Gert Jan Hofstede: The cultural biology of organization

Frequently asked questions

N.B. Visitor, have mercy. Do not send me email messages asking the questions below.

Can you measure a person's culture?

No. You cannot measure one person's culture. You can make somebody take a culture questionnaire, e.g. the VSM08. But the results will NOT tell you 'exactly' what that person's culture is, just as measuring the temperature outside will not tell you what the climate is. To measure the climate you have to measure in many places, during a long period of time. To measure culture you have to measure many individuals in many places and compare. Else you could just be measuring cultural, personality and context factors in one package.

Is it not the case that everyone has multiple cultures?

Yes, any group creates culture, so that everyone has a culture for each of the groups in which (s)he participates. But for all of us, the more so in more  collectivist cultures, one of those groups is far more important than all others. Its unwritten rules are what you could call the mother culture of a person. That culture is related to the in-group; it could be national, ethnic or religious. This is underestimated by people in individualistic cultures who freely switch groups.

Can I do a survey in country X and add it to the Hofstede database?

No. The answers to questionnaires might change through time and across occupations, classes, ages and genders in ways that cause the results to fluctuate - like an unreliable thermometer. Therefore you always have to use matched samples across a number of populations and compare the answers.

Do cultures change?

Yes. But although we learn new practices all the time, this does not usually affect our underlying unconscious values.  Our ways of relating to our children, parents, wider family, colleagues, our country - change slowly. Cultural patterns can survive for millennia.

How valid are the Hofstede dimensions?

Dimensions of culture are group-level constructs that are derived from questionnaires. So they depend on 1) what questions were asked, 2) to whom these questions where asked, 3) when they were asked, 4) how the researchers interpreted the results. All authors have made their own choices. The Hofstede study had the benefit of 1) a broad set of practical questions easily understood by respondents, 2) a very large, very well matched sample of respondents, 3) a politically relaxed climate, 4) an analysis that put the data first. This is still a big asset. The Hofstede dimensions are validated by having strong correlations with numerous nation-level phenomena.  

How do the Hofstede dimensions compare with others?

Many researchers have undertaken cross-nation studies since Hofstede. Most frameworks focus on what Hofstede calls individualism / collectivism (e.g. Hall, Triandis, Trompenaars, Inglehart) - this is the dimension that most distinguishes the 'West' from other countries. Some include other dimensions (e.g. GLOBE, Schwartz, Minkov). One can see each of these studies as a conceptual tool - several can be usable depending on what you want.