values
included VCRs, cellular phones, home
computers, TVs, and other consumer
electronic products. The results of their study
indicated that the coefficient of innovation is
high in countries that are high on
Individualism, low on Uncertainty Avoidance,
and low on Power Distance; and that the
coefficient of imitation is high in countries that
are low on Individualism and high on
Uncertainty Avoidance. Like most studies in
this area, Yaverogly and Donthu did not report
any finding regarding Hofstede‟s Long-Term
Orientation and Masculinity dimensions.
The study of Dwyer, Mesak, and Hsu
(2005) investigated the relationship between
national culture and the cross-national
diffusion of technological innovations between
13 European countries. Dwyer, Mesak, and
Hsu (2005) found support linking four cultural
dimensions - Individualism, Masculinity,
Power Distance, and Long-Term Orientation -
to cross-national product diffusion. The
findings suggest that national culture explains
a relatively sizable amount of variation in
cross-national diffusion rates (Dwyer, Mesak,
and Hsu 2005).
The study of Lynn and Gelb (1996)
focused on Individualism and Uncertainty
Avoidance combined with purchasing power as
predictors of levels of national innovativeness
with technological consumer products. Lynn
and Gelb (1996) selected seven indicators of
national innovativeness - the percentage of
households in a nation owning a cordless
telephone, a telephone answering machine, a
home computer, a microwave, a compact disc
player, a video camera and a satellite dish. The
study concluded that national innovativeness is
related to national levels of Individualism,
Uncertainty Avoidance, and purchasing power.
Lippert and Volkmar (2007) used
Masculinity dimension to study post adoption
attitudes and behaviors of US and Canadian
users classified by nationality and gender.
They called attention to the fact that
conventional considerations usually consider
US and Canada a unitary homogenized cultural
unit; however, the difference in the
Masculinity index for these two countries is
statistically significant. Lippert and Volkmar
(2007) argue that this difference can have an
important effect on workplace attitudes and
behaviors with respect to technology
acceptance and utilization. The study
reinforced the importance of value differences
related to Hofstede‟s Masculinity dimension in
shaping gender expectations and attitudes.
Their study also found that grouping by
country may be inadequate and that a
consideration of both country and gender may
be more insightful (Lippert and Volkmar,
2007). In particular, they found that American
women and Canadian men and women have
similar expectations and attitudes toward IT
utilization while American men have a distinct
mindset.
Kankanhalli, Tan, Wei and Holmes
(2004) examined the relationship between the
cultural background and values of IS
developers. They compared IS developers in
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 13
Singapore and the US by using dimensions of
Individualism-Collectivism and Masculinity-
Femininity. The three values examined in their
study were technical, economic, and socio-
political. The results of this study reports that
IS developers from the US, a high
Individualism and high Masculinity country,
have stronger economic, technical, and socio-
political values than IS developers from
Singapore, a low Individualism and low
Masculinity country (Kankanhalli, Tan, Wei
and Holmes 2004).
Hofstede‟s theory of culture was also
applied by Barnett and Sung (2005) to
determine the relationship between the cultural
dimensions and Internet hyperlink network
centrality. Barnett and Sung (2005) used
algorithms to calculate the number of links
from the websites of certain countries to
different countries and examined the pattern of
directional hyperlinks of more than 356 million
links. They found that only Individualism is
significantly related to the centrality of
hyperlink networks; other relationships
between Hofstede‟s dimensions and network
centrality were not significant.
An exploratory study by Gefen and
Heart (2006) examined whether definitions of
trust beliefs as conceptualized and verified in
the US apply in Israel and how this may impact
e-commerce success. Because Israel
significantly differs from the US in
Individualism, Uncertainty Avoidance, and
Power Distance, Gefen and Heart (2006)
hypothesized that national culture has effect on
trust beliefs in e-commerce environment.
Gefen and Heart‟s (2006) analysis shows that
trust may work differently in different
countries. They point out that trust is
dependent on two factors: reducing social
uncertainty and willingness to depend on
others. Since these two factors are captured by
Hofstede‟s Individualism, Power Distance, and
Uncertainty Avoidance dimensions, Hofstede‟s
framework should help explain trust
mechanisms in an e-commerce environment
(Gefen and Heart 2006). Their study does not
report on the impact of the two other
dimensions in Hofstede‟s framework, the
Masculinity-Femininity and the Long-Term
Orientation dimensions.
Gong, Li and Stump (2007)
investigated the effect of national culture on
Internet use and in addition whether this effect
is moderated by socio-economic factors, such
as levels of education. They found that nearly
all of Hofstede's cultural dimensions impacted
Internet penetration either as main effects or as
interactions with the country‟s educational
levels. Specifically, the Power Distance and
the Masculinity-Femininity dimensions
negatively impact Internet diffusion while the
Long-Term Orientation bolsters it.
Hermeking (2005) maintained that
Hofstede‟s cultural model is a national
construct and makes sense only in inter-
country comparisons; not in intra-country
cultural comparisons. According to Hermeking
(2005), if several individuals increasingly use
the Internet to observe and imitate a new
lifestyle from abroad as a kind of resistance
against their dominant culture, Hofstede‟s
framework in research of Internet usage may
not work. Hermeking (2005) found that
Internet usage has strong positive correlation
with Hofstede‟s Individualism dimension and a
strong negative correlation with Hofstede‟s
Uncertainty Avoidance dimension.
Lim (2004) examined the role of
Hofstede‟s Power Distance dimension in
online bargaining. This study was designed as
a laboratory experiment and included users
from Singapore representing high PDI culture
and users from Mauritius representing low PDI
culture. The main research purpose was to
determine the effect of explanation facility on
negotiation outcomes. Another research
purpose was to find out how PDI moderates
the relationship between the explanation
facility and the negotiation outcome. Lim
(2004) concluded that PDI was the moderator.
