Title: Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of Entrepreneurial Leadership Traits Among Brazil and China in Small Businesses Authors: Ana Clara Mueller Meirinho and Li Mengting Level: Master Thesis, 30 hp Keywords: Entrepreneurial leadership, Leader traits, Hofstede’s 6D Model, Small Business, Cross-Cultural leadership, Brazil, China. Background: Entrepreneurship is important among all the countries for the growth and prosperity of nations due to movement of economic activities that they generate. To sustain a business, the character behind it, known as a leader, plays an important role since for guiding a business the entrepreneurs needs to provide a clear vision for the company. Entrepreneurial leaders can have different postures when leading business inside a country. Yet, when comparing between countries, their behaviors can be influenced by many aspects, mainly because of the culture of the nation. However, a study showed that appear to be a convergence of entrepreneurial leadership among the BRICS countries. Also, there have been a lack of studies of entrepreneurial leadership in emergent economies like the BRICS countries, and for that reason, Brazil and China were selected to be the main focus of this study. Furthermore, studies also lack measurements of entrepreneurial leadership traits and behaviors. Research Question: What are the predominant traits of entrepreneurial leaders of small business and which cultural aspect impact on the behaviour of leaders among Brazil and China? Sub research question: What are the similarities and differences on the way that leadership is conducted by entrepreneurs of small businesses among Brazil and China? Purpose: The purpose of this study is, therefore, to describe, explore and instigate predominant traits of leaders as entrepreneurs in small businesses that can lead to distinct behaviour, through investigations in Brazil and China. In addition, this study also verifies similarities and differences of leaders behaviour that can differ from one culture to another, due to cultural impact. This way, the authors developed a framework, to better visualize entrepreneurial leadership traits comparison between Brazil and China, giving the readers a better understanding of preferred traits in both countries, directing them to take right actions considering the cultural values. Method: A mixed method approach was used in this research. Qualitative semi-structured exploratory interviews with abductive approach were conducted with leaders who are entrepreneurs of small businesses in South Brazil and Urban China, which focuses on entrepreneurial leadership traits. Also, quantitative surveys were collected, aiming to measure cultural value and predominant traits of leaders, complementing the qualitative interview. Theoretical Framework: Articles used for this study were meticulously selected, focusing on reliable sources and quality content; also, it was given preferences to new data from well- known journals. This section covers subjects that are interesting and fit to the thematic, such as regarding of Entrepreneurial Leadership and Traits, Hofstede 6D Model, Importance of Micro and Small Businesses to Society, and economic and political facts about Brazil and China, alike as definitions and data of micro and small business characteristics in each nation, and the nations own beliefs. Particular information from the countries was brought from organizations and governmental related websites. Discussion and Conclusion: Based on the results of respondent’s surveys and the interpretation of interviews with entrepreneurs among south Brazil and China. The results are structured and analyzed in the same sequence as the surveys and interviews are designed using Hofstede 6D model, discussing first south Brazil and urban China and then a general overview about similarities and differences of both countries for each section. The study revealed that the preferred entrepreneurial leadership traits are divergence between two countries, while there appear to be a convergence of entrepreneurial leadership style that encompass more democratic, flexible, opportunity oriented yet still remaining the traits of paternalistic and authoritative leadership including directing, participative, consideration of subordinates in small businesses among both countries. Furthermore, the author presented an overview of similarities and different entrepreneurial leadership traits among two countries by categorized based on distal attributes, including personality, cognitive ability and motives values, as well as proximal attributes, including social appraisal skills, problem solving skills and expertise/tacit knowledge are shown in the end.

