Hofstede () defines power distance as “the extent to which the members of a society accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally” (p. 347). Cultures differ in their level of power distance, and those with high power distance justify inequalities in the society or ingroup, whereas those with low power distance are more concerned with maintaining equality. The countries with high power distance include Malaysia, Philippines, Mexico, and China among others, whereas Austria, Israel, Denmark, and New Zealand are some of the countries with the lowest power distance.
Introduction
In his seminal work Culture’s Consequences, Geert Hofstede () reports the findings of his famous IBM research and defines several cultural dimensions including power distance. In addition to cross-cultural research, power distance and its implications have influenced the psychological research on organizational culture and politics.
Power Distance and Cultural...
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Department of Psychology, Yasar University, Izmir, Turkey
Sinan Alper
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Alper, S. (2019). Power Distance. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. //doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1888-1