The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness

This thesis examines cross-cultural differences in managerial discretion and the extent to which variations in inter- and intra-cultural practices affect the degree of freedom in decision-making that is afforded to executives. Research into the degree of discretion, or ‘latitude’ of executive action...

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محفوظ في:
التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
المؤلف الرئيسي: Haj Youssef, Moustafa (author)
التنسيق: masterThesis
منشور في: 2017
الموضوعات:
الوصول للمادة أونلاين:http://hdl.handle.net/10725/17601
https://doi.org/10.26756/th.2023.575
http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/thesis.php
https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/q10x2/the-effects-of-inter-and-intra-cultural-variations-on-managerial-discretion-and-the-implications-for-national-competitiveness
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author Haj Youssef, Moustafa
author_facet Haj Youssef, Moustafa
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Haj Youssef, Moustafa
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2017
2017-03
2026-02-06T12:12:12Z
2026-02-06T12:12:12Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10725/17601
https://doi.org/10.26756/th.2023.575
Haj Youssef, M. (2017). The effects of inter-and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness (Doctoral dissertation, University of Westminster).
http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/thesis.php
https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/q10x2/the-effects-of-inter-and-intra-cultural-variations-on-managerial-discretion-and-the-implications-for-national-competitiveness
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv en
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv University of Westminster
dc.rights.*.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Intercultural Communication
Decision making
Business planning
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Thesis
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis
description This thesis examines cross-cultural differences in managerial discretion and the extent to which variations in inter- and intra-cultural practices affect the degree of freedom in decision-making that is afforded to executives. Research into the degree of discretion, or ‘latitude’ of executive action, has primarily focused on individual-, firm-, and industry-level factors which, either enable or otherwise constrain the freedom of executive action. However, research into its national-level antecedents and consequences remains limited. This thesis further develops and extends the extant literature into the topic of managerial discretion by seeking to adopt a broader interpretation of national culture in relation to its effect on executive discretion across 18 countries from 6 different regional clusters. The research entails a quantitative assessment to examine the relationship between cultural practices, managerial discretion and national competitiveness. The investigation into the national-level antecedents, consequences and the role of managerial discretion is studied using a mixture of primary and secondary data. Primary data consists of measurements of the degree of managerial discretion that is derived from survey responses of a panel of senior management consultants, who provided 792 discretion scores for the sampled countries. Secondary data consists of cultural practices derived from GLOBE cross-cultural project and national competitiveness scores operationalized using the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). The thesis presents three empirical analyses of socio-cultural dynamics. The research first addresses how cross-national variations in cultural practices impact managerial discretion. The findings reveal that institutional collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, future-, humane-, and performance orientations, together with gender egalitarianism, assertiveness and cultural looseness, all influence the degree of discretion. In the second dimension, the notion that intra-cultural variation plays a crucial role in shaping managerial discretion is critically discussed. An empirical analysis supports such a proposition and demonstrates a strong and positive association between these two constructs. For the third aspect, the relationship between managerial discretion and national performance is measured and evaluated by determining the impact upon national competitiveness. The data demonstrate that the degree of discretion directly influences national competitiveness and effectively mediates the relationship between cultural practices and national competitiveness. Overall, this PhD contributes to the field of strategic management, by discovering for the first time new national-level antecedents and consequences of managerial discretion, offering new theoretical insights and practical implications.
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spelling The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitivenessHaj Youssef, MoustafaIntercultural CommunicationDecision makingBusiness planningThis thesis examines cross-cultural differences in managerial discretion and the extent to which variations in inter- and intra-cultural practices affect the degree of freedom in decision-making that is afforded to executives. Research into the degree of discretion, or ‘latitude’ of executive action, has primarily focused on individual-, firm-, and industry-level factors which, either enable or otherwise constrain the freedom of executive action. However, research into its national-level antecedents and consequences remains limited. This thesis further develops and extends the extant literature into the topic of managerial discretion by seeking to adopt a broader interpretation of national culture in relation to its effect on executive discretion across 18 countries from 6 different regional clusters. The research entails a quantitative assessment to examine the relationship between cultural practices, managerial discretion and national competitiveness. The investigation into the national-level antecedents, consequences and the role of managerial discretion is studied using a mixture of primary and secondary data. Primary data consists of measurements of the degree of managerial discretion that is derived from survey responses of a panel of senior management consultants, who provided 792 discretion scores for the sampled countries. Secondary data consists of cultural practices derived from GLOBE cross-cultural project and national competitiveness scores operationalized using the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). The thesis presents three empirical analyses of socio-cultural dynamics. The research first addresses how cross-national variations in cultural practices impact managerial discretion. The findings reveal that institutional collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, future-, humane-, and performance orientations, together with gender egalitarianism, assertiveness and cultural looseness, all influence the degree of discretion. In the second dimension, the notion that intra-cultural variation plays a crucial role in shaping managerial discretion is critically discussed. An empirical analysis supports such a proposition and demonstrates a strong and positive association between these two constructs. For the third aspect, the relationship between managerial discretion and national performance is measured and evaluated by determining the impact upon national competitiveness. The data demonstrate that the degree of discretion directly influences national competitiveness and effectively mediates the relationship between cultural practices and national competitiveness. Overall, this PhD contributes to the field of strategic management, by discovering for the first time new national-level antecedents and consequences of managerial discretion, offering new theoretical insights and practical implications.Includes bibliographical references.University of Westminster2026-02-06T12:12:12Z2026-02-06T12:12:12Z20172017-03Thesisinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesishttp://hdl.handle.net/10725/17601https://doi.org/10.26756/th.2023.575Haj Youssef, M. (2017). The effects of inter-and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness (Doctoral dissertation, University of Westminster).http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/thesis.phphttps://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/q10x2/the-effects-of-inter-and-intra-cultural-variations-on-managerial-discretion-and-the-implications-for-national-competitivenesseninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:laur.lau.edu.lb:10725/176012026-02-06T12:14:24Z
spellingShingle The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness
Haj Youssef, Moustafa
Intercultural Communication
Decision making
Business planning
status_str publishedVersion
title The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness
title_full The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness
title_fullStr The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness
title_full_unstemmed The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness
title_short The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness
title_sort The effects of inter- and intra-cultural variations on managerial discretion and the implications for national competitiveness
topic Intercultural Communication
Decision making
Business planning
url http://hdl.handle.net/10725/17601
https://doi.org/10.26756/th.2023.575
http://libraries.lau.edu.lb/research/laur/terms-of-use/thesis.php
https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/q10x2/the-effects-of-inter-and-intra-cultural-variations-on-managerial-discretion-and-the-implications-for-national-competitiveness