VOIS - Area 2 - Module 5

  1. MODULE TITLE

Module 5: Cultural Awareness
  1. AUTHORS

assist GmbH, Simona Fabellini
  1. SHORT DESCRIPTION

Enhancing your consciousness about your own cultural values, norms, attitudes and forms of behaviour helps developing an awareness also for the differences between cultures. Starting from the question about what Culture is, you will discover the link between Culture and Open Innovation and then explore how certain elements of culture, called culture dimensions, can typically show when people are working together adapting Open Innovation processes. As people behave according to their own set of values, it is important to understand why the “ethnocentric” perspective may lead to intercultural misunderstandings leading to a negative influence on Open Innovation. Last but not least, you will receive some tips about strategies how to open up to cultural awareness so that in the end you will be better prepared for intercultural encounters by having grown in your intercultural competences.
  1. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

    Upon completing this module, you should be able to:

  • have a deeper understanding of what culture is,
  • know where your culture may show in Open Innovation processes,
  • be able to tell why culture can be a challenge for Open Innovation,
  • will be able to approach other cultures with more awareness in Open Innovation collaborations.
  1. Training Content
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Which Culture Dimensions are particularly relevant for Open Innovation?

Just give yourself a minute to reflect: Would you say there are certain areas in your company where culture is especially relevant when thinking of Open Innovation?

Research in Open Innovation shows that “social and cultural differences increase the difficulty of information sharing across alliances” Dabrowska/Savitskaja 2014: 100).

It is possible to identify several areas important when adopting an Open Innovation strategy which, however, may hinder the process as they are linked to culture, for example:

  • Management and leadership style,
  • Communication strategies,
  • Approach to new enterprises and Risk tolerance,
  • Trust building,
  • Time management,
  • Social interaction.

When thinking of Open Innovation with respect to the country clusters taken from the Globe study there are some dimensions that are particularly relevant. Please keep in mind that the degrees of how strongly or evidently a dimension manifests itself depends on culture-specific factors and may vary from country to country and from cluster to cluster.

The following chart lists some dimensions adapted from the Globe Study (House, 2013, p. 12f.) and relates them to specific aspects of company culture. The last column lists some questions that may help to identify how prominent the dimension is in the own (company) culture.

In summary: The contents of this unit and in particular the table above may help you to understand some elements of your culture. Being aware of the own cultural core elements is a step towards a better understanding of one’s own behavioural reactions. Linked to the country clusters the table may help you to better assess some experience of otherness you can’t explain when in contact with new cultures.

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