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Social Network Site (SNS) users’ disclosed personal information is beneficial for marketers, as targeted advertising can be provided accordingly. This study identifies the three privacy concepts of concerns, attitudes and intentions, along with culture (i.e. Hofstede’s masculinity) to be key drivers of users’ self-disclosure on SNSs. Hence, this study evaluates these antecedents and their potential effect on self-disclosure, considering Facebook as the SNS of choice. To account for potential cross-cultural differences, data has been gathered via two online questionnaires, resulting in one German and one Norwegian sample of respondents. Multiple regression analyses were carried to evaluate the antecedents of self-disclosure and one-way ANOVA to examine potential differences amongst Germans and Norwegians. Results indicate that privacy intention is the strongest predictor of self-disclosure on SNSs; whereas privacy concerns and attitudes only reveal an indirect effect on self-disclosure. In addition, significant differences have been found for all of the constructs, indicating that there exist fundamental differences between Germans and Norwegians with regards to their cognitive processing behind personal information disclosure on SNSs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute with a cross-country approach to the research about consumers’ online privacy concerns by investigating Greek and Swedish consumers’ privacy attitudes and behaviours in the digital marketplace. Theoretical framework: The study’s theoretical framework is based on the Power-Responsibility Equilibrium Theory (PRE) perspective and three of Hoftsede’s cultural dimensions; uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and individualism. Methodology: The study has a deductive approach with a quantitative research method. The data was collected by a questionnaire in each country which resulted in 232 answers in total. The answers were then analyzed in Microsoft Excel 16.41, SPSS 26.0, and SmartPLS 3.3.3. Findings: Findings indicate that the impact of power-holders on consumer privacy concerns, privacy empowerment and trust is more prominent for Swedish than for Greek consumers. Moreover, the impacts of privacy concerns, privacy empowerment and trust on consumers’ power-balancing strategies are more substantial for Greek than for Swedish consumers. Implications: The study contributes to the marketing field and academics studying consumers’ behaviour as it adds a cross-cultural approach to the investigation of consumers’attitudes on e-commerce from a PRE theory perspective. Additionally, they can have practical implications for marketers and policymakers in the e-commerce sector as they can gain some insight into how essential corporate privacy responsibility and regulations are to gain the trust of consumers and decrease their privacy concerns. Limitations: Since the study covers Greek and Swedish consumers, it is limited to countries with similar characteristics. Moreover, the majority of the respondents were under 35 years old and their opinions contradicted, not allowing most of the effects to be statistically significant enough to be considered. Originality/Value: Consumer privacy attitudes and behaviours on e-commerce have not been studied from both a power-responsibility equilibrium and a cultural dimensions perspective. This study adds a cross-country approach by studying Greek and Swedish consumers, while at the same time combining two theoretical perspectives.

More companies have responded to the call for action, increasing their attention to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Corporate governance structures have proven to have an effect on how well companies are able to facilitate a sustainable trajectory, all influenced by values and norms. Sweden is part of what many views as the ‘next supermodel’ regarding social welfare and sustainability awareness based on a collectivist mindset. In contrast, the US fundamentally believes in the American dream of free enterprise, which has resulted in a more shareholder oriented view.   This study aims to research whether board composition mechanisms such as board gender diversity, board independence, inclusion and CEO duality impact the CSR initiatives, measured through ESG score, of Swedish and US Large Cap companies listed on OMXS and S&P 100. Moreover, it strives to investigate plausible reasons for differences between Sweden with the Nordic corporate governance model and the tier-1 model corporate governance model the US have. Even if ESG is a well-studied area, previous research does not find any consensus since earlier studies find negative, positive and non-significant results. Furthermore, many studies tend not to go beyond firm-level factors and overlook country-level factors such as national culture.   