Towards an understanding of the relationship between work values and cultural orientations

The role of values in influencing behaviour and attitudes has been well documented; however, the relationship between various values has received little academic attention. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between work values and cultural orientations, and to determine which dimension of each predicted work and career satisfaction. Unlike many studies that have focused on the relationship between culture and work, this study has not used a person's country of origin to represent their cultural orientation. Participants’ cultural orientations were identified independently of nationality and then used as variables in the analysis, and principal components and regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The results indicated that individuals with particular cultural orientations valued different aspects of work, and that work values and cultural orientations explained a minimal amount of variance in work and career satisfaction in the hospitality industry. Implications of the findings for practitioners and researchers are also addressed.