ABSTRACT
Cross-cultural management literature is dominated by the Western perspective on non-Western cultures; and there has been little research done dealing with cross-cultural encounters without Western parties being involved. Some scholars add that Western nations typically represent one pole of each cultural dimension and, more often than not, the one currently most desirable. This chapter examines that this dichotomy between the West and non-West is more blurred. It takes the example of encounters between the nationals of two countries that have a complex relationship with the West and the East – Hungary and Turkey – and makes use of interviews conducted in Hungary with Turkish immigrants. The analysis applies four paradigms: positivist, interpretive, postmodern and critical. The positivist paradigm is by far the most influential stream within Cross-Cultural Management. The interpretive paradigm does not aim at identifying predictive models – it seeks an understanding of how people perceive their reality.
