Is collectivism a liability? The impact of culture on organizational trust and customer orientation: a seven-nation study

For firms competing in the global marketplace, sustainable competitive advantages can be developed through building capabilities in one or more of three processes: internal, external, or spanning [J. Mark. 58 (1994) 37]. This paper addresses the question: “To what extent does a firm's national culture affect its ability to develop any of these capabilities, particularly those needed to develop strong relationships with external partners?” Focusing on individualism/collectivism, we examine differences in the level of four measures that reflect capabilities in these processes: (1) a firm's internal climate of trust, (2) a firm's trust for external partners, (3) customer orientation, and (4) the propensity to trust of individuals from the firm. Hypotheses are introduced and tested using data from bank managers of six Asian nations and two U.S. states. Results show that U.S. managers generally show higher levels of trust and customer orientation than Asian managers.