Particularly, the benefits of explanation facility
are visible in high Power Distance contexts,
but non-existent in low Power Distance
contexts.
An and Kim (2007) used Hofstede‟s
dimension of Masculinity-Femininity to study
differences in gender role portrayals in Web
ads in Korea and the US. An and Kim (2007)
surveyed different themes and roles portrayed
by women and men in 400 Web ads and
concluded that greater percentage of Korean
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
14
ads featured characters in relationship themes,
featured women as a main character, and
portrayed them in family and recreational
roles. Their study showed that Hofstede‟s
framework can be used to determine
appropriate Web-based advertising based on
gender roles pertinent to a specific culture.
In a study of global Web user interface
design Marcus and Gould (2000) used
Hofstede‟s cultural dimensions to study how
culture affects Web design. They sampled a
number of websites in different cultures and
concluded that there is enough statistical
regularity to identify trends and tendencies
consistent with Hofstede‟s framework. Marcus
and Gould (2000) asserted that these trends
and tendencies should not be treated as
deviances, but recognized as differing patterns
of values and thought.
Hornik and Tupchiy (2006) used four
different patterns of Individualism and
Collectivism: Horizontal Collectivist,
Horizontal Individualist, Vertical Collectivist,
and Vertical Individualist. Their study
hypothesized that these patterns are associated
with the use of technology-mediated learning
and individuals‟ learning outcomes. As
predicted, the cultural patterns affected the
learning outcomes in a technology-mediated
learning environment, although not uniformly
(Hornik and Tupchiy 2006).
Hewling (2005) used both Hofstede‟s
and Hall‟s theories to look at discussion board
messages from two online classes. The classes
in the study were based in an Australian
university and recruited both Australian and
non-Australian students. Some of the students
were physically located in Australia. The other
students lived elsewhere around the world,
including North America, South East Asia, the
Middle East, and Europe. The research
consisted of a series of messages exchanged in
an online classroom. Each message was
interpreted. The inference was drawn based on
the country of origin of the person posting the
message. For example, from the welcome
message one Sudanese student posted to the
class when he first came online, Hewling
(2005) established that he is from the Arab
north of the country and is currently working
in the Gulf. Hewling (2005) then refers to
Hofstede (2001) who described "The Arab
World" as high Power Distance and high
Uncertainty Avoidance. Hewling (2005)
predicts that this particular student might
expect to find the class a highly structured and
controlled environment where rules will
minimize uncertainty, and status will control
how much of a voice he has (Hewling 2005).
In addition, because this student came from the
low Individualism culture, according to
Hofstede (2001), Hewiling (2005) wonders if
this is a cause for speculation as to whether or
not he feels a part of the group that is the class.
Similarly, Hewling (2005) examined a
message exchange among five students, three
Canadian, one American, and one Australian,
noting that in terms of Hofstede's analysis,
these participants come from national
backgrounds that share many commonalities.
In this case, one might expect that these
students will have similar ideas and
perceptions, and because all of them came
from high IDV countries they will express their
thoughts in a direct and straightforward
manner (Hewing 2005). This does happen at
some points, but cannot be considered as
occurring universally, Hewing (2005) noted.
Overall, Hewing (2005) concluded that on its
own, nationality is not entirely an effective
predictor of behavior or understanding and
Hofstede‟s analysis fails to capture the intricate
nuances of online communication among
students from different cultural backgrounds.
The study of Kersten, Koeszegi and
Vetschera (2003) examined direct and indirect
effects of culture on IT-mediated negotiations
and took Hofstede‟s cultural dimensions into
account in a cultural analysis conducted in the
study. Participants were MBA or graduate
students who were asked to conduct
negotiations as a part of the course work
requirements. Kersten, Koeszegi and
Vetschera (2003) used the national culture as
an independent variable and restricted their
sample to participants for whom both the
country of birth and the country of residence
was the same. Their results confirmed that
culture had a significant effect on most
dependent variables at an aggregate level. Only
one variable, the probability of agreement,
showed no impact of culture at all (Kersten,
Koeszegi and Vetschera 2003).
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 15
Lim and Yang (2007) examined the
impact of Negotiation Support System (NSS)
on the different phases of negotiation. The
results of their study demonstrated that both
pre-negotiation and negotiation support
improved gains in outcome with increased time
in reaching agreement and show the usefulness
of NSS in enhancing the quality of differing
stages of negotiation. Their research also
recognized the important role of culture in the
negotiation setting. In particular, they
suggested that UAI impacts how people view
and use pre-negotiating support tool. Because
environment becomes less ambiguous as the
pre-negotiation support has facilitated the
negotiators to specify issues and weightings,
prior to the actual negotiation, it is possible
that negotiators from a higher UAI culture will
spend more time and effort in the preparation
process with the help of pre-negotiation
support tool since they might have developed a
lower limit for risk perception (Lim and Yang
2007).
Tung and Quaddus (2002) conducted
two studies of Group Support Systems (GSS):
one in Singapore, and another in Australia. In
particular, Tung and Quaddus (2002)
examined the impact of Decision Conferencing
type of GSS on group conflict and conflict
management from the cultural perspective. In
their study they used Hofstede‟s dimensions to
evaluate the effect of culture on GSS use.
According to Tung and Quaddus (2002), the
low PDI in Australia indicates that individuals
feel on equal footing and feel comfortable with
airing their views without any fear of being
judged. Tung and Quaddus (2002) stressed that
this may explain why Singaporean group
exhibited higher avoidance behavior as
compared to the Australian group. Singaporean
group also exhibited a high need for
consensus. Tung and Quaddus (2002)
explained this phenomenon by identifying
Singapore as a low UAI culture. Their study
also showed that the productivity gains are
higher for high PDI cultures (Tung and
Quaddus 2002).
Finally, Husted (2000) conducted an
archival data analysis of 39 different countries
and concluded that software piracy is less
prevalent in Individualistic (as compared to
Collectivistic) cultural settings.
