IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/manint/v59y2019i3d10.1007_s11575-019-00378-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why We Should Stop Using the Kogut and Singh Index

Author

Listed:
  • Palitha Konara

    (University of Sussex)

  • Alexander Mohr

    (Vienna University of Economics and Business)

Abstract

The Kogut and Singh (J Int Bus Stud 19(3):411–432, 1988) index is the most widely used construct to measure cultural distance in international business and management research. We show that this index is incorrectly specified and captures the squared cultural distance. This inaccuracy is problematic because it means that the empirical findings on the effects of cultural distance presented in different strands of international business research are likely to be misleading. We specify the correct form of the distance measure based on the Euclidean distance formula and demonstrate the implications of using the incorrectly specified Kogut and Singh (1988) index.

Suggested Citation

  • Palitha Konara & Alexander Mohr, 2019. "Why We Should Stop Using the Kogut and Singh Index," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 335-354, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:manint:v:59:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11575-019-00378-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11575-019-00378-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11575-019-00378-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11575-019-00378-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Srilata Zaheer & Margaret Spring Schomaker & Lilach Nachum, 2012. "Distance without direction: Restoring credibility to a much-loved construct," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(1), pages 18-27, January.
    2. Beamish, Paul W. & Kachra, Ariff, 2004. "Number of partners and JV performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 107-120, May.
    3. Oded Shenkar, 2001. "Cultural Distance Revisited: Towards a More Rigorous Conceptualization and Measurement of Cultural Differences," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(3), pages 519-535, September.
    4. Mohr, Alex & Wang, Chengang & Goerzen, Anthony, 2016. "The impact of partner diversity within multiparty international joint ventures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 883-894.
    5. Richard F. J. Haans & Constant Pieters & Zi-Lin He, 2016. "Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U- and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1177-1195, July.
    6. Anne-Wil Harzing & Markus Pudelko, 2016. "Do We Need to Distance Ourselves from the Distance Concept? Why Home and Host Country Context Might Matter More Than (Cultural) Distance," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 1-34, February.
    7. Jody Evans & Felix T Mavondo, 2002. "Psychic Distance and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Examination of International Retailing Operations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(3), pages 515-532, September.
    8. Malhotra, Shavin & Sivakumar, K. & Zhu, PengCheng, 2011. "Curvilinear relationship between cultural distance and equity participation: An empirical analysis of cross-border acquisitions," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 316-332.
    9. Thomas Hutzschenreuter & Johannes C. Voll & Alain Verbeke, 2011. "The Impact of Added Cultural Distance and Cultural Diversity on International Expansion Patterns: A Penrosean Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 305-329, March.
    10. Hutzschenreuter, Thomas & Kleindienst, Ingo & Lange, Sandra, 2014. "Added Psychic Distance Stimuli and MNE Performance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 38-54.
    11. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    12. Pamela Tremain Koch & Bradley Koch & Tanya Menon & Oded Shenkar, 2016. "Cultural friction in leadership beliefs and foreign-invested enterprise survival," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(4), pages 453-470, May.
    13. Laszlo Tihanyi & David A Griffith & Craig J Russell, 2005. "The effect of cultural distance on entry mode choice, international diversification, and MNE performance: a meta-analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(3), pages 270-283, May.
    14. Bradley L Kirkman & Kevin B Lowe & Cristina B Gibson, 2006. "A quarter century of Culture's Consequences: a review of empirical research incorporating Hofstede's cultural values framework," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(3), pages 285-320, May.
    15. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Björn Ambos & Phillip C Nell, 2018. "Conceptualizing and measuring distance in international business research: Recurring questions and best practice guidelines," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(9), pages 1113-1137, December.
    16. Christian Schwens & Julia Eiche & Ruediger Kabst, 2011. "The Moderating Impact of Informal Institutional Distance and Formal Institutional Risk on SME Entry Mode Choice," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 330-351, March.
    17. Ilya R P Cuypers & Gokhan Ertug & Pursey P M A R Heugens & Bruce Kogut & Tengjian Zou, 2018. "The making of a construct: Lessons from 30 years of the Kogut and Singh cultural distance index," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(9), pages 1138-1153, December.
    18. Hongxin Zhao & Yadong Luo & Taewon Suh, 2004. "Transaction cost determinants and ownership-based entry mode choice: a meta-analytical review," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(6), pages 524-544, November.
