Cultural differences in Mexican-German companies analyzed using Hofstede’s model

Abstract

Current commercial relationships between Mexico and Germany are stronger because said Latin American country is the only case of a Free Trade Agreement with that European counterpart. The objective of this work is to analyze Geert Hofstede’s cultural model and explain the similarities and differences between Mexican and German organizations, which enables to successfully manage human talent in multicultural environments. Such model was adopted as it is one of the most widely-known cultural approaches in intercultural research, and this documentary study took a descriptive approach. The conclusions highlight the fact that these cultures only coincide in two of the dimensions proposed by Hofstede: masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Besides, Germany was found to have short power distance and long-term orientation. In turn, Mexico presented a long power distance and short-term orientation. Furthermore, individualism and restriction dominate German organizations, while collectivism and indulgence stand out in Mexican companies. These differences must be considered when successful human talent management in the Mexican-German context is the goal.

Keywords

• multiculturality
• leadership
• human talent
• Mexico
• Germany