Comparative analysis of managerial values in the USA and China

Purpose – China, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, has become a major trading partner with the USA. However, trading with Chinese involves major cultural barriers. The Chinese and US cultures differ widely in their values, which produces different attitudes and behaviors. This study purports to add to the existent knowledge on the managerial values in the USA and China by empirically comparing and contrasting these values along several dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical investigation examines the differences in managerial values between US and Chinese managers through independent sample t ‐tests based on survey responses from 1,741 US and 982 Chinese managers. Findings – The findings indicate that significant cultural differences exist between the two samples. Results show that US managers are more individualistic than their Chinese counterparts. The managerial values of the US sample are also characterized by lower power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and work ethics than the Chinese sample. Practical implications – The findings provide support for the conventional wisdom regarding the differences between the US and Chinese cultures. Originality/value – The large sample sizes in the research study provide strong empirical support to existent theory.