[Blog Project Assignment 2] Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory : South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States

 

I would like to compare the cultural differences between East Asia and the West based on Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory. So, I chose Korea and Japan as East Asian countries and the united kingdom and the United States as Western countries. Of course these countries do not represent the whole, but we can make a rough comparison through looking at each Hofstede's cultural dimensions by country.

First, let's look at the power distance dimension. The greater the value, the greater the degree of compliance with power. East Asian countries score higher than Western countries. We could guess that the order of hierarchy in East Asian countries is relatively stricter than in the West. I think it stems from a Confucian culture that values age and respect for the elderly and the late introduction of democracy.

Next, I will look at individualism dimension. It can be seen that Western countries are overwhelmingly more individualistic than East Asian countries. The stronger the collectivism tendency, the more strictly distinguishes our group from the external group. And they are wary of external groups. Korea is conservative about immigrants, while the United States is inhabited by people of various races. This is a typical case of reality that shows the difference between individualism and collectivism.

Next, I will look at masculinity dimension. This time, even if these are the same East Asian country, they show a different tendency. Among the four countries, Japan has the highest score for masculinity, while Korea has the lowest score for masculinity. Therefore, we cannot derive the characteristics of the East Asian country this time through Japan and Korea. However, the United States and the United Kingdom show a similar tendency. In fact, I thought Japan had a low masculinity score, but I was surprised that it was high.

Next, I will look at uncertainty avoidance dimension. It can be seen that East Asian countries have very high uncertainty avoidance scores.

(Blue : Korea, Green : Japan, Red : USA 

First one : cash holdings ratio, Second one Stock holding ratio)

Among household assets, Korea and Japan have the highest ratio of cash holdings, while the United States has the highest ratio of stock holdings. Shares are representative risk assets and cash is representative risk-free assets. The avoidance of risk and the possession of cash are meant to avoid uncertainty. 

Finally, I will look at uncertainty long term orientation dimension. East Asian countries tend to be long-term orientation than Western. It can be said that East Asia is relatively oriented toward the future. I think Korean people seem to give up their present happiness for the future. Especially the generation of our parents.

Of course, it is dangerous to generalize a cultural area with only these. This is because even in the same cultural area, there may be differences between countries. However, it is possible to make a rough comparison by finding and comparing commonalities by country and culture area. I hope my analysis contributes to your insight.