Some empirical insights into cultural differences and management practices: the case of Denmark and Slovenia

Abstract

This paper presents field research on differences in managers’ practices and behaviour in two EU countries: Denmark and Slovenia. The theoretical foundation of the research is based on cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede and Hall. We combined the quantitative part of the research, which was based on surveys between Danish and Slovenian managers with semi-structured interviews. We confirmed many significant differences between Danish and Slovenian management practices and values that were predominantly consequence of two of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions: Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. The emphasis of the research was on the presumption that these differences are even more articulated in extreme situations, such as the current economic crises. We also implicitly sought the answer to the question of what can Slovenian managers learn from the Danish experience. The main scientific contribution of the research is the methodological platform for further research on the effects of cultural characteristics on management practices and business efficiency within the main clusters of the EU countries.

Keywords

• management practices
• national culture
• economic crises
• Denmark
• Slovenia