Study of Pandemic of 2020-2021 by Sociocultural Groups of Countries: Applied Analysis of Parameters

Sociocultural factors have become a one of the priority areas in research within the framework of theories of long-term development. This article discusses the parameters of groups of countries (values of survival-self-expression and traditional secular-rational values) according to the Inglehart - Welzel cultural map, along with other sociocultural and socio-economic indicators. The significant cumulative advantage (gross domestic product (GDP) per capita) of three groups of countries - Anglo-Saxon, Protestant and Catholic - compared to the rest reflects a long history of world progress. A number of the social parameters of these groups probably reflect their level of development, to which other factors have played a role in the long term. A key question addressed in the article. is whether sociocultural factors that have developed over long periods have a significant impact on the behaviour of countries in the context of modern crises, and in this case, on the incidence of vaccination in countries in critical conditions. To answer this question, qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis have been conducted using the instance of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21. The hypothesis was tested on an array of 80-94 countries for which there was relevant statistical data. The tables and calculations presented in the article indicate the following results: countries more advanced in the direction of self-expression values on the Inglehart scale demonstrate higher vaccination scores and lower disease scores, and those oriented toward secular-rational values have higher rates of suicide than countries with predominantly traditional views.

Forced telecommuting during the COVID-19 lockdown: the impact on corporate culture in Spain and Kazakhstan

PurposeThis paper studied organizational culture in two different countries during the COVID-19 lockdown, a stressful social and labor context that obliged entire working populations to telecommute from home. We considered how people have coped with this new scenario, bearing in mind that one of the most relevant aspects of organizational culture and climate is the face-to-face interactions that take place in offices. With telework, that important physical relationship disappears and, since body language has its own grammar, work-related messages logically become open to misunderstanding between leaders and subordinates, as well as among peers.Design/methodology/approachAn anonymous questionnaire (in Spanish and Russian) was distributed through the LinkedIn social media platform. The study intended to capture responses from white-collar professionals with managerial profiles, including those occupying high and medium-level positions, consultants, section directors, and project managers across different industries in both the countries. We collected 142 responses from Spain and 115 from Kazakhstan, with a total of 257 valid responses. Principal component's analysis (PCA), to obtain factorial axis was applied. We then performed a factor analysis of those principal components using Coheris Analytics SPAD 9.1.FindingsThe first finding herein points to the fact that the same experience had different consequences in these two different places, which can be traced back to national-cultural values. Spain and Kazakhstan share some common values and, at the same time, are culturally opposite. People fear uncertainty and one of the best ways to avoid this feeling is to provide them with technical and emotional support to manage a situation. During the COVID-19 lockdown, professionals from both countries expected their bosses to be assertive, driven, attentive and encouraging. And it seems they got just that. Secondly, a robust structure is mandatory for feeling secure: workers reported devoting more hours to telecommuting at home and even felt that their jobs were invading their personal lives, but they handled it because they knew to whom they should report. Procedures, rules, and methods were clear enough to avoid uncertainty. They even invented new rituals, patterns and practices that helped to reinforce their sense of belonging to the team. On top of this, in their responses, they noted that leaders acted consistently, even admirably, during lockdown and, for this reason, they gained their subordinates' respect.Research limitations/implicationsResponses from female participants more than doubled those from males in this sample. Women are assumed to prefer flexible working conditions so that they can better take care of children and/or elderly or dependent persons, but this could just be a long-standing bias. On the other hand, the incorporation of women into professional life has feminized work environments, translating into more concern for workers' personal circumstances and more awareness of the human relationships therein. Thus, independent of the country studied, gender is another factor to consider for future research.Practical implicationsThis article proposes further exploratory study of how organizational contexts are affected by unexpected, informal and even radical changes, as well as of organizations' ability to manage said changes by looking to their cultural values.Originality/valueFacing a common enemy— the coronavirus— seems to have made workers more positive and less prone to complaining. Workers have been resolute and have tried their best not only in their individual work, but also with their co-workers and teams. The data suggests that, even when analyzing two diverse countries in terms of their cultural historical, and sociological contexts, companies' reactions impacted their employees somewhat similarly and engendered similar responses. At the same time, the reactions of Spanish and Kazakhstani professionals vary on certain aspects, and, surprisingly, converge in terms of avoiding uncertainty, w ich suggests a conservative reaction in both countries. This study concludes that structure (clarity of procedures, norms, patterns) and leaders' recognition of their employees' efforts to overcome uncertainty were of utmost importance.

