Introduction

Leung and Bond (2008) argue that most people are purposeful in life, frequently grappling with two fundamental questions: what goals to pursue in life and how to pursue those goals. The “what” question has been extensively researched under the rubric of values, a long-vibrant enterprise which seeks to identify the general goals that guide people's choices and actions (e.g., Rokeach, 1973). Given the prominence of research on values, it is no coincidence that values are also widely used in conceptualizing national culture and its influence on the performance of its citizens (e.g., Kluckhohn & Stodtbeck, 1961). With its breadth of coverage, the now-classic work of Hofstede (1980) on work-related values has leapfrogged other value frameworks as the dominant paradigm in cross-cultural theorizing.

Subsequent to Hofstede's (1980) ground-breaking work, several major projects have continued to search for value-based dimensions of cultural variation. Using values derived from the Chinese cultural heritage, the Chinese Culture Connection (1987) identified a new dimension of national value variation, Confucian work dynamism, or short-term vs. long-term orientation (Hofstede, 1991). Schwartz (1994) has established a more psychologically grounded mapping of cultures with his seven culture-level value domains. Finally, Smith, Dugan, and Trompenaars (1996) identified three major value dimensions. It is instructive to note that Smith and Bond (1998, ch. 3) concluded that converging results have been obtained across these different value surveys.