Are Hofstede’s Culture Dimensions Stable Over Time?

Quantitative culture research is dominated by Hofstede’s framework, which is based on survey data collected in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As countries develop economically, modernization theory predicts shifting societal values, which likely affect country’s scores on Hofstede’s culture dimensions. We examine how Hofstede’s dimensions have developed over time by replicating Hofstede’s dimensions for two generational cohorts using data from the World Values Survey. Results show that, on average, societies score higher on Individualism and Indulgence versus Restraint, and lower on Power Distance. Cultural change is absolute rather than relative, however, so that countries’ culture scores relative to each other are hardly affected. Country pair cultural differences (i.e., cultural distances) are relatively stable. We discuss the implications of our findings for culture research in business and management.

That is from a paper by Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, Robbert Maseland, & André Van Hoorn.