Commemorating Geert Hofstede, a pioneer in the study of culture and institutions

Abstract

This contribution commemorates Geert Hofstede, who recently passed away, as a pioneer in the study of culture and institutions. It does so by touching on some of the details of his personal life and connecting these with his professional career. The latter was devoted to developing the paradigm of national cultures based on empirical analysis, and to relate it to organisational behaviour. Closer scrutiny reveals that four distinct phases may be identified. Hofstede first started as an ‘undercover’ engineer and next moved to social psychology. During the second phase, he developed the first four dimensions of natural culture. During the third, Hofstede connected these national dimensions to organisational ones. During the last, he added two new cultural dimensions and developed additional practical applications. Finally, the article considers the reception, criticism, and further elaborations of Hofstede's contributions.

Extending the boundaries of psychological ownership research: measurement, outcomes, cultural moderators

“…However, such absence points to the innate and intuitive nature of ownership feelings (Isaacs, 1972; Kline and France, 1899; McDougall, 1923; Pierce et al , 2001). Influences other than learned cultural values can affect individuals' attitudes and behaviors (Sent and Kroese, 2020). The perception of the self and hierarchical differences formed by the socialization in a cultural context may have only little effect on the biological need and programming of possessions.…”

“…We attempt to fill this gap by examining how cultural values moderate the effects of PO using a cross-cultural two-country study design. It is important to note that the cultural context of a country describes a tendency of individuals to feel and behave in society (Hofstede et al , 2010; Sent and Kroese, 2020). Individual differences among members of one society have to be expected because members perceive and experience cultural values differently (Brockner, 2003; Kirkman et al , 2009; Triandis, 2001).…”

Introduction to the special issue on institutions and culture in economic contexts

“…In this respect, this special issue devotes particular attention to the role of cultural aspects relative to economic and institutional outcomes (Mickiewicz and Kaasa, 2021;Moellman and Tarabar, 2021), individuals and social attitudes towards rent-seeking behaviours, corruption, tax evasion, and institutional trust, among others (Amini et al, 2021;Andriani et al, 2021;Kaasa and Andriani, 2021), and to the interplay between specific cultural traits and the evolution of institutional frameworks such as family systems and state formation (Benati and Guerriero, 2021;Gutmann and Voigt, 2021). Part of the special issue has also been devoted to commemorating Geert Hofstede, pioneer in the study of culture and institutional aspects (Sent and Kroese, 2021) as well as the review of Joel Mokyr's book 'A Culture of Growth' (Hodgson, 2021) and subsequent response of Joel Mokyr to this book review (Mokyr, 2021).…”

Social Capital: Vectors of development of behavioral economics

“…The role of culture in international trade was researched by many scholars worldwide, for decades, cross-cultural researchers have tried to uncover and explain national cultural differences by applying different methods and approaches. One of the constants in all these various studies is the name of Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede, who was the first scholar to conduct empirical cross-country research with measurable cultural values (Sent & Kroese, 2020).…”

“…Ukrainian and Polish business cultures were compared by using Hofstede's classification, outlining similarities and differences between two countries in a study conducted by Wackowski & Blyznyuk (2017). Cross-cultural communications in the business of Ukrainian and Romanian companies was a topic of research by Lifintsev & State (2019). In that study, bilateral trade in commodities of two countries was mentioned, and a comparison of six cultural dimensions was conducted, but the connection between trade and culture was not discussed beyond the statement that it is affected by the socialist past of both nations.…”