Cross-Cultural Research: Are Researchers Better Served by Knowing Respondents’ Country of Birth, Residence, or Citizenship?

Abstract

With the continued growth in global tourism, an increasing number of scholars are incorporating national culture as a key variable in their research. However, researchers confront a fundamental methodological issue: Should they be concerned with their respondents’ national culture of birth, residence, or citizenship? Drawing from a database composed of 847 international travelers whose country of birth, place of residence, and national citizenship differed, this study replicated two recent studies to ascertain which measure best explained traveler attitudes and behaviors. Results indicate that assigning participants’ national culture measures based on their country of residence provides researchers a more robust means to account for cultural differences than does either country of birth or country of citizenship.