Cultural Hybridization: A Third Way Between Divergence and Convergence

Abstract

The convergence–divergence debate on whether business cultures are growing alike or not has become an important part of studies of the influence of national cultures on the operation of firms. This article intends to formulate a third way, a third model, by creating synergy between the model of cultural hybridization and Social Integration Theory. We contend that cultural hybridization takes place in multicultural joint ventures but this process happens unevenly and in different parts of the venture. The new model, itself a product of hybridization, is illustrated with examples from Chinese and Indian joint ventures.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• cultural hybridization
• India
• joint ventures
• Social Integration Theory