Additional examples of studies that
used Hofstede‟s theory of culture in IT-related
research can be found in Appendix D.
CONCLUSIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR
FUTURE RESEARCH
This literature review focused on the
application of national culture theories to IT
research and found that although there are
several cultural frameworks, Hofstede‟s is by
far the most widely used. Hofstede‟s
framework has consistently helped explain the
complexities of the impact national culture has
on the various areas of IT research. We carried
out an exhaustive review of Hofstede-based IT
research. In carrying out a quantitative analysis
and a qualitative analysis this review makes
four contributions. First, we identified several
opportunities for Hofstede-based IT research.
The absence of studies using Long-Term
Orientation is the most notable gap. LTO
may influence, for example, IT use and
outcomes as well as IT adoption and
diffusion. Yet there are no LTO studies in
these areas.
Most studies using Masculinity-Femininity
are exploratory; yet this dimension
appears to be a strong factor driving IT
development, adoption, and use. This
suggests that there is a need for
Masculinity-based empirical research.
Compared to other research areas,
Internet/e-commerce and software
development are lagging behind. Although
one can explain this gap with respect to
the Internet/e-commerce area, it is
troubling that so little is know about the
impact of national culture on software
development given the surge in
outsourcing and international development
teams.
Second, our review of this literature
suggests that there are opportunities to use
other cultural frameworks. For example, Hall‟s
dimension of “high-context” versus “low-
context” seems to be a good fit for research in
the technology-mediated communication area.
In addition, Schwartz‟s SVI is separated into
an individual-level and a culture-level analysis,
which makes the SVI framework applicable to
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
16
both the group and the individual level. In
comparison, Hofstede‟s framework is only
applicable at the group level. For all these
reasons, among others, the other cultural
frameworks may be used to advantage in IT
research.
Third, this review showed that not all
results can be explained by Hofstede's value-
based perspective and perhaps local customs
and practices which many tend to associate
with culture have an impact. As Myers and Tan
(2002) accurately point out, despite the
popularity of the
Hofstede framework, his representation of
culture does not take into account a variety of
other important international national,
regional, business, and organizational factors.
Because these factors are often inter-connected
and intertwined, they appropriately
recommend to study
culture at many different levels of analysis.
Thus, another area of future research is to
extend the existing results to include the
dynamic perspectives offered by Myers and
Tan (2002) and Jones and Alony (2007).
Forth and last, this review confirms that
Hofstede‟s theory is an excellent tool for
business. Hofstede‟s value-based cultural
dimensions help identify both differences and
similarities between cultures. This review
shows that these national traits can either
enable or inhibit IT success. Understanding
these enables and inhibitors can be used for the
purpose of implementing effective IT
applications – applications that account for and
take advantage of the emerging trend towards
heterogeneous groups working, learning, and
living together in an increasingly global and
virtual world. The heterogeneous nature of
global work teams can yield a formidable
creative force that can be a source of
competitive advantage if properly harnessed.
Individuals from various cultural groups have a
lot to offer. The emerging globalization of
society in general and business in particular
will be successful only if we learn to work,
live, and study well together in this
environment. By understanding the needs and
expectations of each group, as illustrated by
Hofstede‟s cultural theory we may be able to
develop technologies that will better serve
businesses and communities.
APPENDIX A - CULTURAL DIMENSIONS INDEX VALUES
Country PDI IDV UAI MAS LTO
Arab Countries 80 38 68 53 -
Argentina 49 46 86 56 -
Australia 36 90 51 61 31
Austria 11 55 70 79 31
Bangladesh 80 20 55 55 40
Belgium (Flemish) 61 78 97 43 -
Belgium (Walloon) 67 72 93 60 -
Brazil 69 38 76 49 65
Bulgaria 70 30 40 40 -
Canada (Quebec) 54 73 60 45 30
Canada (Total) 39 80 48 52 23
Chile 63 23 86 28 -
China 80 20 66 66 118
Colombia 67 13 80 64 -
Costa Rica 35 15 86 21 -
Croatia 73 33 80 40 -
Czech Republic 57 58 74 57 13
Denmark 74 74 23 16 46
East Africa 64 27 52 41 -
Ecuador 78 8 67 63 -
El Salvador 66 19 94 40 -
