Research Hypotheses | Trust in Knowledge Management and Systems in Organizations

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Not many studies have attempted to examine American IS - and Korean IS expatriate managers (Black & Porter, 1991) who deal with different environments, internal and external rewards, physical working conditions, and relationship with coworkers, and job performance in the banks located in the U.S. As shown in Table 1, the hypotheses examined the goals and objectives of the research aimed at measuring the cross-cultural influences on IS managers' behaviors and attitudes. With different cultural backgrounds, IS managers would want to have different organizational policies, and regulations to meet their culturally specific values, performance and behaviors (Hofstede, 1980, 1984).

Table 1: Relationships between Research Goals and Objectives and Hypotheses.
Research Goals and Objectives	Hypotheses
Goals and Objectives 1	H₁, H₂, H₃, H₄, H₅, and H₇
Goals and Objectives 2	H₆, H₁₀, H₁₃ and H₁₄
Goals and Objectives 3	H₈, H₉, H₁₁, and H₁₂

H₁:	The effects of organizational forms on IS managers' values, behaviors, and relations are culture-specific. Culturogists such as England and Lee (1974), and Hofstede (1983) explained that managerial differences in values, behaviors, and relations will remain permanent around the world as long as there are differences in cultures of nations. Hofstede (1980, 1984) also found that American IS managers were weak uncertainty avoidance, while Korean IS expatriate managers are strong uncertainty avoidance. In addition, the job expectations of IS managers would be determined by the values that the managers have in relation to the various job outcomes. These values would be culturally determined.
H₂:	Cross-cultural influences between the groups of two national IS managers studied lead to measurable differences in their cognitive value systems pertaining to job satisfaction and performances. Hofstede (1980, 1984) explained that expatriate managers from Korean and American managers would display measurable differences in the values systems about job satisfaction and performances in their organization. Thus, the two groups may have different levels of satisfaction on their job and as a result, they may perform differently on the job.
H₃:	American IS managers would place greater emphasis on intrinsic job factors than Korean counterparts, whereas Korean IS managers place relatively more importance on extrinsic job factors such as working conditions and fringe benefits. Kanungo and Wright (1983) explained that American managers are likely to emphasize the protestant ethic, which places high value on work for its own sake. Thus, intrinsic job outcomes such as autonomy, independence and achievement are likely to be valued highly. Korean expatriate managers come largely from a more authoritarian family and educational system with emphasis on a Confucianism ethic. Such background de-emphasizes work ethic and places more emphasis on family (Hofstede, 1980, 1984, 1983; McClelland, 1961). Thus, Korean IS expatriate managers are likely to put more emphasis on the importance of extrinsic job outcomes.
H₄:	Korean IS expatriate managers have job value and behavior profiles that are different from those of the Americans IS managers. Korean IS expatriate managers are influenced by Confucianism work ethic. Thus, they are expected to keep obedience to authority and to the group, to achieve the obligation (England & Lee, 1974).
H₅:	American IS managers working for companies viewed as prestigious by others have greater job satisfaction than those working for less prestigious companies. England and Lee (1974) indicated that American managers place higher importance on the organizationally and interpersonally mediated intrinsic job outcomes. Therefore, American IS managers would expect greater job satisfaction when the company has the high prestige.
H₆:	Korean IS expatriate managers have greater job satisfaction than American IS managers when a bonus is paid for extraordinary performance. As mentioned in Hypothesis 3, Kanungo and Wright (1983) explained that one ethnic group may place value more on extrinsic job outcomes, and the other group may attach relatively more importance to intrinsic job outcomes.
H₇:	Korean IS expatriate managers use a greater percentage of their free time for job-related activities than American IS managers. Kanungo and Wright (1983) explained that intrinsically oriented management would work for achievement at work and are more likely to work in job-related activities in their free time. Therefore, Korean IS expatriate managers would make use of their free time for job-related activities because of their integrity and loyalty to their organization in comparison to the counterpart of American IS managers (Hofstede, 1980, 1984).
H₈:	Korean IS expatriate managers are more likely than American IS managers to exhibit a paternalistic value orientation toward the organization for which they work. Cole (1979) stressed that paternalistic values would more likely be present in Korean managers than in American managers. In other words, Korean IS expatriate managers would show personal caring relationships between co-workers (Edwards, 1979).
H₉:	Korean IS expatriate managers are more integrated in a network of personal affective relationships with co-managers than American IS managers. Edwards (1979) explained that Korean and American workers differ in relation to their personal ties with co-workers. Thus for Korean IS expatriate managers the work relationships between superiors and subordinates have a personal and family relationships which one would hardly find in American IS co-workers.
H₁₀:	American IS managers experience a generally higher level of job satisfaction than Korean IS expatriate managers. The protestant work ethic would place emphasis on striving for more than what is currently possessed, while Confucianism would emphasize contentment with what they have now (England & Lee, 1974). Therefore, Korean IS expatriate managers would likely be less satisfied with their jobs than that of American IS managers. Strong work values raise expectations and thereby American IS managers are more satisfied with the existing level of reward. The gap between expectation and achievement accounts for relative dissatisfaction.
H₁₁:	Korean IS expatriate managers are less satisfied with their organizational involvement than American IS managers. American IS expatriate managers would likely be more satisfied with their organizational involvement than that of Korean IS managers. Strong job involvement raises expectations and thereby managers are more satisfied with the existing level of reward (Cole, 1979). The gap between expectation and achievement accounts for relative dissatisfaction in their organizational involvement.
H₁₂:	IS managers in different societies and with different cultural backgrounds acquire different expectations regarding work organizations. Marsh and Manari (1977) suggested that paternalistic values such as company housing and life-time employment and close relationships between subordinates and superiors raise higher expectations. Thus, Korean IS expatriate managers would expect higher or different expectations from those of American IS managers in the organization.
H₁₃:	Masculine cultures are more effective than feminine cultures in absorbing and diffusing imported IS technology in organizational contexts. Masculine culture's value in more traditional societies sets a limit to the technology transfer possibilities compared to that of feminine societies. Crowley (1973), Herzberg (1957, 1959) and Hofstede (1980, 1984) explained that masculine cultures emphasize advancement, training, up-to-datedness, adopting new IS technology and working on problems to the organization. On the other hand, feminine cultures emphasize friendly atmosphere, position security, physical conditions, cooperation, and co-worker relations in an organization.
H₁₄:	Organizations located in individualistic cultures are more successful than organizations located in collectivistic cultures in their propensity to absorb and diffuse imported IS technology. The collectivist value in more traditional societies sets a limit to the technology transfer possibilities compared to that of individualistic societies. There is an obvious relationship between the organization's technology and position of its members on the individualism and collectivism continuum. Technologies developed in individualist settings presuppose an individualist mentality in managers and workers (Hofstede, 1980, 1984, 1983; Triandis, 1971, 1989). On the other hand, the collectivist value pattern in more traditional societies sets a limit to the technology transfer possibilities.

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