Slides and Papers Available at Culture and Research : Reflection, Stimulation and Frustration Anat Rafaeli Technion Israel Institute.

Slides and Papers Available at http://Anat.Rafaeli.net 1

Culture and Research :Reflection, Stimulation and Frustration

Anat RafaeliAnat RafaeliTechnionTechnion

Israel Institute of TechnologyIsrael Institute of Technology


What makes me a cross-cultural researcher?

Personal Identity: Israel


Reviewers and Culture

Personal Identity:

An OB Researcher

Happening to Work in Israel Reviewer:

“I can’t believe people really act this

way … in my experience …”

4

Ohio State University

“They have a good football team”

A Meeting of Cultures and the Concept of Higher Education

“How about tickets to the football game?”

Slides and Papers Available at http://Anat.Rafaeli.net

“Handwriting Analysis in Personnel Selection:”

A legitimate research topic?”

A Meeting of Cultures and Research Questions?

A Meeting of Cultures: Geographical, Organizational, Professional

Sutton and Rafaeli:

“It’s not because they like

you Anat …. … they are

paid to smile”

Culture as Stimulation:

An Israeli View of the USA


Culture Stimulation Defines a Research Career

“Emotional Expression as Part of the Work Role”


The Research Culture

I/O Psychology


The Culture of a Research Process: Quantitative or Qualitative?

PsychologyMath

Quant Psychology

Quantitative : Hypotheses

Testing

Qualitative: Hypotheses Generation


The Complications of Culture:What IS Emotional Labor?

Research Move:Smiling deleted

out of Israel data collection

Assumption:Customer Service Employees Smile

Data Point:“You must be

new here”

The Complications of Culture:

Comparative Research :Anger in a Globalized world

Anat Rafaeli, Shy Ravid -- Israel

Alicia Grandey -- USA

Jochen Wirtz – Singapore

Dirk Steiner -- France

Emotion Display Rules … The real (and) complicated picture

Display rules vary with emotion. Display rules vary with circumstance. Display rules vary with occupation. Display rules vary with organization. Display rules vary with culture.

How are all these integrated?

Happiness

Anger

Customer

Service rep

Manager

Subordinate

Coworker

Emotions Targets Countries

France

USA

Singapore

Israel

Sources of Variation

Anxiety

Joy

Happiness

Anger

Customer

Service rep

Manager

Subordinate

CoworkerEmotions

Targets

Countries

France

USA

Singapore

Israel

Definition Issues

Anxiety

Joy

What Is … How do you define…

• ANGER: A feeling of displeasure resulting form injury, mistreatment, opposition and

usually showing itself in a desire to fight back at the supposed cause of this feeling.

• HAPPINESS: A feeling of great pleasure, contentment, joy.

• ANXIETY: A feeling of concern and unease about what might happen

• MANAGER OR SUPERVISOR is defined as someone with whom you interact regularly

at your place of employment and who is supervising or evaluating your work.

…. five target persons …. Manager, coworker, subordinate, customer

service representative and customer.

18

Can Formal Definitions Really Do It?


If interacting with a customer and feeling angry, should you …

Show it More than I feel it

Show it as I feel it

Show it

less than I feel it

Show it with

another expressio

n

Hide it by

showing nothing

Hide it by showing something else

What are Culture Display Rules?

Show it more than

I feel it

Express it as I feel it

Show it less than I

feel it

Show it with

another expression

Hide it by showing nothing

Hide it by showing

something else

RECODE

Emotion should be suppressed

Analyses of Culture Display Rules

Emotion should be expressed

If interacting with a customer and feeling angry, should you …


A year’s work … % in … who say Should Express Anger to …

Percent who said anger should be expressed

01020304050607080

Target Person

Per

cent

of R

espo

nden

ts

USA

Israel

Singapore

France


% in … who say Should Express Anger to …

Percent who said anger should be expressed

01020304050607080

Target Person

Per

cent

of R

espo

nden

ts

USA

Israel

Singapore

France

Bottom Line:

A Global Norm of No Anger

to Customers


% Said Anger Should be Suppressed

• What is the culture of respondents?• Why these countries?

• Why these norms?

Reviewers:Percent who said anger should be expressed

01020304050607080

Target Person

Per

cent

of R

espo

nden

ts

USA

Israel

Singapore

France


Assumption Out There:Anger IS Rewarded

Is this true?

Is it true everywhere?

Customers of a cellular

provider who call about a

problem with their account.

… how should they

act?

Research Project

Greg and John are

Customers of a cellular provider. They both

call about a problem with their account.

…

Greg feels and displays guilt, John feels and displays anger

… Employees can give free

roaming time to some

customers … Who will

receive this benefit?


Reward to angry customer / employee in Israel?

Anger is Rewarded in Israel

39

5

61

95

0

20

40

60

80

100

EmployeeCustomer

% R

ew

ard

ed

Calm

Anger


SingaporeONLY Customer Anger is Rewarded

Singapore Research Move …

Greg feels and displays guilt, John feels and displays

anger …

Who would you reward /

promote?

Accurate Comparison to Israel …

Greg feels and displays guilt, John feels and displays anger …

Who would YOU

promote?

Culture Complications


1. Is there really cultural differences in responses (to anger)?

2. How should cultural differences be assessed? (Self or Other

responses?)

3. Are Self-Other differences unique to anger? Unique to culture?

Some Lessons for Multi-national Studies?


1. Do you really want to do it?2. Do you have the time?

3. Do you have the people? 4. Do you have the theory?

Concrete Lessons on Culture and Research


1. Definition Issues (What is “a customer”?

2. Measurement Issues (How Would? vs. How Would You?)

3. Analysis Issues (Can you / How do you compare?)

Please Visit Me (in Israel) and at http://Anat.Rafaeli.Net

Slides and Papers Available at Culture and Research : Reflection, Stimulation and Frustration Anat Rafaeli Technion Israel Institute.

Documents

research culture slide

france slide

professional slide

experience slide

papers available

hypotheses generation

usa slides

culture stimulation