Rise of Social Media Platforms As of December 2016, the social networking platform, Facebook, has over 1.79bn monthly active users (Facebook, 2016). Similarly, social networking platform Twitter has an active user base of more than 20% of share of all the internet users and reach of about 40% of the share of all the internet users (Statista, 2016). The growth of social networking platform has become too big to ignore. The most commonly understood use of social networking platform is that it allows members to connect with each other forming a giant web of social network. Within this social network, users can navigate through the network and find out details such as personal background and personal preferences through others’ profiles (Zuniga, …show more content…
The cultural dimensions’ theory has been widely used and cited by researchers to study the relationship of culture to online activities such as online communication and web design. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension’s Theory describes the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor analysis (Adeoye & Tomei, 2014). The main aim and focus of this research is to investigate the effect of how culture plays a role in affecting the behaviors and actions of users of social media. By investigating users’ activities in social media platforms in relation to culture, we can analyze if the cultural dimensions, outlined by Hofstede, determine and affect the way users behave and use social media platforms. 2. Theoretical Background 2.1 Existing literature on …show more content…
There are studies which study the use of cultural markers to increase usability of websites based on cultural differences (Sheppard & Scholtz, 1999). Cultural markers are design elements in a website that are more prevalent in one cultural group than another, they stem from the theory of cultural identity. Cultural identity theory theorizes a person’s sense of belonging to a particular group based on the process of learning and accepting cultural traits such as traditions, heritage and thinking patterns (Koester & Lustig, 2013). Cultural identity theory can also serve as a theoretical foundation to explain certain behavior within social media. Other theories used in the context of behavior over the internet include the cultural norms theory, theorized by Melvin DeFleur in 1970, which was used to explain why cultural norms are not apparent in email communication as compared to traditional face to face communication (Cakir, Bichelmeyer, & Cagiltay, 2002). However, with regards to the study of collaborative online communities, there is a lack in literature which consider the cultural perspective of how culture influences people’s behavior in working together in collaborative online communities. Therefore, in this research, the focus is on the use of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory to explore the relationship between cultural dimensions and users’ behavior in social
According to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Mexico has high scores of Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Masculinity. We can tell from the scores that Mexico is a hierarchical society that people tend to work and live in orders, which means that there are levels among people and they try to fit into their own positions; people try to avoid unknowns and unwilling to take risks; and gap of values between men and women does exist in Mexico, competition, achievement, and success are emphasized in this society so people want to be the best instead of liking what they do. With low scores of Individualism and Long-term Orientation, Mexico is considered a collectivistic society with a normative culture. It emphasizes loyalty and strong relationships
Support: Technology is linking diverse cultures to instigate stronger relations meant for associated consumers of media product.
Geert Hofstede performed the most lauded research on The Dimensions of Culture theory. His findings and the model that he created were outlined in his 1980 book “Cultures Consequences.” The work was met with both acclaim and disregard from fellow academics. Hofstede’s work is generally quoted and cited without any hesitation even today and his model is still widely used the main guideline for dealing with human resources from a cultural perspective.
Geert Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 2001
A study comparing Hofstede’s dimensions of culture (Wall, Minocha & Rees, 2011) and Trompenaars dimensions shows the different levels of culture, which includes Individualism versus Col...
7.2. Cultural Dimensions Dr Geert Hofstede published his cultural dimensions model based on a decade of research in the late 1970s. Since, it has become an internationally recognised standard for understanding cultural differences. It consists of six
Culture defines people’s values, beliefs, and personal interests. Culture is important because it allows people to maintain a unique identity society. Many cultures have common interests, while others may have customs that differ greatly from that of another. Technology has had a huge impact on present day cultures. Many culture have been altered including my own, and some have been created due to the rise of technology. Cultures differ so greatly that someone belonging to one culture may not agree with the values of another, which then causes social and ethical issues. My culture shares many similarities with others around the world; most of which have connected more people in recent years than ever before. Cultural gaps, and lack of understanding for peoples’ values and beliefs are significant reasons why cultures fail to understand one another.
