A configurational and experimental approach to compare British and Chinese cultural profiles of generation Y

This study provides new activity-based classifications for cultural differences and similarities, in contrast to the cultural dimensions of hierarchy, group behavior, uncertainty avoidance and time-orientation. In terms of cultural activity types, Lewis (1999) distinguishes linear-active, multi-active and reactive cultures. Moving away from a country perspective based on political boundaries to a cultural community approach, it is not only time-orientation, but also the way cultures communicate, negotiate, and contract that shape activity types. This article conceptualizes, hypothesizes and tests observations with a set-theoretic tool—fuzzy set QCA. The analysis focuses on two distinct cultural profiles: the British and Chinese. The outcome of the configurational and experimental analysis shows that young managers from Britain and China have more similarities than differences.