Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:52:24.143Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cultural Discrepancy and National Corruption: Investigating the Difference between Cultural Values and Practices and Its Relationship to Corrupt Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2016

Katja Gelbrich ,
Yvonne Stedham  and
Daniel Gäthke
Katja Gelbrich
Affiliation:
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Yvonne Stedham
Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Reno
Daniel Gäthke
Affiliation:
Roland Meinl Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

The relationship between culture and corruption has been the focus of various studies, producing inconsistent results. We suggest that these inconsistencies might be due to the conceptualization and measurement of culture. Drawing on the possible value/fact dichotomy discussed in ethical philosophy, we introduce the construct of cultural discrepancy—the difference between cultural values (“ought”) and practices (“is”)—as a predictor of pervasive (i.e., fully institutionalized and predictable) and arbitrary (i.e., uncertain and relatively unorganized) corruption. Examining the relationship between the discrepancies observed in the GLOBE cultural dimensions and the Corruption Perception Index shows that in-group collectivism discrepancy is negatively related to pervasive corruption; future orientation discrepancy is positively related to arbitrary corruption. Further, we show that these relationships are contingent on national wealth. The negative relationship for in-group collectivism discrepancy is most pronounced in poor and moderately wealthy countries, and the positive relationship for future orientation discrepancy is most pronounced in rich countries.