England 35 89 35 66 25
Estonia 40 60 60 30
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 17
Country PDI IDV UAI MAS LTO
Finland 33 63 59 26 41
France 68 71 86 43 39
Germany 35 67 65 66 31
Greece 60 35 112 57 -
Guatemala 95 6 101 37 -
Hong Kong 68 25 29 57 96
Hungary 46 80 82 88 50
India 77 48 40 56 61
Indonesia 78 14 48 46 -
Iran 58 41 59 43 -
Ireland 28 70 35 68 43
Israel 13 54 81 47 -
Italy 50 76 75 70 34
Jamaica 45 39 13 68 -
Japan 54 46 92 95 80
Korea (South) 60 18 85 39 75
Luxembourg 40 60 70 50 -
Malaysia 104 26 36 50 -
Malta 56 59 96 47 -
Mexico 81 30 82 69 -
Morocco 70 46 68 53 -
Netherlands 38 80 53 14 46
New Zealand 22 79 49 58 30
Nigeria - - - - 16
Norway 31 69 50 8 -
Pakistan 55 14 70 50 0
Panama 95 11 86 44 -
Peru 64 16 87 42 -
Philippines 94 32 44 64 19
Poland 68 60 93 64 32
Portugal 63 27 104 31 30
Romania 90 30 42 42 -
Russia 93 39 36 36 -
Serbia 86 25 92 43 -
Singapore 74 20 8 48 48
Slovakia 104 52 51 110 38
Slovenia 71 27 88 19 -
South Africa 49 65 49 66 -
Spain 57 51 86 42 19
Suriname 85 47 92 37 -
Sweden 31 71 29 5 33
Switzerland (Total) - - - - 40
Switzerland (French) 34 68 70 58 40
Switzerland (German) 26 69 56 72 -
Taiwan 58 17 69 45 87
Thailand 64 20 64 34 56
Trinidad 47 16 58 58 -
Turkey 66 37 86 45 -
Uruguay 61 36 100 38 -
US 40 91 46 62 29
Venezuela 81 12 76 73 -
Vietnam 70 20 40 40 80
West Africa 77 20 54 46 -
Zimbabwe - - - - 25
Source: Hofstede (2001); Hofstede and Hofstede (2005)
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
18
APPENDIX B - PDI-UAI AXIS
Weak
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Strong
Uncertainty
Avoidance
20 30 10010 40 50 60 70 80 90 110
112
104
96
64
56
88
80
72
48
32
40
24
16
8
Large Power DistanceSmall Power Distance
FIN
ISR
GER
USA
CAN-T
ENG
AUL
JAM
WAF
EAF
SAF
IND
HOK
ITA
JPN
PAK
SPA
IRA
TAI
KOR
POR
PER
THA
SAL
COL
BRA
CRO
FRA
ECA
IDO
VEN
ARA
MEX
PHI
MAL
VIE
TRI
RUS
CHI
BUL
BNG
ROM
AUS
NZL
SW I-G
IRL
SW E
NRW
SW I-F
COS
NET
EST
LUX
HUN
ARG
CAN-Q
MLT
CZH
GRE
BLG-F
URG
BLG-W
CHL
TUR
POL
SLK
SLV
MRC
SIN
DEN
SUR
SRB
PAN
GUA
Weak
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Strong
Uncertainty
Avoidance
20 30 10010 40 50 60 70 80 90 110
112
104
96
64
56
88
80
72
48
32
40
24
16
8
Large Power DistanceSmall Power Distance
FIN
ISR
GER
USA
CAN-T
ENG
AUL
JAM
WAF
EAF
SAF
IND
HOK
ITA
JPN
PAK
SPA
IRA
TAI
KOR
POR
PER
THA
SAL
COL
BRA
CRO
FRA
ECA
IDO
VEN
ARA
MEX
PHI
MAL
VIE
TRI
RUS
CHI
BUL
BNG
ROM
AUS
NZL
SW I-G
IRL
SW E
NRW
SW I-F
COS
NET
EST
LUX
HUN
ARG
CAN-Q
MLT
CZH
GRE
BLG-F
URG
BLG-W
CHL
TUR
POL
SLK
SLV
MRC
SIN
DEN
SUR
SRB
PAN
GUA
Adapted from Hofstede (2001); Hofstede and Hofstede (2005)
APPENDIX C - PDI-IDV AXIS
Collectivistic
Individualistic
20 30 10010 40 50 60 70 80 90 110
112
104
96
64
56
88
80
72
48
32
40
24
16
8
Large Power DistanceSmall Power Distance
ISR
GER
USA
CAN-T
ENG
AUL
JAM
WAF
EAF
SAF
IND
HOK
ITA
JPN
PAK
SPA
IRA
TAI
KOR
POR
PER
THA
SAL
COL
BRA
CRO
FRA
ECA
IDO
VEN
ARA
MEX
PHI
MAL
VIE TRI
RUS
CHI
BUL
BNG
ROM
NZL
SW E
SW I-G
SLV
SW I-F
COS
NET
EST LUX
HUN
ARG
CAN-Q
MLT
CZH
GRE
BLG-F
BLG-W
URG
CHL
TUR
POL
MRC
SIN
DEN
SUR
SRB
GUA
AUS
IRL
NRW
FIN
SLK
PAN
Collectivistic
Individualistic
20 30 10010 40 50 60 70 80 90 110
112
104
96
64
56
88
80
72
48
32
40
24
16
8
Large Power DistanceSmall Power Distance
ISR
GER
USA
CAN-T
ENG
AUL
JAM
WAF
EAF
SAF
IND
HOK
ITA
JPN
PAK
SPA
IRA
TAI
KOR
POR
PER
THA
SAL
COL
BRA
CRO
FRA
ECA
IDO
VEN
ARA
MEX
PHI
MAL
VIE TRI
RUS
CHI
BUL
BNG
ROM
NZL
SW E
SW I-G
SLV
SW I-F
COS
NET
EST LUX
HUN
ARG
CAN-Q
MLT
CZH
GRE
BLG-F
BLG-W
URG
CHL
TUR
POL
MRC
SIN
DEN
SUR
SRB
GUA
AUS
IRL
NRW
FIN
SLK
PAN
Adapted from Hofstede (2001); Hofstede and Hofstede (2005)
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 19
APPENDIX D - EXISTING LITERATURE IN THE IT-RELATED AREAS USING HOFSTEDE’S THEORY OF CULTURE
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
An and Kim
(2007)
Internet/ E-
commerce
Korea and US Quantitative
content analysis
Consistent with
Hofstede‟s
framework, greater
percentage of
Korean ads featured
characters in
relationship themes,
featured women as a
main character, and
portrayed them in
family and
recreational roles.
Barnett and Sung
(2005)
Internet/ E-
commerce
Multiple
countries
Analysis of
hyperlink
patterns
Only Individualism is
significantly related
to the centrality of
hyperlink networks;
other relationships
between Hofstede‟s
dimensions and
network centrality
were not significant.
Burn, Saxema,
Ma, and Cheung
(1993)
IT management
and strategy
Hong Kong Delpi study of
98 senior IT
managers
Cultural values may
influence the types
of IS issues
perceived to be more
critical by IS
managers.
Cultural values may
influence the types
of IS issues
perceived to be
more critical by IS
managers.
Cultural values may
influence the types of
IS issues perceived to
be more critical by IS
managers.
