Reframing the influence of national culture with theory-based multi-resolution simulation models

Abstract

Purpose For several decades, national culture has been described as having major influence over international business outcomes. Yet national culture has been framed often by vague terms and simplistic scales. The purpose of this paper is to explain why and how the influence of national culture should be reframed. Design/methodology/approach Review of literature concerned with causation in the behaviour of individuals and groups: anthropology, cognition, psychology, cross-cultural psychology, cultural psychology and cultural geography. Findings Within every nationality, and across international business, there is dynamic complexity of thought and action among individuals and groups. This derives from differences of genders, age, cultures, personality types and past experiences; the highly complex interactions between them; their commingling with common traits; and the varying influence of contextual factors. This dynamic complexity cannot be addressed by managers through use of vague simplistic conceptualizations of national culture. Practical implications As an alternative to vague simplistic conceptualizations, scientific theories, such as resource-based theory, knowledge-based view, contagion theories and social cognition theory, can be referred to in the formulation of multi-resolution simulation models. These models can enable managers to analyze dynamic complex international business scenarios, in terms of situation-specific variables. Originality/value The originality of this paper is that it provides a detailed explanation of why vague simplistic conceptualizations of national culture are of limited usefulness to managers of international business. The value of this paper is that it describes a practical alternative: theory-based multi-resolution simulation models.

The contribution of cultural intelligence to the interaction involvement and performance of call center agents in cross-cultural communication

“…From the cultural perspective, the contribution CQ to interaction involvement and job performance of call center agents in the Philippines could possibly be explained by some cultural characteristics of the Filipino which facilitate them to be more effective when interacting with foreign clients. This argument is supported by Fox (2016)’s research which suggested that national cultures can have some influence on organizational behaviors and work performance of employees. It is also consistent with a study of Thanetsunthorn and Wuthisatian (2018) which found that national culture tended to influence attitudes and behaviors of employees toward some organizational policies and practices.…”

“…Moreover, considering the influence of a national culture that can affect attitudes and behaviors of employees toward organizational policies and practices (Fox, 2016; Thanetsunthorn and Wuthisatian, 2018), it is particularly important for the management to understand some cultural characteristics of call center agents that might affect their cross-cultural competence development. Given the influence of American culture in the Philippines that already makes many Filipinos have prior background knowledge about Western cultures, CQ training may not have as much impact on the development of cross-cultural communication competence of Filipinos call center agents.…”