Keywords

corruptionculturecultural discrepancyvalue/fact dichotomycross-cultural managementnational wealth
Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , April 2016 , pp. 201 - 225
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Akaike, H. 1987. Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika, 52(3): 317–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beets, S. D. 2005. Understanding the demand-side issues of international corruption. Journal of Business Ethics, 57(1): 65–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, G. P., & Barcikowski, R. S. 2012. The PEAR method for sample sizes in multiple linear regression. Multiple Linear Regression Viewpoints, 38(2): 1–16.Google Scholar
Bucholz, R. A., & Rosenthal, S. B. 2001. A philosophical framework for case studies. Journal of Business Ethics, 29(2): 25–31.Google Scholar
Cameron, A. C., Trivedi, P. K. 2010. Microeconometrics using Stata (revised ed.). College Station: Stata Press.Google Scholar
Chandler, J. D., & Graham, J. L. 2010. Relationship-oriented cultures, corruption, and international marketing success. Journal of Business Ethics, 92(2): 251–267.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chang, S.-J., van Witteloostuijn, A., & Eden, L. 2010. From the editors: Common method variance in international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 41(2): 178–184.Google Scholar
Clifford, J., & Marcus, G. E. 1986. Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. 2003. Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Erlbaum: Mahwah.Google Scholar
Davis, J. H., & Ruhe, J. A. 2003. Perceptions of country corruption: Antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Business Ethics, 43(4): 275–288.Google Scholar
De Gaynesford, M. 2006. Hilary Putnam. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
DiRienzo, C., Das, J., Cort, K., & Burbridge, J. 2007. Corruption and the role of information. Journal of International Business Studies, 38(2): 320–332.Google Scholar
Doh, J., Husted, B. W., Matten, D., & Santoro, M. 2010. Ahoy there! Toward greater congruence and synergy between international business and business ethics theory and research. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(3): 481–502.Google Scholar
Donaldson, T., & Dunfee, T. W. 1994. Toward a unified conception of business ethics: Integrative social contracts theory. Academy of Management Review, 5(2): 252–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dwyer, S., Mesak, H., & Hsu, M. 2005. An exploratory examination of the influence of national culture on cross-national product diffusion. Journal of International Marketing, 13(2): 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, J. R. 2001. Ten difference score myths. Organizational Research Methods, 4(3): 265–287.Google Scholar
Friedrich, J. 2010. Naturalistic fallacy errors and behavioral science news: The effects of editorial content and cautions on readers’ moral inferences and perceptions of contributors. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 32(4): 369–383.Google Scholar
Friedrich, J., Kierniesky, N., & Cardon, L. 1989. Drawing moral inferences from descriptive science: The impact of attitudes on naturalistic fallacy errors. Personality and Social Psychology Bulleting, 15(3): 414–425.Google Scholar
Geertz, C. 1973. Interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Getz, K. A., & Volkema, R. J. 2001. Culture, perceived corruption, and economics: A model of predictors and outcomes. Business & Society, 40(1): 7–30.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 2010. The GLOBE debate: Back to relevance. Journal of International Business Studies, 41(8): 1339–1346.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 2006. What did GLOBE really measure? Researchers’ minds versus respondents’ minds. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(6): 882–896.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofstede, G. 2001. Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 1980. Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Homburg, C., Wieseke, J., & Bornemann, T. 2009. Implementing the marketing concept at the employee-customer interface. Journal of Marketing, 73(4): 64–81.Google Scholar
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Ruiz-Quintanilla, S. A., Dorfman, P. W., Javidan, M., Dickson, M., & Gupta, V. 2004. Culture, leadership and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hume, David. 1739. A Treatise of Human Nature. London: John Noon.Google Scholar
Husted, B. W. 1999. Wealth, culture, and corruption. Journal of International Business Studies, 30(2): 339–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Husted, B. W. 1994. Honor among thieves: A transaction-cost interpretation of corruption in third world countries, Business Ethics Quarterly, 4(1): 17–27.Google Scholar
Inglehart, R. 2008. Changing values among western publics from 1970 to 2006. West European Politics, 31(4): 130–146.Google Scholar
Inglehart, R. 1971. The silent revolution in Europe: Intergenerational change in post-industrial societies. American Political Science Review, 65(4): 991–1017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, R., & Baker, W. 2000. Modernization, cultural change and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65(1): 19–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Telecommunication Union 2011. Measuring the information society 2011. www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/backgrounders/general/pdf/5.pdf. Oct. 10, 2011.Google Scholar
Jing, R., & Graham, J. L. 2008. Value versus regulations: How culture plays its role. Journal of Business Ethics, 80(4): 791–806.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanagaretnam, K., Lim, C. Y., & Lobo, G. J. 2011. Effects of national culture on earnings quality of banks. Journal of International Business Studies, 42(6): 853–874.Google Scholar
Kluckhohn, C. 1951. Values and value orientations in the theory of action: An exploration in definition and classification. In Parsons, T. & Shils, E. A. (Eds.), Toward a general theory of action: 388–433. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Knofczynski, G. T., & Mundfrom, D. 2008. Sample sizes when using multiple linear regression for prediction. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 68(3): 431–442.Google Scholar
Lea, D. 1999. The infelicities of business ethics in the third world: The Melanesian context. Business Ethics Quarterly, 9(3): 421–438.Google Scholar
Levi, M., Sacks, A., & Tyler, T. 2009. Conceptualizing legitimacy, measuring legitimating beliefs. American Behavioral Scientist, 53(3): 354–375.Google Scholar
Martin, K. D., Cullen, J. B., Johnson, J. L., & Parbotheeah, K. P. 2007. Deciding to bribe: A cross-level analysis of the firm and home country influences on bribery activity. Academy of Management Journal, 50(6): 1401–1422.Google Scholar
Mazar, N., Amir, O., & Ariely, D. 2008. The dishonesty of honest people: A theory of self-concept maintenance. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(6): 633–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maseland, R. & van Hoorn, A. 2009. Explaining the negative correlation between values and practices: A note on the Hofstede-GLOBE debate. Journal of International Business Studies, 40(3): 527–523.Google Scholar
McCrae, R. R., Terracciano, A., Realo, A., & Allik, J. 2008. Interpreting GLOBE societal practices scales. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 39(6): 805–810.Google Scholar
Miller, D. E., & Kunce, J. T. 1973. Prediction and statistical overkill revisited. Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance, 6(3): 157–163.Google Scholar
Nielsen, R. P. 2003. Corruption networks and implications for ethical corruption reform. Business Ethics Quarterly, 42(2): 125–149.Google Scholar
O’Higgins, E. R. E. 2006. Corruption, underdevelopment, and extractive resource industries: Addressing the vicious cycle. Business Ethics Quarterly, 16(2): 235–254.Google Scholar
Oldenburg, P. 1987. Middlemen in third-world corruption: Implications of an Indian case. World Politics, 39(4): 508–535.Google Scholar
Osborne, J. 2008. Best practices in quantitative methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Park, H. 2003. Determinants of corruption: A cross-national analysis. The Multinational Business Review, 11(2): 29–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peng, Y.-S., & Lin, S.-S. 2009. National culture, economic development, population growth and environmental performance: The mediating role of education. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(2): 203–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnam, H. 2002. The collapse of the fact/value dichotomy and other essays. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Rabl, T. 2011. The impact of situational influences on corruption in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 100(1): 85–101.Google Scholar
Rodriguez, P., Uhlenbruck, K., & Eden, L. 2005. Government corruption and the entry strategies of multinationals. Academy of Management Review, 30(2): 383–396.Google Scholar
Samiee, S., & Jeong, I. 1994. Cross-cultural research in advertising: An assessment of methodologies. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, 22(3): 205–217.Google Scholar
Sanyal, R. N. 2005. Determinants of bribery in international business. Journal of Business Ethics, 59(1–2): 139–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanyal, R. N., & Samanta, S. K. 2002. Corruption across countries: The cultural and economic factors. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 21(1): 21–46.Google Scholar
Seleim, A., & Bontis, N. 2009. The relationship between culture and corruption: A cross-national study. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 10(1): 165–184.Google Scholar
Sharma, P. 2010. Measuring personal cultural orientations: Scale development and validation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(6): 787–806.Google Scholar
Suchmann, M. C. 1995. Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3): 571–611.Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. 2014. Using multivariate statistics (6 th ed.). Harlow, Essex: Pearson.Google Scholar
Taras, V., Steel, P., & Kirkman, B. L. 2010. Negative practice–value correlations in the GLOBE data: Unexpected findings, questionnaire limitations and research directions. Journal of International Business Studies, 41(8): 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tonidandel, S., Williams, E. B., & LeBreton, J. M. 2015. Size matters ... just not in the way that you think: Myths surrounding sample size requirements for statistical analyses. In Lance, C. E. & Vandenberg, R. J. (Eds.), More statistical and methodological myths and urban legends: 162–184. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Transparency International 2011. Corruption perceptions index . www.transparency.org/content/download/55725/890310. Oct. 10, 2011.Google Scholar
Treisman, D. 2000. The causes of corruption: A cross-national study. Journal of Public Economics, 76(3): 399–457.Google Scholar
Triandis, H. C. 1995. Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Uhlenbruck, K., Rodriguez, P., Doh, J., & Eden, L. 2006. The impact of corruption on entry strategy: Evidence from telecommunication projects in emerging economies. Organization Science, 17(3): 402–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Venaik, S. & Brewer, P. 2010. Avoiding uncertainty in Hofstede and GLOBE. Journal of International Business Studies, 41(8): 1294–1315.Google Scholar
WCO 2011. World competitiveness online . www.worldcompetitiveness.com. Oct. 10, 2011.Google Scholar
Whatley, M. A., Webster, J. M., Smith, R. H., & Rhodes, A. 1999. The effect of favor on public and private compliance: How internalized is the norm of reciprocity? Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 21(3): 251–259.Google Scholar
Wooldridge, J. M. 2003. Cluster-sample methods in applied econometrics. The American Economic Review, 93(2): 133–138.Google Scholar