How does national culture influence individuals' attitude and behaviours towards risk ?

Details

Supervisors

Decaux, Loïc

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Purpose - This thesis aims to shed light on how the national culture influences individual’s attitude and behaviour towards risk. Design/methodology/Approach - This exploratory research draws on secondary research to frame the empirical research which has been conducted through interviews. The analysis is structured by the cultural dimensions of the GLOBE project. The population is made of employees and managers who are operating in a culture that is different from theirs. This enables to have individuals who are aware of cultural differences at work and to understand how these influence the attitude and behaviours towards risk. Main findings - Attitudes and behaviours towards risk change across cultures. Employees may not feel tuned in with the organisation’s risk attitude due to the different cultural background in which the employee and the organisation have been existing. Research limitations/implications - The qualitative findings come from individuals’ feeling, perception and experiences and are thus not necessarily the absolute truth. In fact, the findings could serve as hypotheses for future quantitative research to validate or invalidate these. Practical implications - This thesis enables organisations and executive managers to know the potential pain points where attention needs to be paid to the attitude and behaviours towards risk when their organisation goes international or employs individuals from different cultures. Originality/value - This research uses all nine cultural dimensions of the GLOBE project to analyse how national culture may influence the risk culture. Moreover, it provides an illustrative model for better understanding.