Do Anglo countries still form a values cluster? Evidence of the complexity of value change

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Abstract

To what extent does the Anglo Cluster remains a cultural cluster in today's managerial and professional workforce? Across six Anglo countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, U.K., and U.S.), we found significant differences in values orientations (openness to change, conservation, self-enhancement, and self-transcendence values) that challenge the concept of a cohesive Anglo cluster. We also explored the influence of micro-level factors on values orientations and found consistent life-stage and gender differences across countries. We conclude that, even within a group of countries perceived as similar, multi-level analyses are needed to fully capture the essence of values differences across and within countries.

Introduction

The Anglo countries, primarily a product of British colonialism, are dispersed around the globe. Based on an analysis of research conducted over three decades (1960s to early 1980s), Ronen and Shenkar (1985) designated Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, U.K., and the U.S. as a ‘cultural cluster.’ Recent studies have also concluded that these countries constitute an Anglo cluster with variation regarding post-apartheid South Africa. South Africa has been identified as part of an Africa cluster (e.g., Inglehart and Welzel, 2005, Schwartz, 2006). The GLOBE study's ethnic segmentation approach identified that black South Africans belonged to an Africa cluster whereas the small minority of white South Africans remains in the Anglo cluster (Ashkanasay, Trevor-Roberts, & Earnshaw, 2002).

A review of the macro-level characteristics across the Anglo countries indicates that with the exception of South Africa, this group of countries is substantially similar. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, U.K., and U.S. score high on democratization, economic development level, and technological sophistication (see Table 1). However, countries such as Germany and Japan could also fit into this typology of macro-level predictors. What has led to the clustering view for this group of Anglo countries can be summarized by the intersection in their histories. All were part of the historic British Empire, all are English-speaking, and all have Protestantism as their religious base (Smith & Schwartz, 1997). While these commonalities have been the prime reason for the Anglo countries being designated a cluster, changes in country contexts due to an array of external influences emanating from global business practices (Steel & Taras, 2010) raises the question: Are these countries still a cultural values cluster? An answer will provide a 21st century conceptualization of the Anglo country relationships.

Arguments that cross-cultural values similarities and differences are determined by both macro and micro factors (e.g., Au and Cheung, 2004, Steel and Taras, 2010) call for a more comprehensive investigation to include micro, as well as macro, influences on cultural values formation (Tung & Verbeke, 2010). Previous research has highlighted the significance of micro-level factors, such as age and gender, in explaining values differences within and across societies (e.g., Ralston et al., 2009, Setterson and Mayer, 1997, Steel and Taras, 2010). At the individual-level, age and gender are important influences on personal values orientations, whereas at the societal-level, these are common demographics by which institutions (e.g., family, educational, and occupational) are organized (LaFontaine, 1978). Accordingly, our second research question is: Does investigating micro-level factors provide additional insights regarding value orientations among the Anglo-cluster countries?

Our investigation of these two research questions offers new insights as well provide a more viable foundation for contemporary cross-cultural research (Steel & Taras, 2010). In sum, this study's contributions to the international management literature are twofold. First, we provide current empirical evidence regarding values similarities and differences among the Anglo countries. Second, we determine whether micro-level influences on values orientations provide empirical evidence of similarities and/or differences across these countries. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. First, the theoretical background of values measurement, cultural values of Anglo cluster countries, and the effect of micro-level variables are presented to formulate research hypotheses. We then present the research methodology followed by study results. We conclude with a discussion of findings, research limitations, and identify implications for future research.

Section snippets

Measuring values

Much of earlier comparative analyses of cultural values have been conducted at the country level. Rokeach (1973) advocated the importance of capturing uniqueness of personal values and proposed that cultural values be measured at the individual level. Schwartz's (1994) integrative theory of values was an important step in the development of values theory, and his instrument- Schwartz Values Survey (SVS) is considered to be a rigorous measure of values at the individual-level (Sawyerr, Strauss,

Sample

Our study consisted of 1057 managers/professionals from Australia (n = 153), Anglo-Canada (n = 256), New Zealand (n = 91), South Africa (n = 132), the U.K. (n = 237), and the U.S. (n = 188). Participants responded to a mail survey conducted in 2002–2003 for Australia, Canada, South Africa, U.K., and U.S.A., and in 2009 for New Zealand. The average response rate was 23%, with all countries exceeding 15%, which is comparable to questionnaire survey response rates in international business research (Yang,

Results

As reported in Table 4, the MANCOVA showed significant effects for country (Wilks λ = .87, F = 6.71, p < .001), life-stage (Wilks λ = .93, F = 18.42, p < .001), and gender (Wilks λ = .93, F = 17.33, p < .001). The country-by-life-stage (Wilks λ = .97, F = 1.39) and the country-by-gender (Wilks λ = .97, F = 1.35) interactions were not significant overall. In addition, there were significant effects for the covariates of education (Wilks λ = .95, F = 11.37, p < .001) and position level (Wilks λ = .97, F = 5.83, p < .001).

Discussion and conclusions

We began this study by asking two questions. One, are the Anglo countries still a values-cluster? Two, does investigating micro-level factors assist in understanding values orientations across the Anglo countries? This study addresses these questions in a number of respects.

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