Cultural values from managers' and academicians' perspectives: the case of Turkey

The purpose of this study is to portray societal/cultural values of Turkish people as perceived by managers and academicians. The study also aims to provide an understanding of the cultural context of the Turkish society in terms of socio‐cultural dimensions such as high and low context, monochronic vs polychronic, self‐determined, and temporal orientation.

Instead of using Schwartz's 56‐item questionnaire, the authors used seven cultural and ten individual dimensions as individual items. Cultural values were captured from managers' and academicians' perspectives by changing the frame of reference from self to others. The questionnaire was designed for two different age groups to find the magnitude of change in connection with cultural values.

Results indicate that Turkey can be defined as a conservative country. Hierarchy is ranked as the second most important polar dimension, and the order of cultural values indicates a reverse direction compared to the findings of similar studies with reference to European countries. It also deserves to emphasize the fact that the younger group of respondents is much more conservative and seeks more power over people and resources than the older group of respondents.

This paper, to some extent, may serve as a guide in reflecting today's cultural values in Turkey. It also makes a modest contribution to the relevant literature due to both the portraying cultural values of Turkish people, and the usage of methodological considerations for data collection purposes.