Methodological and Substantive Issues in Conducting Multinational and Cross-Cultural Research

Abstract

The rising importance of multinational and cross-cultural research has spurred the development of methodologies to adequately study human phenomena in organizations across culture and place. Disentangling culture and location from potential confounding variables is an underlying issue in conducting comparative studies. Research designs allow comparisons of countries and culture groups, as well as isolate the potential impact of cultural variables. Sampling methods must be chosen to control for differences that confound the cultural variables of interest with other characteristics of samples. Translation and back-translation are necessary when studies cross linguistic boundaries. Measures that compare cultural and national groups should be checked for measurement equivalence/invariance using one or more tools based on confirmatory factor analysis or item response theory. Some sources of invariance can be found in culturally determined response biases. In the same investigation, it is advisable to pair qualitative methods, which help characterize culture-specific factors, with quantitative methods, which help disentangle their confounds.