44 Journal of Economics, Finance <strong>and</strong> Administrative ScienceDecember 2011Table 2. Application of Hofstede’s Five <strong>Cultural</strong> <strong>Dimensions</strong> to <strong>Tourist</strong> <strong>Behaviors</strong>.Before-Travel <strong>Behaviors</strong> During-Travel <strong>Behaviors</strong> After-Travel BehavioursResearch StudyBT1BT2BT3BT4BT8BT9BT10BT13BT14DT1DT2DT5DT6DT7DT8DT9DT10DT11AT1AT2AT3AT4AT5AT11AT12AT15AT16AT291. Pizam <strong>and</strong> Sussmann (1995)IC IC IC IC IC IC IC IC ICUA UA UA UA UA UA UA UA UA2. Mattila (1999)ICPD3. Crotts <strong>and</strong> Erdmann (2000) MF MF MF4. Kim <strong>and</strong> Lee (2000) IC5. March (2000) IC IC IC IC IC IC IC IC IC6. Wong <strong>and</strong> Lau (2001) CD CD CD CD CD CD CD7. Crotts <strong>and</strong> Litvin (2003) UA UA UA UA MF MF MF8. Hsu <strong>and</strong> Kang (2003)IC IC IC IC ICPD PD PD PD PD9. Money <strong>and</strong> Crotts (2003) UA UA UA UA10. Prebensen, Larsen <strong>and</strong>Abelsen (2003)IC11. Crotts (2004) UA UA UA UA12. Litvin <strong>and</strong> Kar (2004) IC13. Prebensen (2005) IC IC IC IC IC IC IC ICAll14. Reiseinger <strong>and</strong> Mavondo (2005)5All5PD15. Tsang <strong>and</strong> Ap(2007)IC IC IC16. Meng (2010)UA UA UACD17. Kim &McKercher (2011)All5Key:CD = Confucian Dynamism, IC = Individualism/Collectivism, MF = Masculinity/Femininity, PD = Power Distance, UA = Uncertainty AvoidanceJ. econ. finance adm. sci., 16(31), 2011
Vol. 16, Nº 31Manrai & Manrai: Hofstede’s <strong>Cultural</strong> <strong>Dimensions</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tourist</strong> <strong>Behaviors</strong> 45collectivism is the motive, which results in risk reductionas an outcome (IC UA).The conceptual framework developed in the currentresearch is presented in Figure 1. This framework depictsthe applicability of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions todifferent categories of tourists’ behaviors labeled “CollectivityOrientation Driven Travel <strong>Behaviors</strong>,” “RiskTendencies Driven Travel <strong>Behaviors</strong>,” <strong>and</strong> “SocialInteraction Driven Travel <strong>Behaviors</strong>”. The conceptualframework also depicts the processes underlying theapplication of dominant values to these categories oftravel behaviors.DISCUSSIONWe feel that the fifth cultural dimension, ConfucianDynamism, has great potential for application in thetourism research <strong>and</strong> studies of tourist behaviors, especiallyso in the after-travel category of behaviors,which we have characterized as “Social InteractionDriven Travel <strong>Behaviors</strong>.” Travel <strong>and</strong> tourism isessentially an experiential product <strong>and</strong>, in a largeproportion of these experiences, result from socialinteractions with tourism service providers. <strong>Tourist</strong>expectations are influenced by the norms <strong>and</strong> workethics/philosophies applicable in their own cultures<strong>and</strong> the same are used for evaluating the experiences<strong>and</strong> services they received in a foreign culture. TheConfucian Dynamism, which includes values relatingto face, status, tradition, etc., are especially relevantfor understating the behavior of Asian tourists. Someof the discrepancies in the research, discussed earlierin this paper, can be explained using concepts fromthis fifth dimension.The study by Hsu <strong>and</strong> Kang (2003) contemplatedthat the Asian tourists’ favorable response to the repeatvisit intentions question, despite their unfavorable serviceevaluations, can be explained by the geographicalproximity of Asian countries to Hong Kong. Whilethe distance explanation certainly holds ground, weconjecture that the discrepancy in response to theservice evaluation <strong>and</strong> repeat visit intention questionscan also be explained based on the ConfucianDynamism dimension. One of the values included inthe Confucian Dynamism dimension is the concept of“face” which, along with other related cultural valuesof Chinese society such as “Harmony,” “External Attribution,”<strong>and</strong> “Continuity” (Mok & DeFranco, 1999;Yau, 1988), is extremely relevant for underst<strong>and</strong>ingthe behavior of tourists from China <strong>and</strong> other Asiancountries, especially in the after-travel context.The Asian tourist may be dissatisfied <strong>and</strong> may haveevaluated their travel experience rather negatively, butwhen asked about their intention to revisit, they mayprovide a favorable response because such a responsewill be consistent with the notion of “continuity” inChinese value system 2 . It would also protect the “face”of the service provider who may otherwise loose it ifthe tourist was to discontinue the association. Chinesepeople tend not to complain or take a public action; itwould be considered an extreme behavior <strong>and</strong> againstthe Chinese value of “Harmony” with others. Often,“external attributions” are made to avoid confrontationalsituations. Indeed, the Confucian Dynamism conceptcan also explain why in Mattila’s study the Asiantourists did not exhibit their feelings of dissatisfactionon their face, despite their unfavorable evaluation ofthe hotel service encounters. Complaining not onlymakes the service provider to loose his/her face, it isembarrassing for the tourist as well, which certainly isnot desirable in many cultures of the world.There are many salient implications of this researchfor travel <strong>and</strong> tourism marketing. The cultural valuesof Hofstede (1980, 1982, 1983, 2001) are found relevantfor the underst<strong>and</strong>ing of tourist behaviors inall categories of the before, during, <strong>and</strong> after touristexperience. The influence of culture on tourist behaviorspans from basic travel motivation to touristdecision making process involving preference <strong>and</strong>choice behaviors, <strong>and</strong> continues to various aspects ofpost-purchase behaviors such as service quality <strong>and</strong>perceived value evaluations, satisfaction <strong>and</strong> revisit2Chinese belief that once a relationship is established it isextremely difficult to break.J. econ. finance adm. sci., 16(31), 2011
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