Pandemic Parameters 2020-2021 by Socio-Cultural Groups of Countries - Applied Analysis

Sociocultural factors have become a one of the priority areas in research within the framework of theories of long-term development. This article discusses the parameters of groups of countries (values of survival-self-expression and traditional-secular-rational values) according to the Inglehart- Welzel cultural map, along with other sociocultural and socioeconomic indicators. The significant cumulative advantage (gross domestic product (GDP) per capita) of three groups of countries - Anglo-Saxon, Protestant and Catholic - -compared to the rest reflects a long history of world progress. A number of the social parameters of these groups probably reflect their level of development, to which other factors have played a role in the long term. A key question addressed in the article. is whether sociocultural factors that have developed over long periods have a significant impact on the behaviour of countries in the context of modern crises, and in this case, on the incidence of vaccination in countries in critical conditions. To answer this question, qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis have been conducted using the instance of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21. The hypothesis was tested on an array of 80-94 countries for which there was relevant statistical data. The tables and calculations presented in the article indicate the following results: countries more advanced in the direction of self-expression values on the Inglehart scale demonstrate higher vaccination scores and lower disease scores, and those oriented toward secular-rational values have higher rates of suicide than countries with predominantly traditional views.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FINTECH PAYMENT SERVICES ADOPTION AMONG MALAYSIAN AND INDONESIAN FRESH GRADUATES: THROUGH THE LENS OF UTAUT THEORY

The Covid-19 pandemic had changed the business model in various industries. Companies have switched to digital business processes in order to survive in this challenging situation. Financial Technology (Fintech), especially digital payment services, has become the most preferred solution for handling financial transactions in conditions of limited mobility and interaction. The phenomenal emergence of Fintech has captured the attention of the world and the Asian region, including Malaysia and Indonesia. Despite various benefits offered by Fintech, the adoption rate is still relatively low, especially for IT-savvy groups of fresh graduates in both countries. This comparative study aims to analyze the adoption of Fintech payment services in Malaysia and Indonesia using the UTAUT theory approach. The research measures the relationships between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, consumers’ trust, and national culture with the adoption of Fintech. Each indicator of national culture, such as individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long-term orientation, was measured to see its relationship with the adoption rate. The quantitative method was employed, and the data were collected via an online survey of a total of 486 respondents. Using multivariate regression analysis, 57.9 % behavioral adoption of Fintech payment services both in Malaysia and Indonesia was explained through performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, customer trust and national culture. The study revealed that performance expectancy and the cultural factor individualism had the highest effect on the decision to adopt digital payment services. This study contributes to the Fintech ecosystem in both countries by providing some recommendations to Fintech providers, financial institutions, and governments in policy making. It is also expected that the research will support the government’s goal to become a cashless society as a strategy to increase financial inclusion © 2022, Authors. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons CC BY license

National culture and the demand for physical money during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a significant increase in the demand for physical money during the COVID-19 pandemic. This stood in stark contrast to the decline in demand witnessed during previous pandemics. However, the change was not uniform and varied significantly between countries. By employing the "national culture" framework to identify the drivers of this variation, this study found that uncertainty avoidance, as well as social norms regarding gratification, played a major role. This suggests that some central banks should hold larger cash reserves to mitigate the risk of uncertainty and that the national culture framework may prove useful in researching the international differences in past, present, and future money demand.

