Southern Asia cluster: where the old meets the new?
Introduction
Cultural data consist of measurements of the worldviews or systems of mental constructions that people use to interpret and respond to the world around them, and of the values and behaviors that this sense-making process generates. Cultures evolve over time, so to understand a cultural landscape, it is critical to develop an in-depth knowledge of the worldviews and the historical processes of their construction, evolution and diffusion. This article analyses the findings of the GLOBE study in the context of history and religion to provide an in-depth understanding of the culture of southern Asian cluster. Insight into the social foundations of south Asian culture is essential for multinationals and managers given the rising importance of this region as a manufacturing center, a developing and high growth market, and a source of talent for knowledge and technology intensive industries.
In GLOBE’s upcoming book (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, Gupta, & GLOBE, 2002), Gupta, Hanges, and Dorfman (in press) empirically showed the southern Asian cluster to consist of the following countries in GLOBE: India, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Iran. While there are several other countries like Nepal and Pakistan that are probably members of this cluster, they were not studied by GLOBE, so they are not included in our analysis in this article.
In this report, we will:
- •
present a demographic and economic profile of the cluster;
- •
discuss the historical and religious foundations of the cluster’s worldviews;
- •
present GLOBE’s findings on the dimensions of societal cultures in the cluster;
- •
present GLOBE’s findings on the major leadership models in the cluster;
- •
discuss the managerial implications of the GLOBE findings.
Section snippets
Demographic and economic profile
Fig. 1 shows a map of the GLOBE countries in southern Asia cluster. The group spans a vast geographical area. The eastern most country is Philippines and the westernmost nation in the cluster is Iran.
Important statistical information about the GLOBE countries in the southern Asian cluster is provided in Table 1. Almost 1.5 billion people live on a total landmass of close to 3 million square miles. India is the most populous country with a population of about 1 billion people. Malaysia is the
The worldviews of southern Asia: historical and religious foundations
Culture as an outcome of the interplay between religious, historical, political, social and economic forces consists of a coherent system of representation, a weltanschaung, or a worldview that distinguishes the citizens of a country and makes them indubitably the nationals of a particular state. We first trace the early history of this region to provide an understanding of its evolution. Next we summarize the influence of religious ideologies and cultural practices they promoted.
Historical foundations of the southern Asian worldview
Radioactive dating of the archeological materials indicates continuous development of the civilization of the greater Indus Valley, covering eastern Iran, southeastern Turkmenistan, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and western India, since at least about 5000 b.c. (Thapar & Moghul, 1996). Most of the 2500 known settlements of the valley were on the now dry, Saraswati river, and on its key tributaries, such as Indus and Ganges (Feurstein, Kak, & Frawley, 1995). Both natural disasters as well
Religious influences on southern Asian worldview
The region boasts of significant religious diversity: 46% of its population is Hindu, 35% Muslim, 7% Buddhist, and 6% Christian. Philippines is the only country in this cluster with a dominant Christian population because Spanish colonization of Philippines in the 16th century led to widespread conversion to Christianity. In comparison, only 16% of world population is Hindu, 18% is Muslim, and 6% of Buddhist, while 33% is Christian. Thus, compared to the rest of the world, a greater percentage
The worldview of Hinduism
Although many philosophical schools exist, Hindu moral philosophy is governed by two important principles: karma and dharma. Karma—from the root kri, “to do”—was originally a power by which one could determine one’s destiny through one’s intent, behaviors, and actions. The sacred texts of the Upanishadas (around 700 b.c.) commanded the individual to be responsible for personal conduct and not expect the priesthood alone to safeguard one’s destiny through the performance of sacred rites.
Dharma
The Islamic worldview
The Islamic worldview is comprised of two groups: the Sunni or traditionalist faction, who constitute the majority of Islam and the Arab world, and the Shi’ah or the legitimist faction mainly based in Iran. The Sunni focuses on the customs and views of the majority of the community, rather than of peripheral groups. Following the sayings of the Prophet that, “differences of opinion among my community are a blessing”, the community is expected to embrace accommodation, catholicity and synthesis.
Findings from GLOBE data
As part of GLOBE research program, middle managers of firms in 61 societies were asked to report cultural practices and values in their countries. The managers also rated effectiveness of alternative leader behaviors, using six second-order leadership profiles were developed. The nine cultural dimensions and the leader profiles are explained in detail by House, Hanges, Ruiz-Quintanilla, and Dorfman (1999). In the following pages, we will present the results on societal practices and values, and
Societal practices and values in southern Asian cluster
Fig. 2 shows the scores on the nine dimensions of societal culture. The scores here are the average of the individual scores aggregated at the society level. The means of societies are then averaged to obtain the cluster scores.
