Governance structures, cultural distance, and socialization dynamics: further challenges for the modern corporation

Christian Cordes, Stephan Müller, Georg Schwesinger and Sarianna M. Lundan
Additional contact information
Stephan Müller: University of Göttingen
Georg Schwesinger: University of Bremen
Sarianna M. Lundan: University of Bremen

Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 2022, vol. 32, issue 2, No 1, 397 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper relates cultural distance and governance structures. We suggest a model of cultural evolution that captures the idiosyncratic socialization dynamics taking place in groups of communicating and interacting agents. Based on these processes, cultural distance within and between groups or organizational units develops. Transaction cost theorists associate higher cultural distance with higher transaction costs. Therefore, one problem of economic organization is assessing alternative governance structures in terms of the socialization dynamics they enable that entail different intraorganizational transaction costs. Socialization governance structures that can be used to affect cultural distance among employees include shared social experiences in groups, the assignment of influential role models, group sizes, the recruitment of employees presocialized in certain ways, the recognition of specific cultural dimensions such as “individualism” or “collectivism”, and the implementation of cooperative cultures in business units. These yield organizations differential capacities to adapt internal structures in transaction cost-minimizing ways.

Keywords: Cultural distance; Governance structures; Corporate culture; Cultural evolution; Firm performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C61 D21 D23 L25 M14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00191-022-00762-x Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
Working Paper: Governance Structures, Cultural Distance, and Socialization Dynamics: Further Challenges for the Modern Corporation (2020)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:joevec:v:32:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s00191-022-00762-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/191/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s00191-022-00762-x

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Evolutionary Economics is currently edited by Uwe Cantner, Elias Dinopoulos, Horst Hanusch and Luigi Orsenigo

More articles in Journal of Evolutionary Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().