    19. Kandogan, Yener, 2012. "An improvement to Kogut and Singh measure of cultural distance considering the relationship among different dimensions of culture," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 196-203.
    20. Rosalie L Tung & Alain Verbeke, 2010. "Beyond Hofstede and GLOBE: Improving the quality of cross-cultural research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(8), pages 1259-1274, October.
    21. Lance Eliot Brouthers & Victor B Marshall & Dawn L Keig, 2016. "Solving the single-country sample problem in cultural distance studies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(4), pages 471-479, May.
    22. Robbert Maseland & Douglas Dow & Piers Steel, 2018. "The Kogut and Singh national cultural distance index: Time to start using it as a springboard rather than a crutch," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(9), pages 1154-1166, December.
    23. Gabriel R G Benito & Geir Gripsrud, 1992. "The Expansion of Foreign Direct Investments: Discrete Rational Location Choices or a Cultural Learning Process?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(3), pages 461-476, September.
    24. Heather Berry & Mauro F Guillén & Nan Zhou, 2010. "An institutional approach to cross-national distance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(9), pages 1460-1480, December.
    25. Oded Shenkar, 2012. "Beyond cultural distance: Switching to a friction lens in the study of cultural differences," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(1), pages 12-17, January.
    26. Piero Morosini & Scott Shane & Harbir Singh, 1998. "National Cultural Distance and Cross-Border Acquisition Performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 29(1), pages 137-158, March.
    27. Robert Salomon & Zheying Wu, 2012. "Institutional distance and local isomorphism strategy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(4), pages 343-367, May.
    28. Morschett, Dirk & Schramm-Klein, Hanna & Swoboda, Bernhard, 2010. "Decades of research on market entry modes: What do we really know about external antecedents of entry mode choice?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 60-77, March.
    29. Thomas Hutzschenreuter & Johannes C Voll, 2008. "Performance effects of “added cultural distance” in the path of international expansion: the case of German multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(1), pages 53-70, January.
    30. Ivan M Manev & William B Stevenson, 2001. "Nationality, Cultural Distance, and Expatriate Status: Effects on the Managerial Network in a Multinational Enterprise," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(2), pages 285-303, June.
    31. Magnusson, Peter & Baack, Daniel W. & Zdravkovic, Srdan & Staub, Karin M. & Amine, Lyn S., 2008. "Meta-analysis of cultural differences: Another slice at the apple," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 520-532, October.
    32. Keith D Brouthers & Lance Eliot Brouthers, 2001. "Explaining the National Cultural Distance Paradox," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(1), pages 177-189, March.
    33. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Tatiana Kostova & Vincent E. Kunst & Ettore Spadafora & Marc van Essen, 2018. "Cultural Distance and Firm Internationalization," Post-Print hal-02312065, HAL.
    34. Taco H Reus & Bruce T Lamont, 2009. "The double-edged sword of cultural distance in international acquisitions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(8), pages 1298-1316, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Matthias Jan Mrożewski & Daphne Hering, 2023. "What makes migrants more entrepreneurial? Investigating the role of cultural distance and human capital," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 151-176, March.
    2. Oded Shenkar & Stephen B Tallman & Hao Wang & Jie Wu, 2022. "National culture and international business: A path forward," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(3), pages 516-533, April.
    3. Konara, Palitha & Mohr, Alex, 2023. "Cultural bridging and the performance of international joint ventures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    4. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Garrido, Elisabet & Maicas, Juan P., 2020. "The effect of informal and formal institutions on foreign market entry selection and performance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(2).
    5. Gaétan de Rassenfosse & Reza Hosseini, 2020. "Discrimination against foreigners in the U.S. patent system," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 349-366, December.
    6. Gaétan de Rassenfosse & Reza Hosseini, 0. "Discrimination against foreigners in the U.S. patent system," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-18.
    7. Liou, Ru-Shiun & Faifman, Leon & Ellis, Kimberly, 2023. "Navigating political risk: Protectionism and ownership strategy in cross-border M&As," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    8. Yayla, Serdar & Kutlubay, Omer Cem & Cicek, Mesut & Yeniyurt, Sengun, 2023. "Once upon a time in a foreign market: The role of cultural distance in the economic performance of multilateral non-equity partnerships," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    9. Areneke, Geofry & Adegbite, Emmanuel & Tunyi, Abongeh, 2022. "Transfer of corporate governance practices into weak emerging market environments by foreign institutional investors," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5).