Forced telecommuting during the COVID-19 lockdown: the impact on corporate culture in Spain and Kazakhstan

Purpose This paper studied organizational culture in two different countries during the COVID-19 lockdown, a stressful social and labor context that obliged entire working populations to telecommute from home. We considered how people have coped with this new scenario, bearing in mind that one of the most relevant aspects of organizational culture and climate is the face-to-face interactions that take place in offices. With telework, that important physical relationship disappears and, since body language has its own grammar, work-related messages logically become open to misunderstanding between leaders and subordinates, as well as among peers. Design/methodology/approach An anonymous questionnaire (in Spanish and Russian) was distributed through the LinkedIn social media platform. The study intended to capture responses from white-collar professionals with managerial profiles, including those occupying high and medium-level positions, consultants, section directors, and project managers across different industries in both the countries. We collected 142 responses from Spain and 115 from Kazakhstan, with a total of 257 valid responses. Principal component's analysis (PCA), to obtain factorial axis was applied. We then performed a factor analysis of those principal components using Coheris Analytics SPAD 9.1. Findings The first finding herein points to the fact that the same experience had different consequences in these two different places, which can be traced back to national-cultural values. Spain and Kazakhstan share some common values and, at the same time, are culturally opposite. People fear uncertainty and one of the best ways to avoid this feeling is to provide them with technical and emotional support to manage a situation. During the COVID-19 lockdown, professionals from both countries expected their bosses to be assertive, driven, attentive and encouraging. And it seems they got just that. Secondly, a robust structure is mandatory for feeling secure: workers reported devoting more hours to telecommuting at home and even felt that their jobs were invading their personal lives, but they handled it because they knew to whom they should report. Procedures, rules, and methods were clear enough to avoid uncertainty. They even invented new rituals, patterns and practices that helped to reinforce their sense of belonging to the team. On top of this, in their responses, they noted that leaders acted consistently, even admirably, during lockdown and, for this reason, they gained their subordinates' respect. Research limitations/implications Responses from female participants more than doubled those from males in this sample. Women are assumed to prefer flexible working conditions so that they can better take care of children and/or elderly or dependent persons, but this could just be a long-standing bias. On the other hand, the incorporation of women into professional life has feminized work environments, translating into more concern for workers' personal circumstances and more awareness of the human relationships therein. Thus, independent of the country studied, gender is another factor to consider for future research. Practical implications This article proposes further exploratory study of how organizational contexts are affected by unexpected, informal and even radical changes, as well as of organizations' ability to manage said changes by looking to their cultural values. Originality/value Facing a common enemy- the coronavirus- seems to have made workers more positive and less prone to complaining. Workers have been resolute and have tried their best not only in their individual work, but also with their co-workers and teams. The data suggests that, even when analyzing two diverse countries in terms of their cultural historical, and sociological contexts, companies' reactions impacted their employees somewhat similarly and engendered similar responses. At the same time, the reactions of Spanish and Kazakhstani professionals vary on certain aspects, and, surprisingly, converge in terms of avoiding uncertainty, which suggests a conservative reaction in both countries. This study concludes that structure (clarity of procedures, norms, patterns) and leaders' recognition of their employees' efforts to overcome uncertainty were of utmost importance.

What does COVID-19 teach us about the role of national culture? Evidence from social distancing restrictions

In this paper, we exploit the immediacy, magnitude, and global extent of the COVID-19 shock to investigate the role of national culture in determining differences in publicly imposed social distancing restrictions. Employing the Stringency Index of the Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker database for 85 countries, we find that countries with higher values of Hofstede’s power distance adopted more stringent social distancing measures in response to COVID-19. In contrast, countries with higher individualism and long-term orientation implemented fewer such policies. Further, culture impacts the quickness to adopt social distancing policies. Results are robust for alternative measures of national culture, and to controlling for endogeneity. They are also robust to extending the sample to the end of June 2021, using daily observations. Results suggest that societies rich in the cultural qualities of individualism and long-term orientation, often seen as promoting economic cooperation and stability, are less effective at dealing with sudden and transformative public policy crises compared with those with high levels of power distance. Results confirm the potent role of national culture in impacting institutions.

