Individual-level Cultural Values and Norms at Workplace - Comparison between Korea and China -

Employing Hofstede’s cultural index, this study examines the level of effects of cultural values (traditionality, collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance) on employees’ attitudes and work behaviors to compare the influential power of those values of two Confucian countries, Korea and China. Considering that the economic development and diversity in ethnicities led to changes in these two countries’ cultural indices, this study compares the two countries’ values and a norm at workplaces to provide understandings of whether the combination of mixed cultural values from the changes results in culturally different managerial issues. Survey was conducted in both countries, yielding the 417 responses (Korea N=211, China N=206). The results demonstrated that there were some cross-national differences in the effects of cultural values on the LMX, work attitudes and work behaviors. Cultural values (uncertainty avoidance) and a norm (traditionality) on the LMX and affective organizational commitment explained more of Korean workers than of Chinese workers, whereas power distance on continuance organizational commitment made significant effects in both countries. For in-role behaviors (job performance), uncertainty avoidance made significant effects in two countries’ workers. We found that collectivism made a negative effect on Chinese workers’ in-role behaviors while power distance did on Korean workers. The results suggested that Korean and Chinese workers’ extra-role behaviors (OCB) were influenced by uncertainty avoidance.