    10. Nguyen, Ha Thi Thu & Larimo, Jorma & Ghauri, Pervez, 2022. "Understanding foreign divestment: The impacts of economic and political friction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 675-691.
    11. Koveshnikov, Alexei & Lehtonen, Miikka J. & Wechtler, Heidi, 2022. "Expatriates on the run: The psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on expatriates’ host country withdrawal intentions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    12. Contractor, Farok J. & Nuruzzaman, N. & Dangol, Ramesh & Raghunath, S., 2021. "How FDI Inflows to Emerging Markets Are Influenced by Country Regulatory Factors: An Exploratory Study," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Björn Ambos & Phillip C Nell, 2018. "Conceptualizing and measuring distance in international business research: Recurring questions and best practice guidelines," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(9), pages 1113-1137, December.
    2. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Tatiana Kostova & Vincent E. Kunst & Ettore Spadafora & Marc van Essen, 2018. "Cultural Distance and Firm Internationalization," Post-Print hal-02312065, HAL.
    3. Oded Shenkar & Stephen B Tallman & Hao Wang & Jie Wu, 2022. "National culture and international business: A path forward," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(3), pages 516-533, April.
    4. Bruyaka, Olga & Prange, Christiane, 2020. "International cultural ambidexterity: Balancing tensions of foreign market entry into distant and proximate cultures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 491-506.
    5. Tatiana Kostova & Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & W. Richard Scott & Vincent E. Kunst & Chei Hwee Chua & Marc Essen, 2020. "The construct of institutional distance through the lens of different institutional perspectives: Review, analysis, and recommendations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 467-497, June.
    6. Robbert Maseland & Douglas Dow & Piers Steel, 2018. "The Kogut and Singh national cultural distance index: Time to start using it as a springboard rather than a crutch," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(9), pages 1154-1166, December.
    7. Yeganeh, Hamid, 2014. "A Weighted, Mahalanobian, and Asymmetrical Approach to Calculating National Cultural Distance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 436-463.
    8. Srivastava, Saurabh & Singh, Shiwangi & Dhir, Sanjay, 2020. "Culture and International business research: A review and research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4).
    9. Goudarz Azar & Rian Drogendijk, 2019. "Ex-post Performance Implications of Divergence of Managers’ Perceptions of ‘Distance’ From ‘Reality’ in International Business," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 67-92, February.
    10. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Tatiana Kostova & Kendall Roth, 2017. "An overview of Hofstede-inspired country-level culture research in international business since 2006," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(1), pages 30-47, January.
    11. Cristina López-Duarte & Marta M. Vidal-Suárez & Belén González-Díaz & Nuno Rosa Reis, 2016. "Understanding the relevance of national culture in international business research: a quantitative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(3), pages 1553-1590, September.
    12. Nebus, James & Chai, Kah Hin, 2014. "Putting the “psychic” Back in Psychic Distance: Awareness, Perceptions, and Understanding as Dimensions of Psychic Distance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 8-24.
    13. Moalla, Emna & Mayrhofer, Ulrike, 2020. "How does distance affect market entry mode choice? Evidence from French companies," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 135-145.
    14. Moalla, Emna & Mayrhofer, Ulrike, 2020. "How does distance affect market entry mode choice? Evidence from French companies," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 135-145.
    15. Ramya T. Venkateswaran, 2023. "Is there an illusion of symmetry in cultural distance from Asia–pacific Emnes? the role of business groups in navigating cultural distance through ambidextrous learning," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 1169-1215, September.
    16. Zhang, Wei & He, Xinming & Wang, Tao & Wang, Kang, 2023. "Institutional distance and the international market entry mode: A meta-analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    17. Fabrice Lumineau & Marvin Hanisch & Olivier Wurtz, 2021. "International Management as Management of Diversity: Reconceptualizing Distance as Diversity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(6), pages 1644-1668, September.
    18. Ye, Silin & Zhou, Jing & Jiang, Yunwen & Liu, Xiaming, 2023. "Managers as the bridge: How cultural friction influences the integration of cross-border mergers and acquisitions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    19. de Jong, Gjalt & van Houten, Jerry, 2014. "The impact of MNE cultural diversity on the internationalization-performance relationship," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 313-326.
    20. Nebus, James & Celo, Sokol, 2020. "Cognitive biases in the perceptions of country distance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(3).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:manint:v:59:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11575-019-00378-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.