Intergenerational Transmission of Work Values in Czech Republic, Spain, and Turkey: Parent-Child Similarity and the Moderating Role of Parenting Behaviors

• Author: Mihaela Vancea,Daniela Pauknerová,Elif Manuoğlu,Nebi Sümer
• Published date: 01 March 2019
• Date: 01 March 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0002716219830953
• Subject Matter: How are Work Values Formed?

86 ANNALS, AAPSS, 682, March 2019

DOI: 10.1177/0002716219830953

Inter-

generational

Transmission of

Work Values in

Czech

Republic,

Spain, and

Turkey: Parent-

Child Similarity

and the

Moderating

Role of

Parenting

Behaviors

By

NEBI SÜMER,

DANIELA PAUKNEROVÁ,

MIHAELA VANCEA,

and

ELIF MANUOG

LU

830953ANN The Annals of The American AcademyTransmission of Work Values

research-article2019

Although public debates emphasize a weakening of

work values and ethics over the last few decades, little

attention has been paid to the transmission of work

values between parents and children. It is still unclear

what kind of parental behavior is critical and if culture

influences the intergenerational transmission of work

values. Based on socialization and value transmission

theories, we explore the question by comparing three

countries with different cultural characteristics: Czech

Republic, Spain, and Turkey. We used data from the

CUPESSE project collected from young adults aged 18

to 35 and their parents. Turkish young adults and par-

ents reported higher levels of moral- and gender-based

work values than their Spanish and Czech counterparts.

Parent-child similarity in work values was the highest

among the Turkish families and the lowest among the

Czech families. Overall, we find that stronger moral

and redistributive work values and weaker gender role–

based work values are associated with high levels of

parental warmth and autonomy granting and low levels

of perceived psychological control. Results suggested

that family climate, rather than specific paternal and

maternal parenting behaviors, have more substantial

effect on the value transmission. We discuss implica-

tions that consider the role of cultural orientation and

gender roles.

Keywords: value transmission; work values; parenting

behaviors

Social scientists generally regard the family

as a primary socialization agent among

whom values, attitudes, ideologies, and norms

are passed on from one generation to the next

in all cultures (Kulik 2002; Trommsdorff 2016).

Work values and ethics are fundamental agents

guiding job-related beliefs, attitudes, and

behaviors and managing motivation and com-

mitment in organizational settings (Consiglio

et al. 2017; Kooij et al. 2011). Intergenerational

transmission of work values is particularly

important in a context of contemporary job

relations and insecure labor market conditions,

Correspondence: nebisumer@sabanciuniv.edu

TRANSMISSION OF WORK VALUES 87

as well as of increasing youth unemployment (De Vos, Buyens, and Schalk 2005;

Jin and Rounds 2012).

Considering the recent changes in work environments and the intergenera-

tional differences in work values, ethic, and attitudes, we analyze the degree of

work value similarity between parents and young adults. We then explore the

moderating role of three fundamental types of parenting behaviors (i.e., emotional

warmth, autonomy granting, and psychological control) in parent-child work value

similarity since the degree of parenting quality reflected via particular parenting

styles and behaviors is argued to be associated with parent-child similarity in work

values (Cemalcilar, Secinti, and Sümer 2018). Finally, we aim to examine if parent-

child work value similarity and the potential moderating effect of parenting behav-

iors vary across cultures, by comparing three countries with different cultural

characteristics: Czech Republic, Spain, and Turkey. According to Hofstede,

Hofstede, and Minkov’s (2010) model of dimensional cultural classification, Czech

Republic could be classified as individualistic, Spain as moderately collectivist,

and Turkey as collectivist. We use this classification as the general framework to

better understand potential cultural differences in parent-child work value simi-

larity and the moderating role of parenting behaviors in these three cultures. In

sum, we seek to answer two global questions in this study: Are work values trans-

mitted similarly in all cultural contexts? Does the quality of parenting behaviors

moderate the transmission of work values within the family?

There is no commonly agreed-upon conceptualization or operational definition

of work values. As discussed in several articles in this volume (e.g., Gesthuizen,

Kovarek, and Rapp) work values, as an umbrella term, are studied in multiple

disciplines with different conceptualizations and classifications, referring to

diverse domains from job importance to work attitudes, and/or ethics. In this arti-

cle, we focus on three specific aspects of work values: work ethics (or moral work

Nebi Sümer is a professor of psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sabancı

University, Turkey. His research interests are parenting behaviors, attachment dynamics across

the lifespan, road user behaviors, and the effects of unemployment and job insecurity.

Daniela Pauknerová is an associate professor and head of the Department of Managerial

Psychology and Sociology in the Faculty of Business Administration at University of

Economics, Prague. Her research interests include social, work, and organizational psychology;

leadership; and cross-cultural psychology.

Mihaela Vancea is a researcher and lecturer in Political and Social Sciences at the Universitat

Pompeu Fabra. Her research interests include subjects such as international migration and

immigrant rights; network society; energy transition; and the relationship between education,

employment, and health.

Elif Manuoglu is a PhD student in the Department of Psychology at Middle East Technical

University, Turkey. Her research interests include the effects of social media use on well-being,

intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and parenting behaviors.

NOTE: This study was supported by the project, Cultural Pathways to Economic Self-

Sufficiency and Entrepreneurship (CUPESSE; Seventh Framework Program; Grant

Agreement No. 61325).