The impact of social cohesion on stock market resilience: Evidence from COVID-19

We investigate whether cultural tightness, the strength of social norms, provides stock markets with resilience to external shocks. There is tension in forming expectations regarding this. One reasoning, particularly following from cultural archaeology literature, is that societies best cope with challenges, disaster recovery, and loss when they are culturally comfortable with transformation, with cultural tightness arguably opposed to cultural change. On the other hand, alternative reasoning is that tightness allows for societal cohesion that supports optimism to function in a unified way to confront challenge. We test whether markets were supported by cultural tightness during COVID-19 adversity. In accordance with the latter view, we evidence that stock market volatilities during COVID-19 were significantly lower in countries with ‘tighter’ cultures.

What determines a country's proactiveness during a pandemic?

What determines a country's proactiveness during a pandemic? The answer to the question lies the focus of this article. This study attempted to determine the extent to which Hofstede's national cultural dimensions are associated with a country's proactiveness. Proactiveness is about acting in advance for the desired outcome(s). The present study accounted for the country's proactiveness as the number of tests conducted per thousand people in the initial phase of the pandemic to prevent an outbreak. For this, data from 64 countries was used and found that cultural dimensions such as power distance, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance influence a country's proactiveness in the pandemic outbreak's initial phase. Low power distance, low masculinity, and high uncertainty avoidance are related to increased proactiveness. National cultural dimensions explain approximately 66% of the variance in proactiveness. The study findings suggest that national culture influences a country's efforts during the pandemic, implying the need to consider the country's cultural orientation for the effective design and implementation of preventive measures. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

INSIGHTS FROM PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF CLASSROOM CHAT LOGS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This work-in-progress practice paper reports on the experiences of using Microsoft Teams to teach a large postgraduate class on database systems during the 2020/'21 academic year, under conditions when students and lecturers were in an enforced societal lock-down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The class was made up of 167 students of 12 different nationalities from diverse backgrounds. Determined efforts were made to create an interactive online classroom experience through the use of quizzes, practical demonstrations, worked examples, and live discussion. The chat feature of Microsoft Teams was extensively used by students to pose and answer questions, as well as to communicate with each other outside of class time. An analysis of the chat log files is presented, looking at how factors such as gender and national culture influenced behaviour, and also looking at how participation in the chat impacted upon the sense of belonging and overall performance. © Proceedings of the 2021 AIS SIGED International Conference on Information Systems Education and Research.

Acceptability of the COVID-19 contact-tracing app - Does culture matter?

During the pandemic, several countries deployed contact-tracing apps in order to contain or reduce the community spread of COVID-19. However, the success rate in terms of acceptance and use of these apps was reportedly low. Using information gathered from citizens across four European countries and the United States of America, this study explores the role of national culture in relation to the acceptance of these apps. Using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), an analysis was undertaken of 3595 records from a cross-country survey dataset that is in the public domain and can be obtained from the Centre for Open Science (Study 1). This analysis was followed by another survey comprising 910 respondents (Study 2). The research model was then validated by using a qualitative approach and undertaking interviews with 51 participants from four countries (Study 3). The results confirmed the moderating role of national culture on the acceptability of the contact-tracing apps in relation to power-distance, masculinity, individualism, long-term orientation and indulgence in the pre-deployment phase (Study 1). There were, however, no significant differences in acceptability of the apps between countries in relation to uncertainty avoidance; and none of the hypotheses in Study 2 was supported. The study concludes that national culture is significant in terms of the acceptance of COVID-19 apps only during the pre-deployment phase; therefore attention is required with pertinence to pre-deployment strategies. Recommendations regarding how governments and public health institutions can increase the acceptability of contact-tracing apps have been highlighted.