As shown in Fig. 2, the cluster’s societal practices are rated as high on group collectivism (5.87), power distance (5.39), and humane orientation (4.72) and low on gender egalitarianism (3.28). The other cultural dimensions are rated in the mid-range, around an average
Outstanding leadership in the cluster
As explained in the introductory ch., the GLOBE program identified 23 leadership styles that were deemed effective in one or more cultures of the world. Using second-order factor analysis, five distinct leadership models were formulated, and the first was split into two (charismatic and team-oriented) for theoretical consistency. The individual scores were aggregated to the society level, and society scores were averaged to the cluster level. Both Fig. 3 and Table 3 show the grand cluster means
Implications for executives
To summarize the southern Asian cluster, its societal culture is one of highly group oriented, male-dominated, and hierarchical practices. While the participating managers put high value on their societies becoming more futuristic and performance oriented and less male-dominated and hierarchical, they do desire a continuation of strong group collectivism. From a global standpoint also, group-oriented human heartedness is the hallmark of this cluster.
A universal value-based leadership model,
Overall perspective
As noted earlier, in this region, the joining of political and moral authority to maintain and perpetuate the power of clans and monarchies continued for much longer than in western nations, perhaps aggravated by frequent imperialist intrusions from the west. A hierarchical system headed by a patriarch, ideally a ‘philosopher statesman’ was the natural organizational model (Weber, 1963). This ideal of a benevolent patriarch who acts on behalf of the clan or family system appears to have shaped
Managerial implications
Given the preference for a family-oriented structure and craft oriented design for organizations to develop employees’ skills and capabilities, human resource managers may find it useful to adopt some elements of the German craft-based system (Maurice, Sellier, & Silvestre, 1986) and the Japanese family-oriented system (Dore & Sako, 1998) for the southern Asian societies. While both systems favor mentoring to develop skills, the German apprenticeship model for specializing in technical and
References (42)
- Abo, T. (1994). Hybrid factory. The Japanese production system in the United States. New York: Oxford University...
Analysing pre-colonial south Asia: mode of production or proto-industrialisation?
Journal of Contemporary Asia
(1997)- Arcilla, J. (1998). Kasaysayan: the story of the Filipino people, vs. the Spanish conquest. New York: Reader’s...
- Athreya, M. B. (1991). Gita theory of knowledge. Indian Management...
- et al.
Organizational learning and communities of practice: toward a unified view of working, learning, and innovation
Organization Science
(1991) - Chakraborty, S. K. (1991). Management by values. Bombay: Oxford University...
The structure of the Indian textile industry in the 17th and 18th centuries
Indian Economic and Social History Review
(1974)- Clark, K. B., & Fujimoto, T. (1991). Product development performance: Strategy, organization and management. Boston:...
- Dewey, A. (1962). Peasant marketing in Java. New York: The Free...
- Dore, R., & Sako, M. (1998). How the Japanese learn to work. New York:...
Organizational transplants: the transfer of Japanese industrial organization to the U.S
American Sociological Review
Cited by (129)
Strategic divestment of emerging market firms: the influence of returnee managers and CEO characteristics
2024, Journal of Global MobilityMapping five decades of international business and management research on India: A bibliometric analysis and future directions
2022, Journal of Business ResearchCan Mindfulness be an Alternative for Servant Leadership? A Well-being Perspective
2024, Business Perspectives and ResearchDigital Leadership: Evidence from Theory and Practice
2024, Digital Leadership: Evidence from Theory and PracticeA qualitative study of diversity management practices in Iran's private sector organizations
2023, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- 1
The four lead authors prepared the manuscript. The following country investigators collected data in their countries as part of the GLOBE project. Arif Mirian Sofyan, Hartanto Frans Marti, Hidayat Jann Soenaryo, Indriyati Tjahjono Gunawan (investigators from Indonesia); Ali Dastmalchian (investigator from Iran); Ismail Zakaria, Mansor Norma, Nik-Yakob, Nik Rahimah (investigators from Malaysia); Alvarez-Backus Eden, Lobell Jean (investigators from Philippines); Ubolwanna Pavakanun (investigator from Thailand); Agrawal Girish, Aima Ashok, Bhal Kanika, Chowdhary Nimit, Debbarma Sukhendu, Dzuvichu R. Rosemary, Fenn Mathai, Irala Lokanandha Reddy, Khan Mohamed Basheer, Kharbihih Hasina, Mahajan Seema, Matthew Mary, Miller Lalbiakzuala, Mukherjee Doel, Mukherjee Kumkum, Nagar Renu, N. Natarajan, A.K. Pani, Pareek Ashish, Puri Roma, Raghav Sarika, J. Rajasekar, Rana Neeti, Rohmetra Neelu, Saran Pankaj, Sharma Dinesh, Shrivastava Mrinalini, E.S. Srinivas, Thevannoor P. Pramod, Fr. V.M. Thomas, Yagum Taba (investigators from India).