Intercultural Management in Focus – Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck’s Cultural Value Orientations

Intercultural Management as a Success Factor

In global business, intercultural management, cultural diversity, and worldwide collaboration are critical to long-term success. To prevent misunderstandings and build strong cross-border relationships, managers need in-depth knowledge of cultural dimensions. Our intercultural training provides these competencies, blending academic research with practical application to turn intercultural challenges into competitive advantages.

Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck – The Pioneers

Florence Kluckhohn and Fred L. Strodtbeck developed one of the earliest frameworks for measuring cultural differences, based on their research among indigenous communities in the Rimrock region of the southwestern United States (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961).

Their work was groundbreaking in two ways:

1. They introduced the concept of breaking culture down into measurable dimensions, a method later adopted by all subsequent cultural models.
2. They demonstrated that cultural differences can be systematically analyzed and compared, laying the foundation for modern intercultural research.

Later studies connected Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck’s findings directly to U.S. management practices, proving their enduring relevance for leadership, HR, and international cooperation.

The Five Cultural Value Orientations

Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck identified five dimensions to describe cultural variation across societies. These include:

• Human Nature Orientation – perceptions of whether people are inherently good, evil, or a mix.
• Man-Nature Relationship – beliefs about humans’ role in relation to nature.
• Time Orientation – focus on past, present, or future priorities.
• Activity Orientation – preference for being, achieving, or doing.
• Relational Orientation – emphasis on individualism, group identity, or hierarchical structures.

These dimensions remain a vital analytical tool for understanding how cultural values influence decision-making and leadership in global business contexts.