The study consists of 165 Large Cap companies, where 83 are Swedish and 82 are from the US. The chosen research method is quantitative, based on unbalanced panel data from 2020-2022. ESG score is used as the dependent variable, and the independent variables are the proportion of women board of directors, the critical mass of women directors, the proportion of independent directors, inclusion and CEO duality. The control variables consist of board size, asset size, return on assets, leverage, board-specific skills, and the number of employees. To control for country-level factors, GDP is applied. The regression also applies fixed effects for year and sector.   The data analyses are done with two robust and one standard GLS model with random effects, where the regression analyses are divided into two parts. Part I combines Swedish and US Large Cap companies, and Part II separates the two countries. The results for Part I show no significant relationship between ESG score and either board gender diversity, the critical mass, inclusion or CEO duality. The degree of board independence shows a significant positive effect on ESG scores. Part II conveys that there are fundamental differences between Sweden and the US. For example, while board independence shows a significant positive relationship in Sweden, it presents a non-significant negative relationship in the US. In addition, GDP shows significance in both models indicating that country-level factors matter, and it is evident that the explanatory power of the regressions differ. Thus, it is evermore likely that other factors, such as national culture, potentially impact companies’ corporate social responsibility.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka huruvida det förekommer skillnader mellan anglosaxiska och kontinentaleuropeiska företag gällande goodwillnedskrivningar och vilka kulturella dimensioner (Hofstede) som är signifikanta för företagens nedskrivningstendenser.  Metod: Studien använder en deduktiv ansats med fastställda hypoteser formulerade från tidigare forskning. Där signifikansen har undersökts med hjälp av en multipel regressionsanalys för att kunna fastställa om en hypotes accepteras eller förkastas.   Empiri: Empirin består av kvantitativ data insamlad från årsredovisningar hämtade från företag listade på respektive lands aktiemarknad.   Slutsats: Resultatet från studien har kunnat dra slutsatserna att det finns ett kulturellt inflytande inom osäkerhetsundvikande, individualism, maskulinitet och tillfredsställande. Dessutom kan resultaten påvisa att kontinentaleuropeiska företag skriver ned goodwill mer frekvent medan anglosaxiska företag skriver ned med större summor. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine whether there are differences between Anglo-Saxon and Continental European companies within goodwill impairments and which cultural dimensions (Hofstede) that are significant for the companies impairment tendencies.  Methodology: The study employs a deductive approach with predetermined hypotheses formulated based on prior research. The significance has been examined through multiple regression analysis to determine whether a hypothesis is accepted or rejected. Empirical foundation: The empirical data consists of quantitative data from annual reports obtained from companies listed on the stock indices of their respective countries.  Conclusion: The study’s findings have led to the conclusion that there is a cultural influence within dimensions such as uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity and indulgence. Furthermore, the results indicate that Continental European companies tend to impair goodwill more frequently, while Anglo-Saxon companies impair with larger amounts.

This thesis explores the strategic considerations for the international expansion of family-owned professional development companies in Central European markets, specifically Germany, Poland, Austria, and Slovakia. The study integrates multiple theoretical perspectives such as the Resource-Based View of the firm, Eclectic Paradigm, Institutional Theory, and Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory with empirical data on the markets in question to identify the most relevant factors that aid in the location choice decision-making. Multi-criteria decision Analysis was used in this research to assess various criteria such as market size, economic stability, cultural compatibility, competitors and revenue potential. Furthermore, regression analysis was carried out to test the optimal number of cultural dimensions to be included in the analysis. The results showed that Germany was the most attractive location followed by Austria, Poland, and Slovakia. Market size, economic stability, and cultural compatibility was found to be in alignment with the resource advantages strategies highlighted by the Resource Based View. The results provide a comprehensive framework for choosing the optimal criteria for country selection decisions for expansion which are robust and based on empirical market data and therefore should aid family-owned professional development companies to successfully expand into highly competitive international markets.

