Globalization and global markets are dominating in the today’s business arena. Companies are more often than not required to internationalize and operate in global markets instead of just competing within national borders. Due to the high level of globalization, psychic distance between nations and countries is argued to have decreased significantly. However, underlying national and business culture differences still very much exist and companies must be aware of and take the differences into account in their international operations. For decades cross-cultural science has been guided by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model and it is widely used to research and describe national cultures and differences between different cultures. Psychic distance concept is one of the most applied constructs of multinational enterprises’ internationalization and it has deservedly attracted a lot of attention within the literature and research of international business. Psychic distance is recurrently utilized when presenting and evaluating differences between a company’s home and foreign market. The general underlying notion of psychic distance is that companies operating in psychically close countries will succeed in their international operations. However, there is an increasing amount of research and literature providing contradictory evidence, referred to as psychic distance paradox. According to the concept of psychic distance paradox, perceived similarities within countries may result in cultural overconfidence and inadequate preparation prior entering psychically close markets resulting in poor organizational performance. The aim of the dissertation is to contribute in the research of the psychic distance concept regarding the existence of the psychic distance paradox and how it appears in the international business. The main focus is on management’s perceptions of psychic distance and how they affect a company’s organizational performance in psychically close foreign market. From the research conducted it can be concluded that the management’s perceptions of psychic distance can essentially affect the company’s organizational performance in a foreign market. In case the management’s perceptions of psychic distance are not in accordance with reality and the differences are overlooked, the company can face difficulties and poor organizational performance even in a psychically close market. The findings of the research provide additional proof to the existence of the psychic distance paradox concept.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are one of the fastest strategic options that companies choose to face the global competitive market. This is evident from the number and the amount of growth in the value of the deals, as well as the occurrence of the 'mega–mergers' in recent times. If companies do not adapt to the fast moving and evolving business environment, they will run the risk of becoming obsolete. The key principle behind buying a company is to create shareholder value, which will give the organisation a competitive advantage. The reasoning behind M&A is that one combined company may be more valuable than two separate companies. Despite the popularity of M&A, 60–80% of M&A fail to create value. There are several reasons why M&A fail, such as the insufficient analysis and examination during the planning and early stages of the transaction, overpayment and poor management in the integration phase. In the past 20 years, the volume of cross–border acquisitions has increased nearly three times faster than the volume of domestic acquisitions. Although cross–border M&A have become more popular, it comes with its own challenges and problems. The companies that enter into cross–border acquisitions need to face the issue of cultural differences, which is one of the common reasons of M&A failure. The participants of both companies need to integrate with the national and corporate cultures of the new company. In order for companies to be successful, the management needs to consider the impact and importance of these cultural differences. Organisations frequently struggle with cross–cultural issues and it has been argued that the cultural distance between the country of the acquirer and the acquired is an important determinant of the success of cross–border acquisitions. In the example of the German company Daimler Benz and the American company Chrysler Corporation the fact that these two companies have very different cultural backgrounds and that their structures differed significantly complicated the merger. The company's choice of languages, images, metaphors and rhetorical strategies had a huge impact on the acceptance of the merger by the employees. Hofstede investigated the social dimensions of culture in order to develop a comprehensive model of culture. The model was developed on data collected from the IBM study of work–related attitudes of 116,000 employees in over 50 countries and three regions. The first four dimensions of culture were derived from this study namely, Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), and Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI). Gray extended Hofstede's earlier cultural framework to an accounting perspective and suggested that accounting values are derived from cultural dimensions. Gray summarised his accounting values as: Professionalism versus statutory control, uniformity versus flexibility, conservatism versus optimism and secrecy versus transparency. The research question and objective of this study was to investigate the potential impact of cultural differences of cross–border acquisitions on companies from an accounting perspective. In order to answer the research question there were three objectives set. The first objective is to investigate the impact that cultural differences have on a company using Hofstede's cultural dimensions, the second objective is to investigate the impact that cultural differences have towards an accounting perspective using Gray's accounting values. The third and final objective of this research is to interpret the potential impact of a cross–border acquisition on a company taking the cultural differences into account. Considering the cultural differences, it was evident that there are differences between cultures, which may lead to cultural conflict and may hamper the success of cross–border mergers or acquisitions. The cultural differences that were observed, which was extended to an accounting perspective indicated that cultures do have an effect on the way accounting is done form one country to another. The conclusion can be made that companies do need to take the cultural differences into account before entering into cross–border mergers and acquisitions, and that proactive measures needs to be in place in order for the cross–border merger and acquisition to be a success. / Thesis (M.Com. (Management Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are one of the fastest strategic options that companies choose to face the global competitive market. This is evident from the number and the amount of growth in the value of the deals, as well as the occurrence of the 'mega–mergers' in recent times. If companies do not adapt to the fast moving and evolving business environment, they will run the risk of becoming obsolete. The key principle behind buying a company is to create shareholder value, which will give the organisation a competitive advantage. The reasoning behind M&A is that one combined company may be more valuable than two separate companies. Despite the popularity of M&A, 60–80% of M&A fail to create value. There are several reasons why M&A fail, such as the insufficient analysis and examination during the planning and early stages of the transaction, overpayment and poor management in the integration phase. In the past 20 years, the volume of cross–border acquisitions has increased nearly three times faster than the volume of domestic acquisitions. Although cross–border M&A have become more popular, it comes with its own challenges and problems. The companies that enter into cross–border acquisitions need to face the issue of cultural differences, which is one of the common reasons of M&A failure. The participants of both companies need to integrate with the national and corporate cultures of the new company. In order for companies to be successful, the management needs to consider the impact and importance of these cultural differences. Organisations frequently struggle with cross–cultural issues and it has been argued that the cultural distance between the country of the acquirer and the acquired is an important determinant of the success of cross–border acquisitions. In the example of the German company Daimler Benz and the American company Chrysler Corporation the fact that these two companies have very different cultural backgrounds and that their structures differed significantly complicated the merger. The company's choice of languages, images, metaphors and rhetorical strategies had a huge impact on the acceptance of the merger by the employees. Hofstede investigated the social dimensions of culture in order to develop a comprehensive model of culture. The model was developed on data collected from the IBM study of work–related attitudes of 116,000 employees in over 50 countries and three regions. The first four dimensions of culture were derived from this study namely, Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), and Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI). Gray extended Hofstede's earlier cultural framework to an accounting perspective and suggested that accounting values are derived from cultural dimensions. Gray summarised his accounting values as: Professionalism versus statutory control, uniformity versus flexibility, conservatism versus optimism and secrecy versus transparency. The research question and objective of this study was to investigate the potential impact of cultural differences of cross–border acquisitions on companies from an accounting perspective. In order to answer the research question there were three objectives set. The first objective is to investigate the impact that cultural differences have on a company using Hofstede's cultural dimensions, the second objective is to investigate the impact that cultural differences have towards an accounting perspective using Gray's accounting values. The third and final objective of this research is to interpret the potential impact of a cross–border acquisition on a company taking the cultural differences into account. Considering the cultural differences, it was evident that there are differences between cultures, which may lead to cultural conflict and may hamper the success of cross–border mergers or acquisitions. The cultural differences that were observed, which was extended to an accounting perspective indicated that cultures do have an effect on the way accounting is done form one country to another. The conclusion can be made that companies do need to take the cultural differences into account before entering into cross–border mergers and acquisitions, and that proactive measures needs to be in place in order for the cross–border merger and acquisition to be a success. / Thesis (M.Com. (Management Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

