IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intman/v21y2015i1p31-48.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The French Paradox: Implications for Variations in Global Convergence

Author

Listed:
  • Aïssaoui, Rachida
  • Fabian, Frances

Abstract

A debate divides the cross-cultural community between advocates of global convergence and those foreseeing continued cultural divergence. Given competing evidence, we examine anomalous cultural findings of the ‘French Paradox’ to re-evaluate existing theory on convergence dynamics. By differentiating between the levels of analysis of micro individual values and macro societal practices, we question the regular processes of a top-down-bottom-up model of convergence. In addition, our analysis uncovers power structures interdependency (PSI) between the political and economic elites of a nation as a potential mediator explaining discrepant results.

Suggested Citation

  • Aïssaoui, Rachida & Fabian, Frances, 2015. "The French Paradox: Implications for Variations in Global Convergence," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 31-48.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intman:v:21:y:2015:i:1:p:31-48
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intman.2014.12.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S107542531400115X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intman.2014.12.004?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. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5415 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. 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.
    3. Robbert Maseland & André van Hoorn, 2009. "Explaining the negative correlation between values and practices: A note on the Hofstede–GLOBE debate," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(3), pages 527-532, April.
    4. Hitt, Michael A. & Franklin, Victor & Zhu, Hong, 2006. "Culture, institutions and international strategy," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 222-234, June.
    5. Husted, Bryan W., 2003. "Globalization and cultural change in international business research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 427-433.
    6. Clampit, Jack & Kedia, Ben & Fabian, Frances & Gaffney, Nolan, 2015. "Offshoring satisfaction: The role of partnership credibility and cultural complementarity," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 79-93.
    7. Ronald S. Burt & Robin M. Hogarth & Claude Michaud, 2000. "The Social Capital of French and American Managers," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(2), pages 123-147, April.
    8. Alberto Alesina & Paola Giuliano, 2010. "The power of the family," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 93-125, June.
    9. Guido Tabellini, 2010. "Culture and Institutions: Economic Development in the Regions of Europe," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 677-716, June.
    10. Hanley, Anne, 2004. "Is It Who You Know? Entrepreneurs and Bankers in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Turn of the Twentieth Century," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 187-225, June.
    11. Gordon Redding, 2005. "The thick description and comparison of societal systems of capitalism," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(2), pages 123-155, March.
    12. Baliga, B.R. & Santalainen, Timo J., 2006. "Transformation of state-owned enterprises in Estonia and India: An examination of the relative influences of cultural variations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 140-157, June.
    13. Vas Taras & Piers Steel & Bradley L Kirkman, 2010. "Negative practice–value correlations in the GLOBE data: Unexpected findings, questionnaire limitations and research directions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(8), pages 1330-1338, October.
    14. Kwok Leung & Rabi S Bhagat & Nancy R Buchan & Miriam Erez & Cristina B Gibson, 2005. "Culture and international business: recent advances and their implications for future research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(4), pages 357-378, July.
    15. Luo, Yadong, 2004. "A coopetition perspective of MNC-host government relations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 431-451.
    16. Clark, Ed & Geppert, Mike, 2006. "Socio-political processes in international management in post-socialist contexts: Knowledge, learning and transnational institution building," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 340-357, September.
    17. Mark Heuer & Jeffrey L Cummings & Winfred Hutabarat, 1999. "Cultural Stability or Change Among Managers in Indonesia?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(3), pages 599-610, September.
    18. Ford, David Jr. & Ismail, Kiran M., 2006. "Perceptions of effective leadership among Central Eurasian managers: A cultural convergence-divergence examination within a globalization context," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 158-180, June.
    19. Ben Clift, 2007. "French Corporate Governance in the New Global Economy: Mechanisms of Change and Hybridisation within Models of Capitalism," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 55(3), pages 546-567, October.
    20. Kelley, Lane & MacNab, Brent & Worthley, Reginald, 2006. "Crossvergence and cultural tendencies: A longitudinal test of the Hong Kong, Taiwan and United States banking sectors," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 67-84, March.