Titel: Kulturens modererande effekter på sambandet mellan CSR och CFP Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Ferdous Foroughi och Shabab Hasan Handledare: Jan Svanberg Datum: 2019 - juni Syfte: Företagens sociala ansvar (CSR) har utvecklats till ett viktigt ämne både för företag och dess intressenter. Varierande resultat gällande effekten av CSR-insatser på företagsprestanda har tidigare rapporterats. Tidigare studier undersöker och fokuserar på en liten del av CSR med många olösta teoretiska och empiriska frågor till följd av detta. Det har även visats att kultur påverkar beslutsfattandet i synnerhet i relation till CSR. Syftet är därmed att undersöka om nationell kultur har modererande effekter på sambandet mellan CSR och finansiell prestation (CFP) hos börsnoterade bolag i världen.   Metod: Studiens vetenskapsteoretiska utgångspunkt är positivism med hypotetiskt-deduktiv ansats. En kvantitativ forskningsstrategi används för 3230 börsnoterade företag med data från en femårsperiod 2013 - 2017. Datan baseras på sekundärdata inhämtad från Thomson Reuters Eikon, Världsbanken och Hofstedes kulturindex, vilken analyserats med univariata och bivariata statistiska tester samt multipla regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet IBM SPSS Statistics. Resultat & slutsats: Det finns ett positivt samband mellan CSR och CFP. Nationella kulturer har modererande effekter på det sambandet. Genom att använda Hofstedes kulturdimensioner har det visats att maktdistans (PD), osäkerhetsundvikande (UAI), maskulinitet (MAS) och långtidsorientering (LTO) har negativ modererande effekter, medan individualism (IDV) och tillfredsställelse (IND) har positiv modererande effekter på sambandet mellan CSP och CFP. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar med ny kunskap för att fylla forskningsgapet gällande nationella kulturers modererande effekter på sambandet mellan CSR och finansiell prestation. Studien bidrar på ett värdefullt sätt till både tidigare teori och empiri samt lyfter fram nationella kulturers påverkande roll för företagens finansiella prestation. Förslag till vidare forskning: Det behövs flera liknande studier med andra variabler som kontrollerar och analyserar sambandet. Vidare föreslår vi också att genomföra en liknande studie som även inkluderar icke-börsnoterade bolag, för att omfatta flera länder och dessutom en längre tidsperiod än fem år för att se om nationella kulturer påverkar sambandet på ett annat sätt. Nyckelord:Corporate social responsibility, corporate social performance, corporate financial performance, nationell kultur, Hofstedes kulturdimensionsteori. / Title: Culture’s moderating effects on the relationship between CSR and CFP Level: Student thesis for Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration Authors: Ferdous Foroughi och Shabab Hasan Supervisor: Jan Svanberg Date: 2019 - june Aim: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been developed to become an important subject for both corporates and their stakeholders. Varying results have been reported regarding the effect of CSR initiatives. Prior studies investigate and focus on a small part of CSR with following unresolved theoretical and empirical questions. It has also been shown that culture affects decision making, particularly in relation to CSR. The aim of this study is hence to investigate whether national culture has moderating effects on the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP) among listed corporations in the world. Method: A positive research methodology has been applied with a hypothetical-deductive approach. A quantitative research strategy is used for 3230 listed corporations with data from a five-year time period 2013 - 2017. Data is based on secondary data from Thomson Reuters Eikon, World Bank and Hofstedes cultural index, which were analyzed with univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses in the statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics. Result & Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between CSR and CFP. National cultures have moderating effects on that correlation. Using Hofstede's cultural dimensions, it has been shown that power distance (PD), uncertainty avoidance index (UAI), masculinity (MAS) and long-term orientation (LTO) have negative moderating effects, while individualism (IDV) and indulgence (IND) have positive moderating effects on the relationship between CSP and CFP. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes with new knowledge to fill the research gap regarding national cultures’ moderating effects on the relationship between CSR and financial performance. The study contributes in an insightful way to both prior theory and empirical data and emphasizes the role of national cultures on the corporates’ financial performance. Suggestion for future research: Several similar studies are needed with other variables that control and analyze the relationship. Furthermore, we also propose to carry out a similar study that also includes non-listed companies, to include several countries and, moreover, a longer time period than five years to see if national cultures affect the relationship in another way. Keywords:Corporate social responsibility, corporate social performance, corporate financial performance, national culture, Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory.