All countries have their own national culture, with their own norms, beliefs, attitudes, and values. Every organisation in the world also has their own organisational culture, just like any other social group. Because of the increased globalization throughout the world, more companies are becoming multinational corporations. This means that they go through a market entry process when they enter a foreign market. This can lead to their already established organisational culture being affected by the national culture in the foreign country. The effect of national culture on organisations is a well-researched area. However, the research on how the organisational culture is affected by national culture as an organisation goes through international market entry leaves much to be discovered.  The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how, and if the organisational culture of Swedish organisations is affected by national culture when they establish themselves on the United States market. It was also investigated how Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture can aid in the explanation of the potential organisational culture change, and if the index scores of the five dimensions for Sweden and the United States correspond to the differences later indicated by our research. The effect of leadership and market entry strategy on the organisational culture was also investigated. The qualitative data collection in this thesis comes from semi-structured interviews with companies who help Swedish companies in their market entry process, managers of Swedish companies who have established themselves on the United States market, and one human resource manager within a Swedish company which has moved to the United States. This data lays the basis for the results of this study, and we identify themes relevant to the purpose and research question of this study.  The conclusion of this thesis shows that the organisational culture of all the companies we have interviewed has been influenced by national culture to some extent. The factors which are identified to have had the largest impact on the organisational culture of these companies are market entry strategy, leadership, and the newly found themes; culture-carriers and laws and legislation. It is also concluded how Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions within organisational culture are affected by the national culture.  In the conclusion of this thesis, the importance of the cultural knowledge and awareness of the factors which influence organisational culture possessed by managers is emphasised. Practical and theoretical implications are also provided both for organisations and future research.

