The Influence of National Culture on Differences in Organizational Culture Values

Abstract

Recent research suggests that certain life-altering events, such as relocation, may cause an individual‘s personal values to adapt to match those of the new situation or local culture. This thesis was designed to provide a theoretical argument and empirical support for the hypothesis that following relocation, the values an individual considers most attractive in an organization will match those values common in the expatriate‘s host country, rather than home country. A secondary goal of this thesis was to provide cross-cultural validation of the LOCS. Several of the shortened LOCS dimensions were found to be replicable across cultures, though others produced inconsistent factor loadings. As a whole, the shortened LOCS predicted job satisfaction and subjective fit, but not active job search behaviors. No pattern of significant differences was found between expatriates‘ ideal, current, host, and home country values, though moderation analyses suggest this effect may not be as direct as hypothesized.