La présente thèse de doctorat porte sur les processus internes au sein des équipes de travail pluriculturelles. Cette thèse se compose de trois articles et propose, d’une part, une mesure validée des valeurs culturelles au niveau individuel en langue française et, d’autre part, une mesure du degré d’homogénéité culturelle au sein des équipes de travail (ci-après ÉT). En outre, elle se penche sur la vérification empirique des nombreux liens entre l’homogénéité culturelle et les processus internes au sein des ÉT postulés par les auteurs mais jamais vérifiés empiriquement. Le premier article a pour but de faire le point sur la documentation scientifique concernant les équipes de travail pluriculturelles. Il présente une recension de la documentation portant sur ce type d’équipe, notamment l’impact présumé de la culture sur les comportements d’équipier, et les effets de la diversité culturelle sur la performance de l’équipe et sur ses processus internes. Le deuxième article, quant à lui, a pour objectif de valider la mesure des dimensions culturelles de Hofstede (1980, 1991, 1994) sur une base individuelle et en langue française. Cette étude a été réalisée en adaptant deux questionnaires, l’un développé par Hellmann (2000) et mesurant les dimensions culturelles de distance hiérarchique, de masculinité, de contrôle de l’incertitude et de collectivisme, et le second développé par Bearden, Money et Nevins (2006) et mesurant la dimension d’orientation à long terme. L’échantillon se compose de 453 répondants tous étudiants dans des programmes de baccalauréat à l’Université de Montréal et à l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Les résultats des deux analyses factorielles exploratoires effectuées ont fait ressortir sept facteurs distincts expliquant 41.6% de la variance pour le premier questionnaire et 61.6% de la variance pour le second. La composition de l’échantillon n’a pas permis de conduire d’analyse de variance afin de vérifier s’il se trouvait des différences significatives entre les différents groupes culturels de l’échantillon à l’étude, et ce, pour chacune des dimensions culturelles. Les limites de la recherche ainsi que des suggestions de recherches futures sont proposées. Enfin, le troisième article se penche sur les liens, postulés par de nombreux auteurs mais jamais confirmés empiriquement, entre l’homogénéité culturelle dans les équipes et les processus internes de l’équipe en termes de comportements productifs et de comportements contre-productifs. Afin d’étudier cette réalité, l’instrumentation de Hofstede (1980, 1991), conçue pour capter des différences au niveau des nations, a été opérationnalisée au niveau des individus (Temimi, Savoie et Duguay, 2008) et mis en relation avec les processus internes se déroulant au sein de l’équipe (Duguay, Temimi et Savoie, 2008; Rousseau, 2003; Temimi et Savoie, 2007). Cette étude a été réalisée auprès de 67 équipes variant en termes d’homogénéité culturelle. Les résultats indiquent que le degré d’homogénéité culturelle global s’avère positivement relié aux comportements productifs de l’équipe et négativement relié aux comportements contre-productifs. De plus, le degré d’homogénéité de la dimension culturelle de féminité ressort négativement relié aux comportements contre-productifs de flânerie sociale et de domination. / This doctoral thesis focuses on internal processes within multicultural teams. It consists of three articles and proposes a validated measure of cultural values at the individual level in French but also a measure of the degree of cultural homogeneity within teams. In addition, it analyzes the empirical examination of the many links between cultural homogeneity and internal processes within teams that several authors postulated but never empirically verified. The objective of the first article is to present a review of the documentation concerning multicultural teams including the alleged impact of culture on team members’ behaviours and effects of cultural diversity on team performance and internal processes. The second article, aims at validating the measurement of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (1980, 1991, 1994) at the individual level and in French. This study was achieved by adapting two questionnaires, one developed by Hellmann (2000) and measuring the cultural dimensions of power distance, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and collectivism, and the second developed by Bearden, Money and Nevins (2006) and measuring the dimension of long-term orientation. The sample consists of 453 students in degree programs at l’Université de Montréal and l’Université du Québec à Montreal. Results of both exploratory factor analyses conducted have revealed seven distinct factors explaining 41.6% of variance in the first questionnaire and 61.6% of variance in the second. The composition of the sample failed to conduct analysis of variance to see if there were significant differences between different cultural groups in the sample under study and for each of the cultural dimensions. Research limitations and suggestions for future research are also presented. The third article examines the links, postulated by many authors but never confirmed empirically, between cultural homogeneity in teams and internal processes of the team in terms of productive behaviours and counterproductive behaviours. To investigate these links, the questionnaire of Hofstede (1980, 1991) designed to capture differences at a national level has been adapted to the individual level (Temimi, Savoie et Duguay, 2008) and linked with internal processes taking place within teams (Duguay, Temimi et Savoie, 2008; Rousseau, 2003; Temimi et Savoie, 2007). This study was conducted among 67 teams. Results indicate that the overall degree of cultural homogeneity is positively related to productive team behaviours and negatively related to counterproductive behaviours. Moreover, the degree of homogeneity of the cultural dimension of femininity appears negatively related to counterproductive behaviours of social loafing and domination.

