CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN DECISION-MAKING STYLES: A STUDY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN FIVE COUNTRIES

Abstract

The major goal of this study was to explore cultural differences in decision-making styles of college students from 5 countries: Korea, Japan, China, the United States, and Canada. On the basis of previous scholarly findings, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to 837 college students in the 5 countries. Of these, 815 were included in the statistical analysis. 2 hypotheses were established that examine 5 decision-making styles: cooperative, collaborative, avoidant, competitive, and dominant. The results provide only limited support for the hypotheses. Further, some results ran counter to the expectations of cultural variability. The findings of the study imply that culture may not be a stagnant phenomenon, and more variables should be explored to accurately evaluate cultural differences in decision-making styles.