Cultural values may
influence the types
of IS issues
perceived to be
more critical by IS
managers.
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
20
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Callahan (2005) Website design Malaysia,
Austria, US,
Ecuador,
Japan, Greece,
Sweden, &
Denmark
Content
analysis of
website
graphical
elements
The presence of
logos was positively
correlated with the
PDI: the high PDI
countries had
significantly higher
frequency of logos
than low PDI
countries.
Contrary to the
Hypothesis
graphical elements
did not show
significant
correlation with
UAI dimension.
Contrary to the
Hypothesis graphical
elements did not
show significant
correlation with IDV
dimension.
Images of people
were negatively
correlated with the
MAS index, thus
home pages in
feminine countries
would more often
show images of
people than pages in
high MAS
countries. Countries
with a high MAS
index had more
images of buildings.
Choe (2004) IT use and
outcomes
Korea and
Australia
Survey of firms Under a high level of
AMT, the positive
effect of AMT and
information on the
improvement of
production
performance is
greater in Korean
than Australian
firms.
Under a high level
of AMT, the
positive effect of
AMT and
information on the
improvement of
production
performance is
greater in Korean
than Australian
firms.
Under a high level of
AMT, the positive
effect of AMT and
information on the
improvement of
production
performance is
greater in Korean
than Australian
firms.
Chung and
Adams (1997)
IT use and
outcomes
US and Korea Comparative
survey
Respondents from
Korea and US had
no significant
differences in group
decision making
behaviors
attributable to
Hofstede‟s
dimensions.
Respondents from
Korea and US had
no significant
differences in group
decision making
behaviors
attributable to
Hofstede‟s
dimensions.
Respondents from
Korea and US had no
significant
differences in group
decision making
behaviors attributable
to Hofstede‟s
dimensions.
Respondents from
Korea and US had
no significant
differences in group
decision making
behaviors
attributable to
Hofstede‟s
dimensions.
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 21
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Dormann and
Chisalita (2002)
Website design 5 different
countries
Surveyed
participants
evaluating
websites
Found a limited
correlation between
the MAS index and
masculine and
feminine values
presented on the
sites.
Downing,
Gallaugher, and
Segars (2003)
IT use and
outcomes
Japan and US Interpretive
field study
Japanese companies
(high UAI) tend to
select more
information rich,
socially present
forms of media to
facilitate
empowerment,
whereas US
companies (low
UAI) tend to select
more lean
(efficient) forms of
electronic media.
Japanese companies
(Collectivistic) tend
to select more
information rich,
socially present
forms of media to
facilitate
empowerment,
whereas US
companies
(Individualistic) tend
to select more lean
(efficient) forms of
electronic media.
Dwyer, Mesak,
and Hsu (2005)
IT adoption and
diffusion
13 European
countries
Exploratory
study
National culture
explains a relatively
sizable amount of
variation in cross-
national diffusion
rates of
technological
innovations.
National culture
explains a relatively
sizable amount of
variation in cross-
national diffusion
rates of technological
innovations.
National culture
explains a relatively
sizable amount of
variation in cross-
national diffusion
rates of
technological
innovations.
National culture
explains a
relatively sizable
amount of
variation in cross-
national diffusion
rates of tech.
innovations
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
22
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Garfield and
Watson (1998)
IT adoption and
diffusion
7 different
countries
Descriptive
case study
Countries will
follow similar NII
development models
(family, village
market, pyramid of
people, or well-oiled
machine) based upon
similar cultural
values related to
PDI.
Countries will
follow similar NII
development
models (family,
village market,
pyramid of people,
or well-oiled
machine) based
upon similar
cultural values
related to UAI.
Gefen and Heart
(2006)
Internet/ E-
commerce
US and Israel Exploratory
study
Hofstede‟s
dimensions should
affect trust in e-
commerce
environment.
Hofstede‟s
dimensions should
affect trust in e-
commerce
environment.
Hofstede‟s
dimensions should
affect trust in e-
commerce
environment.
Gong, Li and
Stump (2007)
Internet/ E-
commerce
58 different
countries
Empirical
research
Power Distance of a
culture hinders
Internet diffusion.
Masculinity of a
culture slows down
the Internet
adoption.
Long-Term
Orientation
bolsters Internet
diffusion.
Griffith (1998) IT adoption and
diffusion
US and
Bulgaria
Laboratory
experiment
Bulgarian students
(low PDI) were more
likely to report being
dissatisfied with the
GSS outcome than
were US students.
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 23
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Hasan and Ditsa
(1999)
IT adoption and
diffusion
10
organizations
in Middle
East, Africa,
and Australia
Interpretive
field study
Successful adoption
of IT is more likely
where IT staff are
able to give advice
to IT manage (low
PDI).
IT is less readily
adopted in risk-
averse cultures
(high UAI), since
technology is
perceived as
inherently risky.
Adoption of group-
oriented IT (e.g.,
GSS) is more
favorably disposed to
Collectivistic vs.
Individualistic
cultures.
Patterns of IT
adoption may vary
according to level of
Masculinity
(technology focus)
vs. Femininity
(focus on people
and end-users) of
culture.
Hermeking
(2005)
Internet/ E-
commerce
Multiple
countries
Qualitative
long-term
research
Found a strong
negative correlation
between high
Uncertainty
Avoidance and
Internet usage.
Found a strong
positive correlation
between high
Individualism and
Internet usage.
Hewling (2005) Technology
mediated
communication
Australian and
non-
Australian
students from
online
university
Online message
analysis
The inference was
drawn based on the
country of origin of
the person posting
the message. For
example, predicts
that a particular
student from high
PDI culture find the
class a highly
structured and
controlled
environment where
status will control
how much of a voice
he has.
The inference was
drawn based on the
country of origin of
the person posting
the message. For
example, predicts
that a particular
student from high
UAI culture find the
class a highly
structured and
controlled
environment where
rules will minimize
uncertainty.
