Revisiting Hofstede's dimensions of national culture and environmental sustainability

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of Hofstede's dimensions of national culture on environmental sustainability across 57 countries. Hofstede's national culture construct reflects and gauges the extent of the inclination of a particular national person toward either economic development or environmental preservation. Climate change and pollution have continuously devastated the environment in recent decades. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim to achieve a more sustainable future and prevent further environmental destruction. This study aims to explore whether national culture significantly influences national environmental sustainability. We use national environmental performance as the proxy for national environmental sustainability and adopt the ordinary least squares regression model to explore the possible relationship with two datasets of international indices; one is proposed by Hofstede, and the other is proposed by Germanwatch. Our results show that the power distance index has a strong negative impact on the climate change performance index (CCPI), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, renewable energy, and energy use. Further, the masculinity index is negatively related to CCPI and GHG emissions. The individual index is also negatively related to renewable energy. Furthermore, indulgence is positively associated with climate policy. These findings support the notion that nations should consider their cultural characteristics to improve environmental sustainability. Thus, conducting a national environmental policy that aligns with national culture is suggested to achieve environmental sustainability.