The double-edged sword of social media usage during the COVID-19 pandemic: demographical and cultural analyses

Purpose This exploratory research aims to (1) investigate the bright and dark sides of social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic;(2) explore the impact of demographic factors on social media usage;and (3) assess the effects of cultural dimensions on social media usage. Design/methodology/approach The data are collected through an online survey. Factors derived from grounded theories and models such as affordance theory and Hofstede's cultural framework were considered. Spearman correlation and nonparametric analysis were used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results revealed that social media usage was positively associated with healing and affiliation, and negatively associated with self-control. There are also positive associations between social media usage and sharing information related to COVID-19 without verification, perceived reliability of COVID-19 information on social media and relapse. The impact of demographic and cultural factors indicated significant effects of gender, age, marital status, educational level, power distance and collectivism on social media usage, sharing information, perceived information reliability, healing and affiliation. Originality/value This study contributes to technology affordances by examining social media's positive and negative affordances in a new context (COVID-19 pandemic). From the positive side, this study explores the use of social media for healing and affiliation. As for the negative impact of social media during the pandemic, this study assesses the user's addiction to social media use (relapse) and perception of the social media information reliability and information sharing without verification. It is among few research endeavors conducted in a non-Western country. This study also examines the influence of demographic and cultural factors on social media users. The results provide insights for both researchers and policymakers regarding social media usage.

The impact of government nonmarket policy on a firm's financial performance: a lesson from COVID-19 pandemic lockdown's policy

Purpose This paper examines the effect of lockdown on a firm's financial performance. The authors aim to fill in the debate over the corporate world's repercussions from governments' COVID-19 response. Therefore, it is imperative to understand what effect the lockdown policy has on firm financial performance. Design/methodology/approach The study data are cross-sectional, covering a sample of 246 listed firms in Indonesia. The lockdown policy and period data were retrieved from the Indonesian Ministry of Health COVID-19 special task force website. The authors' empirical model for performance specification is based on annual data, following a common performance function in economics and finance literature. In addition to controlling for the standard error and province effect, the authors also controlled the COVID-19 cases and the province effect. Findings The lockdown deteriorates the firm's profitability, but it is not up to making the firms at financial distress level. Simply put, lockdown erodes the profitability significantly, leading to declining performance;however, it does not mean the firms generate default. Research limitations/implications Several shortcomings in the authors' empirical setup need to be tackled for future research. For example, the study findings may limit the short-run effect but not the long-run effect (5-10 years after the pandemic). The findings also do not give room to justify that lockdown should not be imposed due to its deteriorating effect on the corporate world. Therefore, the authors leave this as a scope for future research. Originality/value This research is among the pioneer papers evaluating the effect of the government policy for mitigating the repercussions of COVID-19, and it reveals how this policy affects corporations.

Benefits of Business Intelligence Systems and Multiple National Cultures During Covid-19

Infobesity presents a challenge in the information age, necessitating business intelligence systems for conducting business. The information age is also characterized by organizations spread across culturally different countries, which gain performance benefits from multiple national cultures. We study the effect of Business Intelligence Systems and Multiple National Cultures within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic that resulted in the erosion of market value of firms. We propose that though firms that used Business Intelligence Systems or benefitted from Multiple National Cultures exhibited better performance, the concurrent occurrence of these two phenomena resulted in a weakened effect on performance. Our econometric analysis of Fortune 500 firms finds strong support for our theory. Wemake significant contributions to the e-Business literature within the information systems discipline and to broader inter-disciplinary management research.

EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSES AND THE ROLE OF NATIONAL CULTURE IN ADDRESSING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

The colossal proportion of the COVID-19 disaster, with approximately 213 million confirmed cumulative cases and 4.5 million deaths at the end of August 2021, is of historical significance that is unparalleled. The pandemic has had an impact on the physical, mental and economic welfare of human beings in every corner of the world. To contain the crisis, governments have implemented a set of policies, aimed at directing human behaviour and improving healthcare outcomes almost from the outset, with varying levels of success. The battle against the virus continues. This study utilises data on growth in daily COVID-19 confirmed cases, from 56 countries which were most affected by the pandemic and investigates the effectiveness of several policies implemented by governments. The investigation covers the period, 24 January 2020 to 25 June 2021. The policies analysed in detail constitute 13 containment and health measures, incorporated in the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. The research is based on the premise that the contexts in which policies are implemented have a bearing on the outcomes. The contexts are classified under economic status, national culture, the level of human development and population density. We find that these contexts are relevant in determining the success of alternative policy prescriptions. Overall, the containment and health measures are effective in curtailing the growth in COVID-19 cases to varying degrees across all economic contexts of countries. Containment measures are least effective in lower-middle income countries. Three of the six dimensions of Hofstede's national culture classifications tend to be positively associated with infection rates and the other three negatively associated. Moreover, national culture has a more prominent impact on the effectiveness of actions to reduce the growth in COVID-19 cases in lower-middle income countries. It is important to improve effectiveness of government policy responses to combat the pandemic by tailoring them to country-specific contexts. Our findings contribute to this customisation. © 2021 WIT Press.