The inference was
drawn based on the
country of origin of
the person posting
the message. For
example, wonders if
a particular student
from low IDV
culture feels a part of
the group in the
class.
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
24
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Hornik and
Tupchiy (2006)
Technology
mediated
communication
US Empirical
research
Different patterns
used in the study -
Horizontal
Collectivist,
Horizontal
Individualist,
Vertical Collectivist,
and Vertical
Individualist - are
associated with the
use of TML and
individuals‟ learning
outcomes.
Hunter and Beck
(2000)
Information
Systems
development
Canada and
Singapore
Field study
interviews
Differences found
across cultures in
how excellent
system analysts are
perceived.
Excellent analysts
from Singapore
(low UAI) are
perceived to follow
a more technocratic,
dominant approach
to clients, while
Canadian analysts
(moderate-low
UAI) follow a more
participative
approach.
Singaporean
excellent analysts
(high Collectivism)
are perceived to
follow a more
technocratic,
dominant approach
to clients, while
Canadian analysts
(high Individualism)
follow a more
participative
approach.
Differences found
across cultures in
how excellent
system analysts are
perceived.
Husted (2000) IT management
and strategy
39 different
countries
Archival data
analysis
Software piracy is
less prevalent in
Individualistic (as
compared to
Collectivistic)
cultural settings.
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 25
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Jarvenpaa and
Leidner (1998)
IT adoption and
diffusion
Mexico Single site case
study
Mexican IS
company succeeded
despite high UAI,
seen as cultural
barrier. Managerial
actions led to
greater acceptance
of company‟s
products.
Mexican IS company
succeeded despite
high Collectivism,
seen as cultural
barrier. Managerial
actions led to greater
acceptance of
company‟s products.
Johns, Smith,
and Strand
(1983)
IT use and
outcomes
78
multinational
corporations
(MNC)
Survey of
corporations
MNCs with lower
UAI are more likely
to embrace new
technologies and to
encounter fewer
impediments to
international data
flow.
Kankanhalli,
Tan, Wei and
Holmes (2004)
Information
Systems
development
US and
Singapore
Survey of 10
large
organizations in
each country
IS developers with
individualistic
inclination appear to
have stronger
economic, technical,
and socio-political
values than IS
developers with
collectivistic
inclination.
IS developers with
masculine
inclination seem to
have stronger
economic, technical,
and socio-political
values than IS
developers with
feminine
inclination.
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
26
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Keil, Tan, Wei,
Saarinen,
Tuunainen, and
Wassenaar
(2000)
Information
Systems
development
Finland,
Singapore,
Netherlands
Matching lab
experiments
Cultures low in
UAI (Singapore)
exhibited greater
tendencies to
continue with
troubled IT projects
since their
perceived risk was
lower than with
high UAI cultures.
Kersten,
Koeszegi and
Vetschera (2003)
Technology
mediated
communication
Australia,
Canada, US,
Germany,
Ecuador,
Taiwan,
Finland, India,
Russia & HK
Empirical
analysis
Culture had a
significant effect on
most dependent
variables at an
aggregate level.
Because
communication
technology reduces
the transmission of
social cues, cultural
dimensions, such as
PDI, are reduced in
their impact.
Kettinger, Lee,
and Lee (1995)
IT management
and strategy
US, Korea,
Hong Kong, &
Netherlands
Survey of IS
users
Service quality of IS
function differs
across national
cultures.
Service quality of
IS function differs
across national
cultures.
Service quality of IS
function differs
across national
cultures.
Service quality of IS
function differs
across national
cultures.
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 27
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Leidner,
Carlsson, Elam,
Corrales (1999)
IT use and
outcomes
Sweden and
Mexico
Survey of
senior
managers
Mexican mangers
perceived faster
decision-making
speed with EIS use
whereas Swedish
mangers did not.
Suggested that EIS
may be best suited in
countries with low to
moderate PDI.
Mexican managers
perceived faster
decision-making
speed with EIS use
whereas Swedish
mangers did not.
Suggested that EIS
may be best suited
in countries with
low to moderate
UAI.
Found significant
differences (as
predicted by national
cultural factors) in
the impact of EIS.
Found significant
differences (as
predicted by
national cultural
factors) in the
impact of EIS.
Lim (2004) Internet/ E-
commerce
Singapore and
Mauritius
A laboratory
experiment
The benefits of
explanation facility
were visible in high
PDI context, but
non-existent in low
PDI context.
Lim and Yang
(2007)
Technology
mediated
communication
Singapore A laboratory
experiment
UAI impacts how
people view and use
pre-negotiating
support tool.
Lippert and
Volkmar (2007)
IT use and
outcomes
US and
Canada
Empirical
research
The study
reinforced the
importance of value
differences related
to the MAS
dimension in
shaping gender
expectations and
attitudes.
Lynn and Gelb
(1996)
IT adoption and
diffusion
16 European
countries
Empirical
research
National
innovativeness is
related to national
levels of UAI.
National
innovativeness is
related to national
levels of IDV.
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
28
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Marcus and
Gould (2000)
Website design Costa Rica
and US
Analysis of 2
university
websites, 2
national park
websites, 2
women‟s
websites, and 2
airlines
websites from
contrasting
cultures.
Consistent with
Hofstede‟s
framework
Malaysian website
(high PDI) features
strong axial
symmetry, official
seal, faculty
photographs, and
provides detailed
explanations. Dutch
website (low PDI)
emphasizes students
as equals.
Consistent with
Hofstede‟s
framework the
website from
Belgium (high UAI)
shows simple, clear
imagery and limited
choices. British
website shows more
complexity of
content and choices
(low UAI).
Consistent with
Hofstede‟s
framework the US
website (high IDV)
features an emphasis
on the visitor, his/her
goals, and possible
actions in coming to
the park. The Costa
Rican Website
(Collectivistic)
features an emphasis
on nature and
downplays the
individual tourist.
