Decision-making behavior, gender differences, and cultural context variables

Abstract

Following the recent call for a deeper contextualization of cross-cultural research in international management studies, this study explores differences in the decision-making behavior of men and women in Korea and Germany exposed to cultural context variables (CCVs) specific to the Korean cultural context. A two-stage research approach was designed and applied, consisting of semi-structured interviews, and used to identify cultural variables that have an important influence on decision-making in Korea (first stage), followed using these contextual variables in a series of behavioral experiments (second stage). The findings reveal that Korean men responded strongly to the contextual variables, showing either egoistic offer behavior and even rejecting advantageous offers. Surprisingly, Korean women, like German men and women, altered their decision-making behavior very little when exposed to the contextual variables. The results reveal significant gender differences in response to culture-specific contextual factors that have not previously been reported and open up new avenues for future research based on the identification and testing of specific high-impact CCVs.