Hofstede has identified five different cultural dimensions. These dimensions include power-distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance and lastly long term orientation. According to Hofstede, power distance is the first dimension which translates to how all individuals in a society aren't equal and there is a decent amount of inequality when it comes to the division of power. The second dimension involves the theme of individualism which translates to the degree of interdependence as well as how we identify ourselves in terms of "I" or "We". Additionally, Hofstede states that in individualist societies we tend to look only after ourselves and our blood family, however, in collectivistic societies individuals identify themselves as part of groups and take care of each other in exchange for loyalty. The third dimension would be masculinity/ femininity. A high score would translate to a masculine culture which demonstrates a culture driven by competition, achievement and success. On the other hand, a low score which demonstrates a feminine culture shows that the dominant traits involves caring for others and quality of life. The fourth dimension involves uncertainty avoidance which translates to how a society deals with not knowing how the future is going to turn out. This amount of vagueness brings about anxiety and different cultures deal with this issue differently. The fifth and final cultural dimension according to Hofstede is long term orientat...
Based on my experience of applying PESTLE in the analysis of Netherland’s environment, I want to focus on the country’s sociocultural factors and in doing so draw on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory in my essay.
Cultural Differences in Hofstede’s Six Dimensions According to Professor Geert Hofstede, dimensionalizing a culture requires a complex analysis of a multitude of categories including differing nations, regions, ethnic groups, religions, organizations, and genders. Hofstede defines culture as "the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another". Throughout his many years of contribution as a social scientist, he has conducted arguably the most comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture, leading to the establishment of the Six Dimensions of National Culture. From this research model, the dimensions of Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation, and Indulgence are defined according to their implication on individual countries, which when comparatively examined provide a broad understanding of cultural diversity as it relates to the workplace. Identification and Definition of the Six Dimensions In initially defining each of Hofstede's dimensions, a foundational understanding of the six categories is established, from which a greater understanding of different cultures can be built off of.
Hofstede’s dimensions on national culture have been used as a benchmark by most researchers trying to work in the area of cross-cultural research. An intensive review of various cross cultural methodologies that can be used in research have been summarized (Schaffer & Riordan, 2003).
Most social networks make it possible for individuals to upload their entire life to a public profile. You’re not only sharing personal information with your friends but also the friends of your friends. Personal information spreads rapidly on a Social Networking Site than through a real-life network and sometimes provides more information than we would have thought. A social networking site is defined as a network of individuals related to each other based on a common interest or a real-life connection. The popularity of these sites introduces the use of a new and easy form of communication. People spend countless hours interacting with their ‘friends’ on these sites with the help of a ‘comment’ and a ‘like’ button.
Basically, Hofstede’s cultural dimension is divided into five dimensions along which national culture could be described: power distance (PDI), individualism-collectivism (IDV), masculinity-femininity (MAS), uncertainty avoidance (UAI) and long-term orientation versus short-term normative orientation (LTO).
On chapter 4 on the textbook, the author explains, “culture provides a member of a society with a common bond, a sense that we see certain facets of society in similar ways. We are living together at all depends on the fact that members of a society share a certain amount of cultural knowledge (Ch4, 132). Individualism and collectivism contribute greatly to the dimension of culture. For example, how many members of the culture define themselves apart from their group memberships. In individualist cultures, people are expected to develop and display their individual personalities and to choose their own affiliations. In collectivist cultures, people are defined and act mostly as a member of a long-term group, such as the family, a religious group, an age cohort, a town, or a profession, among others. This dimension was found to move towards the individualist end of the spectrum with increasing
Social media has become a major epidemic in today’s society. According to millions of people have signed up on social media websites, allowing their basic information to be shared with the world wide web. Two of the biggest social media websites today are Facebook and Twitter. The new generation tends to use Twitter over Facebook, the older generation prefer Facebook over Twitter. Though Facebook and Twitter serve the same purpose and have many similarities, they both differ in many ways.