Consistent with
Hofstede‟s
framework Japanese
Woman.Excite
website (high MAS)
narrowly orients its
search portal toward
a specific gender,
which this company
does not do in other
countries. The
website from
Sweden (low MAS)
makes no
distinction in gender
or age.
Consistent with
Hofstede‟s
framework,
German website
(low LTO) shows
a typical Western
corporate layout
emphasizing
crisp, clean
functional design
aimed at
achieving goals
quickly. The
Chinese version
requires more
patience to
achieve
navigational and
functional goals.
Mejias,
Shepherd,
Vogel, and
Lazaneo (1997)
IT use and
outcomes
US and
Mexico
Matching lab
experiments
In GSS supported
environments
Mexican teams (high
PDI) experienced
higher levels of
group consensus,
satisfaction, and
participation equity
than their US
counterparts.
In GSS supported
environments
Mexican teams
experienced higher
levels of group
consensus,
satisfaction, and
participation equity
than their US
counterparts with
main effects due to
national culture and
experimental
treatment.
In GSS supported
environments
Mexican teams (low
IDV) experienced
higher levels of
group consensus,
satisfaction, and
participation equity
than their US
counterparts.
In GSS supported
environments
Mexican teams
experienced higher
levels of group
consensus,
satisfaction, and
participation equity
than their US
counterparts with
main effects dues to
national culture and
experimental
treatment.
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 29
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Milberg, Burke,
Smith, and
Kallman (1995)
IT management
and strategy
30 different
countries
Survey of 900
audit and
control
respondents
Countries exhibiting
higher levels of PDI
exhibited higher
levels of government
involvement in
privacy regulation.
Countries
exhibiting higher
levels of UAI
exhibited higher
levels of
government
involvement in
privacy regulation.
Countries exhibiting
higher levels of IDV
exhibited lower
levels of government
involvement in
privacy regulation.
Png, Tan, and
Wee (2001)
IT adoption and
diffusion
23 different
countries
Multinational
survey of 153
businesses
PDI was not
significantly
correlated with
adoption of frame
relay technology.
Businesses form
higher UAI
countries were less
likely to adopt IT
infrastructure
(frame relay).
Quaddus and
Tung (2002)
IT use and
outcomes
Australia and
Singapore
Matching lab
experiments
Australian groups
(high IDV) tended to
generate more
conflict than
Singaporean groups.
Australian groups
(high MAS) tended
to generate more
conflict than
Singaporean groups.
Shore,
Venkatachalam,
Solorzano, Burn,
Hassan, and
Janczewski
(2001)
IT management
and strategy
New Zealand,
Hong Kong,
Pakistan, and
US
Survey of
students
Students from high
PDI cultures
perceived less of an
ethical issue with
softlifting (copying
software for personal
use).
Students from high
UAI cultures
perceived less of an
ethical problem
with software
piracy.
Students from
Individualistic
cultures perceived
more of an ethical
problem with
software piracy.
Students from MAS
cultures perceived
more of an ethical
problem with
software piracy.
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
30
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Singh, Zhao, and
Hu (2005)
Website design China, India,
Japan, and US
Qualitative/
quantitative
research,
content analysis
Found that local
Chinese and Indian
websites will depict
highest levels of
Power Distance
oriented features,
followed by local
Japanese and US
websites.
Study did not
confirm that local
Japanese websites
will depict highest
level of uncertainty
reducing features.
India had the
highest level of
uncertainty
reducing features.
Japanese and
Chinese websites
were significantly
higher in the
depiction of the
Collectivistic values
compared to the US
& Indian websites.
US websites showed
the highest levels of
IDV oriented
features, followed by
India, Japan, and
China.
Found that local
Japanese websites
show the highest
levels of
Masculinity
oriented features,
followed by US,
India, and China.
Slaughter and
Ang (1995)
IT management
and strategy
US and
Singapore
Longitudinal
content analysis
Cultural norms
(Collectivist, loyalty,
family orientation) in
Singapore favor
internal IS
employment
structures while US
culture (high IDV)
favors more
externalized IS
employment
structures.
Srite (2000) IT adoption and
diffusion
33 different
countries
Field study of
foreign students
Individuals from
high PDI countries
were found to be less
innovative and less
trusting of
technology.
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 31
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Steensma,
Marino, Weaver,
and Dickson
(2000)
IT management
and strategy
5 different
countries
Five country
survey of SMEs
The tendency for
SMEs to form
technology
alliances with
others is greatest in
countries that rate
high in Uncertainty
Avoidance.
SMEs in countries
with Collectivistic
values (Indonesia,
Mexico) are more
likely to form
technology alliances
involving equity ties
than SMEs in more
Individualistic
countries (Australia).
The tendency for
SMEs to form
technology alliances
with others is
greatest in countries
that rate high in
Femininity.
Straub, Keil, and
Brenner (1997)
IT management
and strategy
US, Japan,
and
Switzerland
Survey of
airline
employees
TAM holds for both
US and Switzerland,
but not for Japan
(high PDI). Suggests
that TAM may not
be universally
applicable across
cultures.
TAM holds for both
US and
Switzerland, but not
for Japan (high
UAI). Suggests that
TAM may not be
universally
applicable across
cultures.
TAM holds for both
US and Switzerland,
but not for Japan
(Collectivistic).
Suggests that TAM
may not be
universally
applicable across
cultures.
TAM holds for both
US and Switzerland,
but not for Japan
(higher MAS).
Suggests that TAM
may not be
universally
applicable across
cultures.
Tan, Smith, and
Keil (2003)
Information
Systems
development
Singapore and
US
Matching lab
experiment
Individualistic
cultures amplify the
impact of
organizational
climate on
predisposition to
report bad news,
whereas Collectivism
strengthens the
impact of
information
asymmetry on
predisposition to
report bad news.
