Impact of culture on human resource management practices: a 10-country comparison

Abstract

The Model of Culture Fit explains the way in which socio-cultural environment influences internal work culture and human resource management practices. This model was tested using 1,954 employees from business organisations in 10 countries. Participants completed a 57-item questionnaire which measured managerial perceptions of four socio-cultural dimensions, six internal work culture dimensions and HRM practices in three areas. Moderated multiple regressions at the individual level analysis revealed that managers who characterised their socio-cultural environment as fatalistic also assumed that employees, by nature, were not malleable. These managers did not administer job enrichment, empowering supervision, and performance-reward contingency. Managers who valued high loyalty assumed that employees should fulfil obligations to one another, and engaged in empowering HR practices. Managers who perceived paternalism and high power distance in their socio-cultural environment assumed employee reactivity, and furthermore, did not provide job enrichment and empowerment. Culture-specific patterns of relationships among the three sets of variables, as well as implications of this research for cross-cultural industrial/organisational psychology, are discussed.