    21. Paul Brewer & Sunil Venaik, 2010. "GLOBE practices and values: A case of diminishing marginal utility?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(8), pages 1316-1324, October.
    22. Hee-Jung Yeo & Christine Pochet & Alain Alcouffe, 2003. "CEO Reciprocal Interlocks in French Corporations," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 7(1), pages 87-108, March.
    23. Rugman, Alan M., 2003. "Regional strategy and the demise of globalization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 409-417.
    24. Mezias, Stephen J. & Chen, Ya-Ru & Murphy, Patrice & Biaggio, Angela & Chuawanlee, Wiladlak & Hui, Harry & Okumura, Tetsushi & Starr, Stephanie, 2002. "National cultural distance as liability of foreignness: the issue of level of analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 407-421.
    25. Bird, Allan & Stevens, Michael J., 2003. "Toward an emergent global culture and the effects of globalization on obsolescing national cultures," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 395-407.
    26. Quentin Duroy, 2011. "North African Identity and Racial Discrimination in France: A Social Economic Analysis of Capability Deprivation," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 69(3), pages 307-332, September.
    27. Hofstede, G., 2006. "What did GLOBE really measure? Researchers' minds versus respondents' minds," Other publications TiSEM 53fc2049-e658-4cff-a440-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    28. Stevens, Michael J. & Bird, Allan, 2004. "On the myth of believing that globalization is a myth: or the effects of misdirected responses on obsolescing an emergent substantive discourse," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 501-510.
    29. Rajan, Raghuram G. & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "The great reversals: the politics of financial development in the twentieth century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 5-50, July.
    30. Bernard, Andrew B & Jones, Charles I, 1996. "Technology and Convergence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 1037-1044, July.
    31. Taras, Vas & Rowney, Julie & Steel, Piers, 2009. "Half a century of measuring culture: Review of approaches, challenges, and limitations based on the analysis of 121 instruments for quantifying culture," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 357-373, December.
    32. Steel, Piers & Taras, Vasyl, 2010. "Culture as a consequence: A multi-level multivariate meta-analysis of the effects of individual and country characteristics on work-related cultural values," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 211-233, September.
    33. Faure, Guy Olivier & Fang, Tony, 2008. "Changing Chinese values: Keeping up with paradoxes," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 194-207, April.
    34. Windolf, Paul, 2002. "Corporate Networks in Europe and the United States," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199256976.
    35. Mansour Javidan & Robert J House & Peter W Dorfman & Paul J Hanges & Mary Sully de Luque, 2006. "Conceptualizing and measuring cultures and their consequences: a comparative review of GLOBE's and Hofstede's approaches," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 897-914, November.
    36. Olga Tregaskis & Chris Brewster, 2006. "Converging or diverging? A comparative analysis of trends in contingent employment practice in Europe over a decade," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(1), pages 111-126, January.
    37. Whittington, Richard & Mayer, Michael, 2000. "The European Corporation: Strategy, Structure, and Social Science," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199242085.
    38. Akhter, Syed H., 2004. "Is globalization what it's cracked up to be? Economic freedom, corruption, and human development," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 283-295, August.
    39. Ben Clift, 2007. "French Corporate Governance in the New Global Economy: Mechanisms of Change and Hybridisation within Models of Capitalism," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 55, pages 546-567, October.
    40. David A Ralston & David J Gustafson & Fanny M Cheung & Robert H Terpstra, 1993. "Differences in Managerial Values: A Study of U.S., Hong Kong and PRC Managers," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 24(2), pages 249-275, June.
    41. Geert Hofstede, 2006. "What did GLOBE really measure? Researchers’ minds versus respondents’ minds," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 882-896, November.
    42. Matten, Dirk & Geppert, Mike, 2004. "Work systems in heavy engineering: the role of national culture and national institutions in multinational corporations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 177-198.
    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. Rachida Aïssaoui & Frances Fabian, 2022. "Globalization, economic development, and corruption: A cross-lagged contingency perspective," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, March.
    2. Alon Lisak & Miriam Erez & Yang Sui & Cynthia Lee, 2016. "The positive role of global leaders in enhancing multicultural team innovation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(6), pages 655-673, August.

