Socio Cultural Culture

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2.4.2. Socio-Cultural Most of African entrepreneurs are owners of SMEs and they are confronted with the challenges of nurturing their businesses and promoting the tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship (OCED, 2009). However, rapid changes in the global business landscape such as technology, transport, trade, commerce, communication, are currently affecting African entrepreneurs, who are intrinsically attitudinal, and sedentary (Ekeledo & Bewayo, 2009). Similarly, anecdotal evidence indicated that African entrepreneurs are concentrated mainly on their local market spheres, with a low potential for long-term growth and development (Beyene, 2002). This reveals that SME owners are embedded in a socio-cultural and individual aspect of culture …show more content…

The PDI measures the degree or level in which the less influential members’ expectation that power is distributed unevenly. A high PDI indicates that the less powerful members accept uneven distribution of wealth and power in the society, while a low PDI means that the society equality is accepted by everyone. IDV explains the extent of ties among societies, communities and individuals. A high IDV means that individual rights and individualism is dominant and that people are more concern for themselves and family, while a low IDV portray a society where close ties among families exist and collectivism. MAS examine the extent to which mannishness operates in a society. Essentially, it measures what society sees as values such as wealth acquisition, competition (masculine) quality of life, and relationship building. A high MAS indicates that the society values aggressive behavior, while a low MAS means that society values less aggressive traits and feminine traits …show more content…

A high UAI index shows that the society has a low tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity, while a low UAI indicate that the society pay less attention to insecurity, risk and uncertainty and that such society is prone to greater risks. The LTO also known as ‘Confucian dynamism’ examines the extent to which the society deprecates or extols long-term traditional values. A high LTO shows that a given country extols hard work, reward compensation systems, tradition, while a low LTO indicates that the society deprecates long-term traditional values and the orientation of short-term results is dominant. The five dimensions of culture play a critical role as it show that events in the environment consciously and unconsciously influence our thought process, perception and action (Hofstede, 1994). Attitude Attitude is a mental and neural state of readiness, systematized through knowledge. It has the ability to exert a directive and forceful influence upon individual’s response to all objects and situations around which it relate (Allport, 1935); they are better predictors of behaviour (Krosnick & Abelson, 1992). Culture is one of the main sources for the formation of attitudes. Other sources include generation effects, social role, laws, mass media, total institutions, school, family and parents, peers and reference groups and direct experience (Douglass & Pratkanis, 1994).

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