Risk Aversion: As Perceived by U.S. and Swedish Officers

摘要

People in modern societies are generally becoming more risk aversive. Whether risk is perceived to include uncertainty or not, form two differing schools of thought within literature and doctrine. Risk aversion is viewed as a challenge in most previous works from the U.S. and Swedish Military Colleges. However, others present risk aversion as the good alternative to risk seeking. This study addresses perceptions of risk aversion through the question, How do perceptions of risk aversion in the conduct of the military profession compare between officers from the United States and Sweden, which has been explored through surveying and interpreting perceptions of U.S. and Swedish officers. The analysis shows these perceptions of risk aversion to differ noticeably by combining two theories, Dr. David Eberhardes model for defining safety addiction and Professor Geert Hofstedees model of cultural dimensions. Cultural differences between the U.S. and Sweden correlate with the differences in perceptions of risk aversion, with higher uncertainty avoidance and assertiveness in U.S culture compared to Swedish. Due to the limited scope and depth of the survey in this study, it is unfeasible to determine degrees of risk aversion; furthermore all conclusions are tentative without validation by more extensive studies.