The objective of this project is to examine the differences between Moroccan and American students with regards to the cultural influences that led them to pursue an engineering degree. Annually since 2015, a partnership between a university in Morocco and MSU allows senior engineering Moroccan students to study at MSU to obtain their graduate degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering. The roughly equal gender representation in most Moroccan cohorts prompted our research question: “How do students from Morocco and the United States describe the cultural reasons that factored into their choice to pursue an engineering degree?” This exploratory qualitative study is guided by the combined frameworks of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension (HCD) and Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT). The influence of expectancy, family/social structure, and value are evaluated using EVT and cultural factors are evaluated through HCD. We conducted two phases of semi-structured interviews with senior and graduate Moroccan and American students. This study resulted in the modification of the EVT model to include the three constructs of Collectivism, Religion, and Power Distance Index. It also revealed how EVT’s task values manifest differently across cultures. Results indicate that cultural differences manifest primarily through the “Collectivist” mentality among Moroccans, explaining the gender participation difference between Moroccan and American engineering students.

To αντικείμενο της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η μελέτη της συμπεριφοράς των χρηστών της Wikipedia, όταν πραγματοποιούν μια τροποποίηση περιεχομένου ενός άρθρου, σε σχέση με την χώρα καταγωγής τους. Η μελέτη ξεκινάει με μια γενική παρουσίαση των ιστοσελίδων κοινωνικής δικτύωσης με έμφαση στις Wikipedia αλλά και της έρευνας του ολλανδού κοινωνιολόγου Geert Hofstede και τις θεωρίας του περί την ύπαρξη πέντε κοινωνικών διαστάσεων που μπορούν να περιγράψουν αρκετά ικανοποιητικά κάθε κράτος και τους κατοίκους του. Στην συνέχεια, κατασκευάζουμε μια εφαρμογή η οποία αντλεί και συλλέγει δεδομένα σχετικά με τις τροποποιήσεις από πέντε διαφορετικές εκδόσεις – γλώσσες της Wikipedia για 8 διαφορετικά άρθρα και τα κατηγοριοποιεί ανάλογα με το είδος της τροποποίησης. Τέλος, γίνεται η προσπάθεια εξαγωγής κάποιων συμπερασμάτων σχετικά με τον τρόπο συμπεριφοράς των χρηστών που προέρχονται από το ίδιο κράτος συγκρίνοντας τα δεδομένα που συλλέξαμε για κάθε διαφορετική γλώσσα με τις διαστάσεις που έχει μετρήσει ο Geert Hofstede για το αντίστοιχο κράτος. / The subject of this thesis is to study the behaviour of the users of Wikipedia when editing the content of an article, with respect to the country of origin of the user. The study begins with an overview of social networking websites with a focus on Wikipedia and a presentation of the research of the Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede and his theory of the existence of five social dimensions that can describe quite well each country and its residents. Afterwards, we develop an application that draws and collects data from the article history about the edits of eight Wikipedia articles from five different editions – languages of Wikipedia and classifies them according to the type of the edit. Finally, we attempt to export some conclusions about the behaviour of users from the same country by relating the data we exported for each language to the dimensions measured by Geert Hofstede for the corresponding country.

