Sustained rapid economic growth and cultural convergence: comparative longitudinal analysis of evidence from GLOBE & Hofstede.

AuthorMunusamy, Vijayan P.

Two landmark studies of national culture undertaken approximately a quarter century apart present a unique opportunity for a longitudinal analysis of the shift in cultural values in work organizations over time. Using comparable data from Hofstede and GLOBE, we investigate the hypothesis that, in the rapidly developing nations of Asia, there has been a convergence of collectivist values in work organizations toward the level of collectivist values found in work organizations in the highly developed nations of the major economies. Findings suggest that collectivist values in rapidly developing nations are converging towards collectivist values of highly developed countries. This convergence is not exclusively due to economic growth or wealth but rather due to the speed of the economic growth. Specifically, periods of prolonged rapid economic transformation appear to also have a transforming effect on national cultural values. implications of this finding and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: Rapid Economic Growth, Convergence, Emerging Economies, National Culture, Collectivism

INTRODUCTION

A number of social analysts have proposed that one impact of sustained rapid economic growth and concomitant technological industrialization upon society will be the convergence of social action and thought (e.g. Tinbergen 1959, Kerr, Dunlap, Harbison, and Myers 1960, Galbraith 1967, Child 1981; Child and Tayeb 1983; Levitt 1983). We examine this notion by looking at the convergence of cultural values. Though the study of the convergence of cultural values has been controversial, social science has not been able to refute the notion that industrial societies will become more similar when "technical and economic imperatives impinge on social life" (Freenberg 1991, p.121). We contend this tendency is especially true in nations with exceedingly rapid industrial development because traditional social structures and mores are more vulnerable to change. As technological industrialization has resulted in some significant physical effects, such as global warming and deforestation, we offer for consideration that the convergence of cultural values may also result in some significant social effects. Just as other scientists have documented these early physical warning signals to world leaders, we set out to document the possible cultural convergence as an unanticipated consequence of rapid economic and technological industrialization.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A widely accepted theme in sociology is the notion of convergence. Essentially, as countries attain parity with respect to technologically-driven economic development, they will mutually resemble each other in various aspects of social life. A popular starting point for the notion of technology driving change towards uniformity can be found in Tinbergen (1959), which was expanded upon by Kerr, Dunlop, Harbison, and Myers (1960). The latter suggests the "logic of industrialism," which included, among other characteristics, rapid economic and technological development driving change in the direction of uniformity. They proposed that the cultures of industrialized nations are converging because of the nature of economic and technological necessities brought about through industrialization. These necessities were theorized to be a greater driving force than the differences in political systems and cultural foundations. In this manner, technological change engendered by economic development and concomitant increased exposure to industrialization serves as a key driver in propelling societies towards convergence.

In a principle similar to that of scientific management (Taylor 1911), technology finds the one "best way" of doing things. For example, in a factory, engineers develop the optimal work flow; pairing workers and machines most efficiently and effectively to produce the best product at the lowest cost. This knowledge spreads, becomes the benchmark, and is copied by similar factories producing similar products around the world. In this way, economic society is shaped by the requirements of technology and organizations, rather than by ideology (Galbraith 1967). The convergence of social structures driven by competitive necessities applies for almost every kind of technology. Levitt (1983, p.92) asserted that:

"A powerful force drives the world toward a converging commonality, and that force is technology. It has proletarianized communication, transport, and travel. It has made isolated places and impoverished peoples eager for modernity's allurements. ... Gone are accustomed differences in national or regional preference."

Thus, technology driven by economic development is a significant source of uniformity around the globe. As people from differing cultures are exposed to the common, one "best way" technology, they too will become more alike. While cultures might resist the movement towards convergence brought on by economically driven rapid technological changes, the insistent pressure makes this technology-driven cultural change a difficult force to ignore. A clear illustration of this point is that collectivism in Asian societies has been argued to be influenced by agrarian practices in which planting and harvesting necessitate interdependence and cooperation among people (Triandis 1994). However, the widespread use of machinery in the agriculture industry in these countries is a good example where this interdependence is no longer necessary.

Around the same time as Kerr, Dunlop, Harbison, and Myers (1960), Festinger (1957) proposed the theory of Cognitive Dissonance. The idea behind this theory was that when people have certain values and beliefs but engage in behaviors that conflict with these values and beliefs, something must give way to eliminate the dissonance and return to the equilibrium state where there is consonance. Festinger posited that dissonance between one's values and one's actions would create a great discomfort. This discomfort, in turn, would lead to a strong motivation to remove the dissonance by either changing the behavior to be more consistent with the values and beliefs or changing the values and beliefs to be more consistent with the behavior. Given the aforementioned discussion of changes in national culture brought on by the pressures of rapid economic industrialization and technological development, it is clear to see how these changes might create dissonant states that must be rectified according to Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory. As economic- and technologically-driven convergence occurs, a dissonance between values and practices emerges. According to Festinger's theory, there must either be a change in the values or in the practices in order to reduce the dissonance.

As the demands of market economies and global competition force commercial organizations to be more efficient and effective, tremendous pressure mounts to employ the optimal technologies to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness. This best technology forces people around the globe to behave in a similar fashion, thus...

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