VSM82 & VSM94: Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organi-
zations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
VSM08: Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., Minkov, M., & Vinken, H. (2008 ). Values Survey Module 2008
Questionnaire: English language version. Retrieved May 25, 2014, from www.geerthofstede.com/vsm-08
VSM13: Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G.J., Minkov, M., & Vinken, H. (2013). Values Survey Module 2013
Questionnaire: English language version . Retrieved May 25, 2014, from www.geerthofstede.com/vsm-13
Results and Comments
Hofstede’s (1980) seminal work on cross-cultural value differences has inspired much research in cross-
cultural psychology ( Kirkman, Lowe, & Gibson, 2006; Taras, Steel, & Kirkman, 2010 ). The evidence that work-
related values differ among employees of the same multinational organization in different societies show that cul-
tural differences exist even after controlling for the organizational membership of the research participants.
Nevertheless, researchers’ confidence in the validity of the VSM, particularly for the more recent versions
(e.g., VSM 08) can be further enhanced with more systematic psychometric studies of the scale, particularly on
the validity of the scoring and the cross-cultural structural equivalence of the test scores.
Hofstede assumes that culture is slow to change, although unprecedented external forces can change a culture.
In the recent years, several countries have experienced fundamental changes in their political institutions
(e.g., the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the Arab Springs in 2010). These changes, together with
the global impact of events such as the dot-com bubble in 2000, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the
USA, and the recent global economic crisis could have caused cultural change. Hofstede also observed some
shifts in the society scores on some of the VSM items ( Hofstede, 2001 ). However, he chose to treat these shifts as
measurement artifacts and adjust the test scores so that they align with the society scores in 1970. Such adjust-
ment is problematic because the shifts may reflect an actual change in the cultural values instead of a measure-
ment artifact. Indeed, a recent meta-analysis has found evidence for temporal changes in the VSM dimensions
(Taras, Steel, & Kirkman, 2012 ).
VALUE SYSTEM MODULE
The VSM is developed from the IBM Survey. The
VSM can be found in the sources listed above. In the
IBM Survey, items like ‘Employees not afraid to dis-
agree’ (reverse scoring) are used to measure Power
Distance; items like ‘Importance of freedom’ are used tomeasure Individualism; items like ‘Importance of
advancement’ are used to measure Masculinity; and
items like ‘Company rules may be broken’ (reverse scor-
ing) are used to measure Uncertainty Avoidance.
Schwartz Value Survey (SVS)
(Schwartz, 1992, 2009 ).
Variable
The SVS was constructed to measure the extent of endorsement of seven groups of cultural values in a society:
Affective Autonomy, Intellectual Autonomy, Embeddedness, Egalitarianism, Hierarchy, Harmony and Mastery,
although the SVS measures are also used to measure individual differences in value endorsement.
Description
The SVS consists of 57 items. It was originally designed to measure 10 types of individual level values, which
have recently been further differentiated into 19 types ( Schwartz et al., 2012 ). The 57 value items were developed
from the Rockeach Value Survey ( Rokeach, 1973 ), measures from other cultures ( Braithwaite & Law, 1985;
Chinese Culture Connection, 1987; Hofstede, 1980; Munro, 1985 ), religious texts and consultations with Muslim
and Druze scholars. The 57 value items consist of both instrumental and terminal values. A 9-point Likert-type
response scale was used (1 5opposed to my values; 7 5supreme importance). The survey was conducted in the
respondents’ native language and back translation was performed to ensure translation equivalence. To assess
individual level values, the individual is treated as the unit of analysis, and the focal interest is on individual dif-
ferences in the relative importance of the different value types.625 OVERVIEW OF THE MEASURES
VI. SOCIOCULTURAL INTERACTION AND CONFLICT