Focus: National culture models, macro-level frameworks and cross-cultural theory building.
Reading list 1 for the Brain Profile Matrix, organized into five main themes, each subdivided into specific sub-themes. For every (sub)theme the most prominent authors from the list have been grouped together.
1. Cross-Cultural Psychology & National Culture Models
This cluster forms the theoretical foundation for how culture is defined, measured and compared at the macro level.
Macro-level frameworks and cultural dimensions
Research into the major systems used to classify national cultures (such as individualism vs. collectivism, power distance, etc.).
- Hofstede (1980, 1991, 2001, 2010); Hofstede & Bond (1988); Hofstede & Minkov (2010) — Pioneering work and updates on the software of the mind.
- Schwartz (1990, 1992, 2012) — Theory of basic values as an alternative to, and complement of, Hofstede.
- Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (2001); Trompenaars & Woolliams (2003) — Cultural dimensions in the business context.
- House et al. / Project GLOBE (2002); Javidan & House (2001) — Large-scale research into culture and leadership prototypes.
- Inglehart & Baker (2000) — Modernization and the persistence of traditional values.
Cross-cultural theory and methodology
Literature that takes a critical view of how we study culture psychologically (for example the tension between emic (context-specific) and etic (universal) research).
- Berry et al. (2011) — Handbook of cross-cultural psychology.
- Helfrich (1999); Pike (1967); Morris et al. (1999) — The emic/etic dilemma and questions of fairness.
- Triandis (1996, 2002); Triandis & Suh (2002) — Cultural syndromes and subjective culture.
- Erez & Gati (2004) — A dynamic, multilevel model of culture (from micro to macro).
- Hermans & Kempen (1998) — Critique of rigid cultural dichotomies in a globalizing world.
2. Personality, Cognition and Thinking Styles in Cultural Context
This theme zooms in on the micro level: how individual psychological traits, brain preferences and cognitive styles relate to culture.
The universality of the Big Five (and HEXACO) across cultures
Research into whether personality traits are universally genetically determined or shaped by culture (often using twin studies).
- Costa, McCrae & Terracciano (2001); McCrae & Costa (1997, 2010) — The universality of the Big Five and gender differences.
- Ashton & Lee (2004, 2005) — Introduction of the six-factor model (HEXACO) through psycholexical studies.
- Bouchard & McGue (2003); Jang et al. (1996); Riemann et al. (1997); Yamagata et al. (2006) — Genetic vs. environmental influences on personality.
- Cheung et al. (1996, 2011); Church (2010) — Indigenous personality measures (such as the Chinese CPAI).
Cognitive styles, brain preferences and self-perception
Literature that examines how people think, process information and view themselves.
- Allinson & Hayes (2000) — International differences in cognitive styles for management.
- Browning (2006); Williams (2014) — Emergenetics: combining thinking preferences and behavioral styles.
- Epperson (2007) — The effect of thinking preferences on group performance.
- Zhang (2001, 2002) — Research into thinking styles in relation to personality.
- Bem (1972) — Self-perception theory.
3. Organizational Behavior, Team Diversity and Inclusive Leadership
This cluster brings culture and psychology to the workplace. How do (diverse) teams function, and what role does leadership play?
Team composition, diversity and group dynamics
How do cognitive and cultural diversity affect the decision-making and effectiveness of teams?
- Jackson, May & Whitney (1995); Jackson (1992) — The dynamics of diversity in decision-making teams.
- Milliken & Martins (1996) — The dual effects of diversity in organizational groups (the "common threads").
- Williams & O'Reilly (1998) — Demography and diversity in organizations (review work).
- Levine & Moreland (1990); Rousseau, Aubé & Savoie (2006) — Group dynamics and the integration of teamwork behavior.
Organizational culture versus organizational climate
- Schein (1990, 1996, 2010) — The absolute foundational literature on the layers of organizational culture and leadership.
- Denison (1996) — The historical paradigm debate between culture (deep) and climate (surface).
- James & Jones (1974) — Theory and research on organizational climate.
- Škerlavaj et al. (2006) — Organizational learning culture and company performance.
Leadership in cross-cultural perspective
- Brodbeck (2000) — Cultural variation in leadership prototypes across Europe.
- Jung, Chow & Wu (2003) — Transformational leadership and organizational innovation.
- Kirkman et al. (2009) — How power distance shapes the response to transformational leaders.
4. Intercultural Communication, Negotiation and Strategic Alliances
This theme focuses on the interaction between organizations and individuals from different cultures, specifically in alliances and innovation.
Cross-border strategic alliances and joint ventures
Why do international mergers and collaborations fail or succeed on the basis of culture?
- Barkema & Vermeulen (1997) — Which cultural differences are harmful to international joint ventures?
- Sirmon & Lane (2004) — A model of cultural differences and the performance of international alliances.
- Ulijn, Duysters & Meijer/Fevre (2010); Eppink, Ulijn & van der Heijden (2010) — Culture and perception in strategic alliances.
- Mohr & Spekman (1994) — Characteristics of successful partnerships.
- Zoogah, Vora, Richard & Peng (2011) — Diversity and effectiveness in alliance teams.
Intercultural communication and business negotiations
- Adair, Buchan & Chen (2009) — Conceptualizing culture as communication.
- Ulijn & St. Amant (2000); Ulijn & Kumar (2000) — Technical and intercultural communication (including between Europe and Asia).
- Lin & Miller (2003); Zhu & Sun (2004) — Direct and indirect effects of national culture on negotiations.
- Varner & Beamer (2015) — Intercultural communication in the global workplace.
- Park & Luo (2001) — Research into "Guanxi" (networks/relationships) in Chinese firms.
Innovation culture (Corporate & Professional)
- Ulijn & Weggeman (2001); Ulijn, Nagel & Tan (2007) — The impact of national, corporate and professional cultures on innovation.
- Menzel, Aaltio & Ulijn (2007); van Brussel (2012) — Engineers as intrapreneurs and the development of intrapreneurship.
- Dai, Gurău & Ranchhod (2006); Rasmussen (2003) — Open innovation in the (bio)pharmaceutical industry and business models.
5. Attitude Theory, Behavior and Methodological Validity
This cluster contains the social-psychological foundational literature on how attitudes predict behavior, combined with methodological sources on qualitative/quantitative research.
Attitude–behavior relationships (social-psychological basis)
- Ajzen (1991); Fishbein & Ajzen (1975) — The Theory of Planned Behavior (the basis for how intention leads to behavior).
- Ajzen & Fishbein (2005); Bohner & Dickel (2011); Eagly & Chaiken (1993) — Handbooks on attitudes and attitude change.
- Sheeran (2002) — Meta-analysis of the relationship between intention and behavior.
Methodology and research biases
Sources used to justify the validity of one's own research and to correct for measurement error.
- Yin (2009) — The ultimate authority in the field of case study research.
- Silverman (2011) — Handbooks for conducting and interpreting qualitative research.
- Tashakkori & Teddlie (2003) — Mixed methods research (combining quantitative and qualitative).
- Donaldson & Grant-Vallone (2002); Zerbe & Paulhus (1987); Paulhus (1986) — Research into self-report bias and socially desirable responding in organizational research.
Rationale for the multilevel structure
1. You begin with the macro-level theories of culture (Theme 1).
2. You extend this to how the individual is biologically and cognitively wired (Theme 2).
3. You then apply this to the dynamics within teams and organizations (Theme 3).
4. Next you examine the interaction between organizations (alliances/negotiations) and how this drives innovation (Theme 4).
5. And you conclude with the hard psychological regularities and methodological justification (Theme 5).