Cross‐cultural differences in Central Europe

Abstract

The positions of four Central European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) on Hofstede's dimensions of national cultures are estimated on the basis of matched samples of students. Findings from The Netherlands are used to calibrate the scores found for the four Central European countries. The findings show that there are important differences between the value orientations in Western Europe (represented by The Netherlands) and Central Europe. Furthermore, there are substantial differences among the four Central European countries. Slovakia has an extreme position among these countries on four of the five dimensions. The differences found may have implications for the political and economic processes of integration within Europe.