How Do Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Influence Us?

Every society has its rules, values ​​and symbols. That’s why we say that different societies have different cultures. However, it is impossible not to mention Hofstede when it comes to studying cultural differences. He is in fact the creator of the model with the five cultural dimensions.

Hofstede showed that people on a regional and national level share certain characteristics. According to him, these characteristics influence their behavior and usually do not go away over time. He calls these patterns cultural dimensions.

Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions are power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long- or short-term thinking. Every cultural dimension has two sides. A society can score high or low in every dimension and that leads to different characteristics and behavior.

Power distance in cultural dimensions

Power distance is the way a society accepts power in its institutions and organizations. The countries with a small power distance usually tend to have decentralized organizations. In contrast, countries with a large power distance usually prefer centralized authority.

This dimension is about how the least powerful members of society accept power and whether they expect it to be shared equally. The important thing here is how a society deals with inequality between people.

People in high power distance societies often accept a hierarchical order. It’s fine that everyone has a place, without any explanation. However, in low power distance societies, people try to distribute power evenly. They always ask for justification when there are inequalities in power.

Some examples of countries with large power distances are Malaysia, Guatemala and Panama. Countries with a small power distance are countries like Austria, Israel and Denmark.

Individualism versus collectivism

Within this dimension, we can define individualism as a preference for an unstructured social environment. People have to take care of themselves.

Collectivism is the opposite. It means that there is a preference for a strongly connected social environment. People don’t have to worry about whether their relatives or the people within their group will one day take care of them. All you have to give in return is unconditional loyalty.

You can tell the difference between these two dimensions by looking at people’s self-image. Some people define themselves as an ‘I’ and some people define themselves as a ‘we’.

Finally, individualism and collectivism are the cultural dimensions in which you can see references to how much value citizens place on independence, commitment to the rules of society and loyalty to the group they belong to. Individualistic people take care of themselves, value personal success and put their own interests first.

Collectivist people, on the other hand, have a strong sense of belonging to a group. Collectivistic interests are also more important to them than personal interests. For them, hierarchy and relationships with other people are very important.

Studies on this dimension show that countries such as the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom are the most individualistic countries. Examples of the most collectivistic countries are Guatemala, Ecuador and Panama.

Masculinity vs Feminity

Within this dimension , masculinity implies that a society favors achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and material rewards for success. These types of airlines are also generally more competitive.

The opposite, femininity, implies a society’s preference for modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life. These types of companies generally focus more on conformity. Because of the characteristics of these two types of societies, we sometimes use the terms hard cultures and soft cultures.

The term ‘masculinity’ has to do with a society in which gender roles are very clear. Men should be assertive, tough and focused on material success. Women should be humble, sensitive and concerned about the quality of life.

Rather, the term ‘feminity’ refers to a society in which gender roles overlap. In this kind of society, both men and women are humble, tender and concerned about the quality of life. The most masculine countries (in this sense) are Japan, Hungary and Austria. The most feminine countries according to these definitions are Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.

Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance is the dimension that relates to how comfortable people in a particular society feel towards uncertainty and ambiguity. The important thing here is how a society deals with the fact that you can never know the future. Should you try to take the future into your own hands or just let things take their course?

Countries with high uncertainty avoidance have extremely strict codes about how to think and act. These companies will never accept any behavior or idea that does not abide by these codes.

Societies with low uncertainty avoidance, on the other hand, have a much more relaxed attitude. Within this type of society, the practical aspects are much more important than the principle aspects.

You can see that the inhabitants of countries that score low in this dimension have good self-motivation, take more risks and are less independent.

This is very different from countries with high uncertainty avoidance. The inhabitants of these countries like stability, rules and social norms. They therefore try to avoid as much risk as possible (although this too carries a risk – slower progress).

The countries with the highest uncertainty avoidance are Greece, Portugal and Guatemala. The countries with the lowest score in this dimension are Singapore, Jamaica and Denmark.

Long-term thinking versus short-term thinking

All societies must maintain their ties to the past while at the same time coping with the challenges of the present and the future. However, most carriers prioritize these two goals in different ways.

Societies that think more in the short term generally try to maintain entrenched traditions and rules. They have a very suspicious view of social change.

On the other hand, companies that are more long-term oriented are often a bit more practical. They are making much more effort to invest in modern education. They do this because they see it as a way to prepare themselves for the future.

Long-term thinking focuses on the values ​​associated with future rewards. People are willing to forgo social success or even emotional satisfaction in the short term so that they can prepare for the future. Societies with this cultural vision value persistence, perseverance, savings and adaptability to new situations.

Short-term thinking focuses on the past and present and sees them as more important than the future. A society with this vision values ​​tradition, current social hierarchies and fulfilling social obligations. Instant gratification is more important than long-term satisfaction.

The countries with the most long-term thinking are China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The most short-term oriented countries are Venezuela, Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates.

What kind of country do you live in?

You may be interested in the score of your own country by now. If so, take a look at this page, set up by Hofstede himself. You can see how your own country scores and compare your country with other countries. However, even if a country scores highly in certain cultural dimensions, this does not mean that this score applies to every citizen.

This usually only happens in small societies, which have many shared beliefs. That is also why this theory mainly focuses on large societies and groups. Ultimately, individuals can always differ individually from the group to which they belong. They can always have different scores within these culture dimensions.