This dissertation consists of two self-contained chapters that empirically examine bidder firm returns of U.S. companies in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. In chapter one I examine how cultural distance between bidder and target country impacts internalization benefits. The results suggest that shareholders are initially concerned about the acquisition in culturally distant countries, which outweighs any potential benefits from internalization. However, in the long-run we observe a significant reversal of these findings. In the second and third year following the announcement, greater cultural distance positively impacts the bidder firm's operating performance and the bidder experiences significant internalization benefits from technological know-how when cultural distance is great. Long-run calendar-time returns further support this finding. These results add to the existing literature by highlighting the importance of cultural distance when examining internalization benefits. In chapter two I attempt to explain abnormal bidder firms' returns in cross-border mergers and acquisitions by comparing the first-mover hypothesis to the late-mover hypothesis. I also study the reactions of rival firms to bidder firm announcements as a further test of the first-mover hypothesis. The findings suggest that cross-border acquisitions are generally value-destroying for strategic pioneers unless cultural distance between the U.S. and the target country is great. Further, I find positive announcement effects for followers as long as cultural distance is small.

The master thesis is focusing on Hofstede's cultural dimensions in Prague, Bratislava and Vienna. There were 174 students who filled-in the questionnaire called "Value survey 1994". The aim of this work is to verify results of Hofstede's cultural dimensions and discuss obstacles of his methodology. One of the challenges is to create a comparable sample of respondents. Their characteristics should be as similar as possible except for nationality. The sample of 160 students was tested by Kruskal-Wallis test and groups were not significantly different. The interesting finding was the age of students. Although students in Austria enter university when they are 18, it is one year earlier than in Czechia and Slovakia, the student were same age. The results were litle bit different from Hofstedeho values because of university surrounding/enviroment. As this model is obsolete, today's cross-cultural researches are using cluster analysis which compares countries from made up graph of vaules which tend to group based on cross-national differencies. Hofstede's model was used because of his availability and simplicity. In addition, this work is trying to utilize Hofstede's model in Social Geography. However, this work found cross-cultural research very usefull for characterizing countries with possible use in...

The global economy is continually evolving, with new market trends constantly emerging. There appears to be one exception, globalization remains a dominant and consistent trend, even among SMEs. Numerous SMEs enter international markets, encountering diverse business standards and cultures, and must align their local strategies with global responsibilities. They need to consider their position in the global economy and their impact on all stakeholders, from actors in the supply chain to citizens in the countries where they operate. Corporate Social Responsibility has become an increasingly important approach for businesses to understand and improve their global impact and competitiveness by adapting both internal and external strategies. Therefore, this thesis investigates how internationalization impacts CSR initiatives for SMEs when expanding across European borders and how these practices contribute to companies' long-term success. Moreover, the emphasis on culture is investigated through Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the CAGE distance framework, to understand the challenges and opportunities related to cultural differences, along with other distances between countries encountered while internationalizing. Furthermore, CSR is investigated based on popular cluster definitions and approaches suggested by the EU and the UN. For the simplicity of this thesis, SMEs originating from Sweden and Germany have been the focal point of this research.  For this thesis, primary and secondary data have been collected and will be analyzed using a qualitative research approach. Secondary data comprising theoretical literature was collected and analyzed from numerous databases. Primary data was gathered through Semi-structured interviews with four specialists employed at SMEs and one expert working with local and global SMEs regularly. This data collection will be analyzed to suggest successful CSR approaches related to the internationalization within Europe.  This research concludes that SMEs must understand their global responsibilities to stay competitive in the international market as CSR will become an inevitable part of a company's business strategy. Companies prioritize different aspects of CSR based on their size and industry and adjust these strategies in line with market trends and the conditions of their respective industries. The extent to which companies can integrate CSR into their core values and business plans depends on the resources available to them.

The modern world is more and more dependent on information. As grows its importance, so does its quantity. That is why the good communication, especially the visual one, is indispensable for the proper disclosure and addressing of potential recipients of information. Graphic design provides the form of visual communication. The interconnection of different cultures is linked with the quick pace of globalization - thus the communication with different cultures is important. Each culture is based on specific values that can vary and very often do to a great extent. These values are then reflected in all areas of human activity, graphic design included. At first, we define the term culture and have a look at the process by which we acquire it - to find out its influence on us. We use as a means the interdisciplinary approach which draws knowledge on cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology and anthropology. Next, we focus on the principles of visual perception and studies concerning the difference in behavior and visual perception in different cultures. We divide the world on the basis of culture-shape events into different cultural units and we analyze graphic design in different cultures by using the knowledge from the previous chapters. We point out the principles and potential pitfalls of symbols and colors in the communication with other cultures. We describe the way how the paradigm of cultural values is reflected in the graphic design and we try to capture the features of visual communication typical for each culture.