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
32
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Tan, Wei,
Watson, and
Walczuch (1998)
Technology
mediated
communication
US and
Singapore
Matching lab
experiments
CMC may be more
helpful in reducing
negative status
influence affects in
high PDI cultures.
CMC may be more
helpful in reducing
negative status
influence affects in
Collectivistic
cultures.
Tan, Wei,
Watson,
Clapper, and
McLean (1998)
Technology
mediated
communication
US and
Singapore
Matching lab
experiments
In Individualistic
cultures (US)
majority influence
was stronger in the
unsupported setting
than in CMC setting.
There were no
corresponding
differences in the
Collectivistic culture
(Singapore).
Thatcher, Srite,
Stepina, and Liu
(2003)
IT adoption and
diffusion
US Survey of US
college students
Individuals high in
PDI may be less
wiling to innovate or
experiment with IT.
Individuals high in
UAI may be less
wiling to innovate
or experiment with
IT.
Tung and
Quaddus (2002)
Technology
mediated
communication
Australia and
Singapore
Comparative
study, lab
experiments
Low PDI in
Australia indicates
that individuals feel
on equal footing and
feel comfortable
with airing their
views without any
fear of being judged.
Showed that
productivity gains
are higher for high
PDI cultures.
Singaporean group
(low UAI) exhibited
higher avoidance
behavior as
compared to the
Australian group.
Singaporean group
also exhibited a
high need for
consensus.
Singaporean group
(Collectivistic)
reported lower levels
of conflict compared
to Australian group.
Singaporean group
reported lower
levels of
interpersonal
conflict as
compared to the
Australian group.
“Software of the Mind” – A Review of Applications if Hofstede‟s Theory to IT Research
Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 9:3, 2008. 33
Source IT-related area Countries/
cultures Methodology PDI findings UAI findings IDV findings MAS findings LTO findings
Van Everdingen
and Waarts
(2003)
IT adoption and
diffusion
10 European
countries
Empirical
research
Found a significant
negative influence of
the Power Distance
index on ERP
penetration.
Found a significant
negative influence
of the UAI index on
ERP penetration.
The effect of
Individualism is
positive in the early
stage of ERP
adoption, but the
effect is diminishing
and may be even
changing sign over
time.
Found a significant
negative influence
of the Masculinity
index on ERP
penetration.
A significant
positive influence
on ERP
penetration was
found in the case
of the Long-Term
Orientation.
Yaveroglu and
Donthu (2002)
IT adoption and
diffusion
US, European
countries,
Taiwan, Japan
Empirical
research
The coefficient of
innovation is high in
countries that are
high on low on
Power Distance
The coefficient of
innovation is high
in countries that are
low on UAI. The
coefficient of
imitation is high in
countries that are
high on UAI.
The coefficient of
innovation is high in
countries that are
high on IDV. The
coefficient of
imitation is high in
countries that are low
on IDV.
Yeniyurt and
Townsend
(2003)
IT adoption and
diffusion
Multiple
countries
Empirical
research
Power Distance
hinders the
acceptance of new
products.
Uncertainty
Avoidance hinders
the acceptance of
new products
Individualism has a
positive effect on the
diffusion of new
products.
Masculinity
dimension has no
significant effect on
the diffusion of new
products.
Yoo and Torrey
(2002)
IT use and
outcomes
Korea and US Field study Found significant
differences (as
predicted by national
culture) in the
manner that Korean
and US consultants
create, seek, share,
and preserve
knowledge.
Found significant
differences (as
predicted by
national culture) in
the manner that
Korean and US
consultants create,
seek, share, and
preserve
knowledge.
Found significant
differences (as
predicted by national
culture) in the
manner that Korean
and US consultants
create, seek, share,
and preserve
knowledge.
Found significant
differences (as
predicted by
national culture) in
the manner that
Korean and US
consultants create,
seek, share, and
preserve knowledge.
Adapted from Leidner and Kayworth (2006)
Anastasia Gaspay, Shana Dardan and Leonardo Legorreta
34
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AUTHORS
Anastasia Gaspay
received a BS from
the Saint-Petersburg
State University of
Economics and
Finances in Russia.
She received a MS
from the Department
of Business
Administration at the
California State University, Sacramento.
Anastasia works as a Senior Data Services
Analyst for the First American CoreLogic. Her
research interests include cross-cultural
research, distance learning technologies,
outsourcing, and medical IT.
Shana Dardan holds
a PhD from the
University of North
Carolina at Charlotte
in Information
Technology.
Currently, she is
conducting research
in the area of IT
Investment
Valuations and
Digital Healthcare for UCDMC, Sutter Health
and Geisinger medical center. Shana has been
an invited member of the WiSac and
Pennsylvania Broadband task forces. Previous
corporate research includes notable companies
such as Intel Corp. She speaks at industry
events on investment strategies, IT security,
and outsourcing. Shana joined Susquehanna
University in 2006, where she teaches Systems
Analysis and Design as well as IT Strategy.
Leonardo Legorreta
received training as a
Mathematician earning a
BS from UC Berkeley, a
PhD from University of
Oregon, and Post-
Doctoral Fellowship
from the University of
Waterloo in Ontario,
Canada. He worked as a
research Mathematician for six years at The
Ohio State University, Weber State University,
and as a visiting faculty member at UC
Berkeley. In 1996, he switched careers and
trained to be corporate attorney at the
University of Utah where he earned a J.D. and
an MBA from their executive MBA program.
He practiced law for a year before joining the
Business Faculty at the University of Utah's
Eccles School of Business as a Post-Doctoral
Fellow in MIS. On completing the Fellowship
in 2002, Leo joined the MIS faculty at the
College of Business Administration at the
California State University, Sacramento. His
primary interests lie in the strategic application
of IT and in the impact of IT on organizations,
industries, and society.
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