Impact of national culture on the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study examines how cultural differences can affect the transmission of COVID-19 in different countries. From a sample of 92 countries, we used cross-country data based on Hofstede's cultural dimensions to investigate the impact of culture on COVID-19 transmission. We found a significant impact of culture on the spread of COVID-19. Specifically, this study reveals that individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance have a positive impact on confirmed COVID-19 cases. The relationships between cultural differences and the total number of COVID-19 deaths were also positive. This study provides valuable insights into the influences that national culture could have on the effectiveness of responses to a similar global pandemic situation in the future.

Single-rating, multi-rating 360° performance management and organizational outcomes: evidence from the UAE

PurposeThis study is an academic attempt to bridge the gap between Western theories and the under-researched non-western contexts by studying the characteristics of traditional and modern performance management systems (PMSs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Drawing on the expectancy theory, this study aims to discuss the significant causal relationship between the implementation of single-rating, multi-rating 360° performance management (PM) and organizational outcomes such as trust, commitment, satisfaction and intention to leave.Design/methodology/approachUsing the self-reported measures and survey method, data were collected from 439 employees from different organizations across the UAE. Explanatory factor analysis, simple linear regression and multi-group were used to test the proposed conceptual model and examine the mediation and moderation impact.FindingsThe study explored the best-practices attributes of the traditional single-rating, multi-rating 360° PM within a non-western context. This study also provides empirical evidence on the significant role of uncertainty avoidance and power distance orientation as a mediator between the relationship between these PMSs and trust, commitment, job satisfaction and intention to leave. Finally, this paper examined the effect of many demographic variables (such as gender, age, industry type […]) on the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variables.Originality/valueThis study extends research on PM theories and models. Another important aspect of this study is that its model has been tested on the UAE’s data, an underrepresented geographic region in the management literature. Given all the PM’s positive characteristics, the way that this feedback is viewed and interpreted by employees may be moderated according to the employee’s management level, age, gender and many other demographics.

Corporate immunity, national culture and stock returns: Startups amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Small and medium-sized firms, particularly startups, are highly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic because of their financial instability. Using a sample of listed startups across four countries, we investigate whether a startup's built-up capacity pre-COVID-19 can stimulate corporate immunity to endure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflected via stock performance. We find that the increase in the accumulated COVID-19 confirmed cases worsens stock returns and that the negative effect is alleviated if startups are greater in size as well as have low debt, large board size and CEO duality. Moreover, national cultural dimensions significantly moderate the relationship between stock returns and COVID-19. The COVID-19 negative impact is relieved in societies where people are more collectivistic and cooperative, less tolerant towards uncertainty, and more long-term oriented. Overall, our results support the consolidation of corporate capacities and suggest policymakers consider national culture when formulating COVID-19 or similar infectious pandemic strategies.

Stock markets' reaction to Covid-19: Moderating role of national culture.

Recent literature reports stock markets around the world reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic with negative returns. However, this reaction was not uniform across countries. In this paper, we postulate that the national-level uncertainty avoidance, which determines how sensitive members of a nation are to uncertainty, moderates the stock markets' reaction to the pandemic. Using daily data of Covid-19 confirmed cases and stock market returns from 43 countries, we find robust evidence that the decline in stock market returns in response to one percent increase in growth in confirmed cases is stronger for the countries with higher national-level uncertainty aversion.