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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
JUNE 2011
VOL 3, NO 2
cultures and the actions of their members. Torbiörn (1982) on the contrary presents an alternative
way to differentiate cultures from each other, namely through analysing three aspects of culture:
language, religion and living standard8, which should be understood in a broad way. According
to his study, these three dimensions can affect the strength of the cultural barrier and are
connected with several aspects of the expatriate’s life abroad. He names aspects such as for
example the orientation of the expatriate to spend his leisure time more with home or host
country nationals and the expatriate’s satisfaction.
In case of intercultural contact, cultural barriers can occur when “cultural differences affect the
individual’s ability to understand or accept and adopt another country’s norms” (Torbiörn
1982:119). Torbiörn (1982) furthermore suggests that an expatriate’s “willingness and ability to
adopt the host country’s norms” (p.119) reflect the level of cultural barriers between the home
and host culture. Hence, cultural barriers are a psychological phenomenon. Torbiörn (1982)
furthermore suggests that in the specific situation of contact, the individual from one of the two
cultures might experience a higher cultural barrier than the other. This could for instance be the
case when the cultural difference affects values that are more central or fundamental in one
culture than in the other. (Torbiörn 1988) It seems relevant to note that, just like cultures, cultural
barriers are not static. Cultures change, barriers can shift and expatriates can find ways to adapt
to cultural norms that they perceive for themselves as barriers (Torbiörn 1982).
Furthermore, some authors (Berry et al. 2002) argue that the greater the distance between the two
meeting cultures, the more difficult the process of acculturation will be. Similarly, Waxin (2006)
suggests that adjustment is more problematic the bigger the cultural distance between the home
and the host culture9. On the other hand, Torbiörn (1982) argues that regardless how big the
cultural barriers are, in the end it seems possible to deal with the host culture. Similarly, but
referring to cultural distance in general rather than to real barriers, Selmer (2007) found that for
expatriates both a distant and a similar culture might be equally challenging to adapt to.
However, as Selmer admits, the findings are the results of one single, exploratory study with all
its limitations. The issue might need to be studied further, for example in different cultural
settings or over longer terms (Selmer 2007). On the contrary, Ting-Toomey and Chung (2005)
suggest that foreigners entering a new culture, expecting a low cultural difference, might
experience rather high levels of problems and frustration. According to them, the assumed
cultural similarity could lead to a failure to see the existing differences, resulting in insensitive
behaviour. In accordance with this, Khan-Panni and Swallow (2003) suggest that when entering
a culture perceived as very similar to ones own, experiencing differences might result in quite a
shock as these differences were not expected.
Denmark and its integration policies
However, according to McGuire and McDermott (1988), the majority of studies on acculturation
fail to consider the characteristics and behaviours of the host country and host society. In line
with that, Berry (2001) observes that acculturation processes not only affect the non-dominant
culture. Hence, research should consider the reactions of the dominant culture. The individual
expatriates settle down in a new country and get in contact with the dominant society, thus, the
dominant culture and its attitude towards integration might influence how individuals can
integrate. Hence, it seems highly relevant, at this point, to consider the host culture and its
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