Abandon Hofstede-based research? Not yet! A perspective from the philosophy of the social sciences

Abstract

Hofstede’s framework has been immensely popular among practitioners and researchers because of its undeniable practicality. Despite several limitations, the framework has been widely adopted and in continued use. However, recent scholarly critiques have raised serious concerns, even calling for the rejection of the future use of the framework. A deeper analysis is necessary to understand the fundamental considerations in knowledge creation before contemplating an abandonment of a long research tradition. This article systematically examines Hofstede’s framework from a philosophy of science perspective by examining its ontological and epistemological considerations, and related issues, and presents important implications for researchers and managers.