    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. Conti, Claudio Ramos & Parente, Ronaldo & de Vasconcelos, Flávio C., 2016. "When distance does not matter: Implications for Latin American multinationals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 1980-1992.
    2. Uzuegbunam, Ikenna & Geringer, J. Michael, 2021. "Culture, connectedness, and international adoption of disruptive innovation," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    3. Černe, Matej & Jaklič, Marko & Škerlavaj, Miha, 2013. "Decoupling management and technological innovations: Resolving the individualism–collectivism controversy," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 103-117.
    4. Cristina López-Duarte & Marta M. Vidal-Suárez & Belén González-Díaz, 2019. "Cross-national distance and international business: an analysis of the most influential recent models," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(1), pages 173-208, October.
    5. Barreto, Tais S. & Lanivich, Stephen E. & Cox, Kevin C., 2022. "Temporal orientation as a robust predictor of innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 287-300.
    6. Aguilera, Ruth V. & Flores, Ricardo G. & Vaaler, Paul M., 2007. "Is It All a Matter of Grouping? Examining the Regional Effect in Global Strategy Research," Working Papers 07-0106, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    7. Knein, Ernesto & Greven, Andrea & Bendig, David & Brettel, Malte, 2020. "Culture and cross-functional coopetition: The interplay of organizational and national culture," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(2).
    8. Cater, Tomaz & Lang, Rainhart & Szabo, Erna, 2013. "Values and leadership expectations of future managers: Theoretical basis and methodological approach of the GLOBE Student project," Journal of East European Management Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 18(4), pages 442-462.
    9. Rosalie L Tung & Günter K Stahl, 2018. "The tortuous evolution of the role of culture in IB research: What we know, what we don’t know, and where we are headed," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(9), pages 1167-1189, December.
    10. Fan, Di & Li, Yi & Chen, Liang, 2017. "Configuring innovative societies: The crossvergent role of cultural and institutional varieties," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 66, pages 43-56.
    11. Sidney J. Gray & Tony Kang & Zhiwei Lin & Qingliang Tang, 2015. "Earnings Management in Europe Post IFRS: Do Cultural Influences Persist?," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(6), pages 827-856, December.
    12. Xu, Shichun & Hao, Andy, 2021. "Understanding the impact of national culture on firms’ benefit-seeking behaviors in international B2B relationships: A conceptual model and research propositions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 27-37.
    13. James G. Field & Frank A. Bosco & David Kraichy & Krista L. Uggerslev & Mingang K. Geiger, 2021. "More alike than different? A comparison of variance explained by cross-cultural models," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(9), pages 1797-1817, December.
    14. Avloniti, Anthi & Filippaios, Fragkiskos, 2014. "Unbundling the differences between Psychic and Cultural Distance: An empirical examination of the existing measures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 660-674.
    15. Dan V. Caprar & Sunghoon Kim & Benjamin W. Walker & Paula Caligiuri, 2022. "Beyond “Doing as the Romans Do”: A review of research on countercultural business practices," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(7), pages 1449-1483, September.
    16. Calza, Francesco & Cannavale, Chiara & Zohoorian Nadali, Iman, 2020. "How do cultural values influence entrepreneurial behavior of nations? A behavioral reasoning approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    17. Zhu, Chen & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hong, Jin & Shi, Xing, 2023. "Multidimensional cultural distance and self-employment of internal migrants in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 58-81.
    18. Stathopoulou, Anastasia & Balabanis, George, 2019. "The effect of cultural value orientation on consumers' perceptions of luxury value and proclivity for luxury consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 298-312.
    19. Erkko Autio & Saurav Pathak & Karl Wennberg, 2013. "Consequences of cultural practices for entrepreneurial behaviors," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(4), pages 334-362, May.
    20. Orcos, Raquel & Pérez-Aradros, Beatriz & Blind, Knut, 2018. "Why does the diffusion of environmental management standards differ across countries? The role of formal and informal institutions in the adoption of ISO 14001," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 850-861.

    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:eee:intman:v:21:y:2015:i:1:p:31-48. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/601266/description#description .

    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.