Syfte: International Standards on Auditing (ISA) är ett ramverk för revision som introducerats för att öka revisionskvaliteten globalt. Övergången till ISA ökar kontinuerligt bland världens länder. En bidragande orsak är att EU har antagit övergången i det åttonde bolagsrättsliga direktivet. Trots fördelarna råder ett visst motstånd mot ISA i delar av världen. Med stöd från tidigare litteratur antar vi att detta kan förklaras av kulturella skillnader, medlemskap i EU, skillnader av legalt system och marknadens orientering, samt storlek på ekonomin. Arbetets syfte är att undersöka om dessa faktorer påverkar den globala spridningen av ISA.   Metod: Vi har inkluderat 60 länder i vår studie. De variabler som har undersökts för varje nation är: Hofstedes kulturella variabler, EU-medlemskap, BNP, legalt system samt ekonomisk inriktning. Sekundärdata har samlats in från allmänt accepterade källor. Insamlade data har sedan bearbetats med statistiska metoder.   Resultat och slutsats: Resultaten från vår studie har visat att Hofstedes kulturella faktorer inte har samband med antagandet av ISA. Endast ett fåtal av de övriga variablerna visade signifikans med antagandet, nämligen EU-medlemskap och BNP. EU är därmed en viktig faktor för övergången till ISA. Variabeln EU visade ett signifikant samband med Hofstedes kulturella variabler. Det råder därmed kulturella skillnader mellan länderna inom och utanför EU, som i sin tur har påverkan på antagandet av ISA. Vår slutsats är att EU-medlemskap och storlek på ekonomin har påverkan på ländernas benägenhet för att anta ISA.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studiens komplexitet gör att det finns möjligheter att göra större fördjupningar med fler och annorlunda mätvariabler. Det finns även möjlighet till liknande studier av hur kulturella faktorer påverkar övergången till andra internationella ramverk inom finansiell rapportering.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Föreliggande undersökning lämnar ett unikt bidrag till redovisningslitteraturen genom att vara den första studien att undersöka den internationella spridningen av revisionsstandarder i form av ISA och bidra till minskning av informationskostnader för företag runt om i världen. / Aim: International Standards on Auditing (ISA) is a framework introduced to improve auditing quality globally. Adoption of ISA is increasing continuously around the world. An essential contributing factor is the accepting of the Eighth Company Law Directive by the EU. However, the ISA adoption is far from been accepted by all countries; despite its obvious advantages. Prior work identifies cultural differences, EU-membership, size of economy, and differences in legal systems and market orientation as key factors in this adoption process. The study aims to examine if these factors influence global spreading of ISA.   Method: Our study includes 60 countries. The variables that have been introduced for each country are: Hofstede’s cultural variables, membership in the EU, GDP, type of legal system and economics. Secondary data were collected from generally accepted sources. The collected data were then analyzed using statistical methods.   Result and conclusions: The results of our study have shown that Hofstede’s cultural factors are not associated with ISA adoption. Only few other variables have shown significance with the hypothesis. These variables are EU-membership and GDP. Therefore, EU is an important factor for ISA adoption. Variable EU has shown significance with Hofstede’s cultural factors. This proves cultural differences between EU and other countries, which in turn influences ISA adoption. Our conclusion is that EU-membership and economy size influence inclination to ISA-adoption.   Suggestions for future research: The study's complexity gives opportunities to make future extensions by adding more variables. It is possible to conduct similar studies of cultural influence on the adoption of other international frameworks within financial reporting.   Contribution of the thesis: Our research makes a unique contribution to the accounting literature by being the first study to examine the international spreading of auditing standards in form of ISA and contributing to reducing information costs in the companies all around the world.