Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Organization Studies
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (5)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Au, K.
Right arrow Articles by Cheung, M. W. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Intra-cultural Variation and Job Autonomy in 42 Countries

Kevin Au

Chinese University of Hong Kong, kevin{at}baf.msmail.cuhk.edu.hk

Mike W. L. Cheung

University of Hong Kong, mikewlcheung{at}hku.hk

Intra-cultural variation (ICV)—dispersion of individuals within a culture—is not often the focus of international management compared to the cultural mean. However, researchers in international management and multi-level modeling have acknowledged the theoretical uniqueness of ICV, and have pled for its use in theory building and empirical testing. Responding to such a call, this paper explains at the societal level the theoretical importance of ICV of job autonomy. It also demonstrates, using secondary data from 42 countries, that the ICV of job autonomy influences organizational and social outcomes beyond the cultural mean of job autonomy. Specifically, the cultural mean and ICV of job autonomy exert different effects on job satisfaction and life satisfaction. The effect of the cultural mean is positive and that of the ICV is negative. Moreover, the effect of the ICV is independent of and similar in magnitude to that of the cultural mean. Research implications for international management and multi-level research are discussed.

Key Words: cross-cultural management • intra-cultural variation • job autonomy • job satisfaction • life satisfaction

Organization Studies, Vol. 25, No. 8, 1339-1362 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0170840604046345


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Journal of Cross-Cultural PsychologyHome page
D. P. Schmitt, J. Allik, R. R. McCrae, and V. Benet-Martinez
The Geographic Distribution of Big Five Personality Traits: Patterns and Profiles of Human Self-Description Across 56 Nations
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, March 1, 2007; 38(2): 173 - 212.
[Abstract] [PDF]