What are some critiques of Hofstede’s work on cultural differences, as well as the value it adds to the literature and practice?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There have been a number of critiques of Hofstede’s work (Ailon, 2008; Baskerville, 2003; Eckhardt, 2002; Kitayama, 2002), yet his typology remains remarkably influential (Bhagat, 2002; Kirkman, Lowe, & Gibson, 2006), both in science (Oyserman, Coon, & Kemelmeier, 2002; Schmimmack, Oishi, & Diener, 2005) and in practice (Bing, 2004). In a comprehensive meta-analysis of almost 600 studies based on Hofstede’s cultural-value dimensions (except for long-term vs. short-term orientation, for which there were too few studies), representing more than 200,000 individuals, researchers drew the following conclusions. Cultural values predict country-level differences best (average meta-correlation of .35), and individual-level differences less well (average meta-correlation of .18). Second, the predictive power of the cultural values was significantly lower for personality traits and demographic characteristics for certain outcomes (job performance, absenteeism, and turnover), but it was significantly higher for others (organizational commitment, citizenship behavior, team-related attitudes, and feedback seeking) (Taras, Kirkman, & Steel, 2010; Taras, Steel, & Kirkman, 2012).
Hofstede’s work is valuable because it provides a set of benchmarks against which other studies can be organized conceptually. For example, the Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (GLOBE) research project (one of the most comprehensive studies yet) categorized countries on nine cultural dimensions: assertiveness, future orientation, gender differentiation, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, performance orientation, and humane orientation (Dorfman et al., 2012). Those dimensions reveal much overlap, even synthesizing, of the factors reported by Hofstede. They help us to understand and place into perspective current theories of motivation, leadership, and organizational behavior.