Fons Trompenaars, a Dutch economist and consultant, developed a framework to examine cultural differences. Using Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s theory described previously, Hampton-Turner’s dilemma theory, and Parsons’ pattern variables, Trompenaars analyzed the questionnaire responses of approximately 15,000 employees representing 47 national cultures.
Trompenaars describes national cultural differences using seven dimensions. Five dimensions are about how people relate to others, including universalism versus particularism, individualism versus collectivism, neutral versus affective, specific versus diffuse, and achievement versus ascription. The sixth dimension is time orientation: past, present, or future and sequential or synchronous. The final dimension is relationship to nature: internal- or external-oriented. Just as with the Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck work, Trompenaars’ dimensions represent how societies develop approaches to handling problems and difficult situations.
…
