Civilization in the Balance: A Comparative Validation of Hofstedean and GLOBE Cultural Dimensions Against the Toynbee-Huntington Civilization Model

摘要

This study compares the relative validity of Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the GLOBE cultural dimensions against the Toynbee-Huntington civilization model. Despite the potential value of models of national culture for expatriate training, intercultural management, global marketing, and other transnational applications, progress in generating national-culture scores for the world's countries and regions has been slow. The GLOBE project stands to offer new impetus for this ongoing project, but the implicit challenge that it poses to the firmly established Hofstedean model as an ostensible alternative, rather than possibly a new source of useful data, has created an impasse. Published cultural dimensions have yet to include many countries and regions, so resolving this impasse would be of considerable value. Accordingly, the present study seeks to establish an initial basis by which the Hofstedean and GLOBE cultural dimensions may serve a common purpose. It first presents a Monte Carlo analysis to establish an appropriate set of expectations on questions of validation against the civilization model. It then presents validity comparisons. The results show that both Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the GLOBE Values faithfully predict civilizational affiliation, while the GL OBE Practices are weaker as a predictor, despite their also manifesting significant validity. The study concludes with recommendations for future research.