How National Culture Influences the Speed of COVID-19 Spread: Three Cross-Cultural Studies

• Published in: Cross-cultural research Vol. 57; no. 2-3; pp. 193 - 238
• Main Authors: Huang, Xiaoyu, Gupta, Vipin, Feng, Cailing, Yang, Fu, Zhang, Lihua, Zheng, Jiaming, Van Wart, Montgomery
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2023; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Collectivism; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cross cultural studies; Cultural differences; Cultural groups; Cultural studies; Culture; Group identity; Original; Pandemics; Power; Uncertainty; cross-cultural study; humane orientation; uncertainty avoidance; speed of COVID-19 spread; cultural tightness; national culture; power distance; in-group collectivism
• ISSN: 1069-3971; 1552-3578
• DOI: 10.1177/10693971221141478

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 222 countries and territories around the globe. Notably, the speed of COVID-19 spread varies significantly across countries. This cross-cultural research proposes and empirically examines how national culture influences the speed of COVID-19 spread in three studies. Study 1 examines the effects of Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions on the speed of COVID-19 spread in 60 countries. Drawing on the GLOBE study (House et al., 2004), Study 2 investigates how GLOBE cultural dimensions relate to the speed of the pandemic’s spread in 55 countries. Study 3 examines the effect of cultural tightness in 31 countries. We find that five national cultural dimensions – power distance, uncertainty avoidance, humane orientation, in-group collectivism, and cultural tightness – are significantly related to the speed of COVID-19 spread in the initial stages, but not in the later stages, of the pandemic. Study 1 shows that the coronavirus spreads faster in countries with small power distance and strong uncertainty avoidance. Study 2 supports these findings and further reveals that countries with low humane orientation and high in-group collectivism report a faster spread of the disease. Lastly, Study 3 shows that COVID-19 spreads slower in countries with high cultural tightness.