National Cultural Values and the Evolution of Process and Outcome Discrepancies in International Strategic Alliances

The article assesses the role played by national cultural values in shaping the evolution of international strategic alliances. The authors build on a systems dynamic model of alliance evolution in which the developmental path of an alliance depends on how the partners manage process and outcome discrepancies that may emerge during the course of an alliance. They argue that national culture affects alliance evolution by influencing partners’ sensitivity to discrepancy detection, shaping the nature of attributions they make, and by affecting the partners’ reactions to discrepancies. They focus on differences in three value orientations among cultures. Activity orientation, mastery over nature, and assumptions about human nature are the value orientations that affect alliance functioning. The authors argue that alliances are prone to interpretational, attributional, and behavioral conflicts originating from differences in value orientation among partners. The three value orientations are shown to be the most useful in explaining the dynamics of alliances.