ABSTRACT
In the early 1980s, the Dutch scholar and consultant led the way in operationalizing “culture” for international business and organization studies research as well as management practice. Hofstede challenged the mainstream by demonstrating the value of cultural relativism and comparative frameworks. His work was seminal in introducing national “culture” as a legitimate subject of inquiry. As such, the exchange of words between Galit Ailon and Geert Hofstede invites us to revisit the many fundamental questions related to levels and units of analysis in cross-cultural management research. Johanna Saarinen and Rebecca Piekkari also refer to Finland, albeit in a different cross-cultural setting and with another thematic focus. They consider the impact of virtuality on cross-cultural encounters within a multinational corporation, and analyze Finnish managers’ accounts of managing Chinese employees in virtual teams. The perceived challenges of managing “different” people in many ways accentuate on-line, but they also offer opportunities for managers to rethink their cultural conceptions.
