Running Head: CULTURAL CONVERGENCE IN UAE
CULTURAL IDENTITY AND CONVERGENCE ON WESTERN ATTITUDES AND
BELIEFS IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Rodney C Hills
Crawford School of Economics and Government
Australian National University
Acton, ACT, 0200
Australia
Paul W B Atkins
Crawford School of Economics and Government
Australian National University
Acton, ACT, 0200
Australia
Corresponding Author:
Dr. Paul W.B. Atkins
Crawford School of Public Policy
Australian National University
Canberra, ACT 0200
AUSTRALIA
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +61 2 6125 8979
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ABSTRACT
Studies of acculturation have assumed that, under pressure to assimilate, individuals will
accommodate by adopting behavioural and attitudinal attributes of the local, dominant culture. In
contrast, this empirical study based in the United Arab Emirates used an original survey
instrument, together with a range of convergent analytic techniques, to demonstrate pervasive
westernization in the Arab and Subcontinental dominant communities. In addition, the study
demonstrates a novel use of multiple discriminant analysis to explore differences between
cultural and personal identities, a potentially useful tool for the cross-cultural management
literature. In contrast to other studies, we examine how individuals perceive themselves as
deviating from their home cultures in a context where there is minimal pressure to conform to the
local culture and commercial globalization is given free reign. We show that non-Westerners
perceived themselves both as more deviant from their home societies than those from Western
nations, and as more similar to Westerners than to their own societies. The fact that even those
born in Gulf Arab nations tended to converge on Western beliefs and behaviours suggested the
cause of westernization may have been media and Western business models. These observations
lead us to challenge common theoretical models of acculturation individuals may acculturate by
assuming learned transient aspects of cultural identity in order to maximize personal opportunity.
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KEYWORDS: Cultural Identity, Attitudes And Beliefs, Acculturation, Migration, Globalization,
Management, Middle-East
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The processes by which individuals adjust their behavior, values and identity in the face of other
cultures are important for understanding both the multicultural workplace and transnational
migration. While research has documented individual acculturation in organizations where two
cultural groups are required to work together (Brannen & Salk, 2000; De La Torre, 1978: 301;
Fisher & Hartel, 2003; Peterson, 1978) and in situations of family migration (Budhwar, 2008;
Konig, 2009; Malhi, 2009; Mirdal, 2006; Wagoner, 2008), in both these situations there is
usually pressure to conform to a dominant, majority group for economic and social success.
This study was undertaken in a more plural society in the Arabian Gulf and therefore explores
the dynamic processes of acculturation at work in a situation where cultural pressures are
ambiguous. The data was collected in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a region with a very
large expatriate working population, where individuals have to make their own behavior and
attitudinal choices within social frameworks that encompass family, organization, and the society
at large (Molavi, 2007). The largest component of the study sample came from Dubai, an
economic environment in which a global population is encouraged to participate (Malecki &
Ewers, 2007; Naithani & Jha, 2010; National Media Council of the UAE, 2010) and little formal
pressure is applied in some Emirates to make individuals conform to the norms and practices of
an Islamic society, for example in relation to dress and socialization (Khan, Clear, Al-Kaabi, &
Pezeshki, 2010; Naser, Mohammed, & Nuseibeh, 2009). The Dubai Government Website (Dubai
Government, 2011) indirectly illustrates this willingness to tolerate a diversity of behaviors with
many pages welcoming expatriates, while the only section of the website dealing with behavioral
etiquette is found in the section addressing “practicing religion”.
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Although this is an Arab Muslim State, UAE born citizens are estimated to comprise less than
19% of the total of just over 5 million (National Media Council of the UAE, 2010). Rasheed
(2009) reported that the UAE consisted of a rapidly increasing expatriate population comprising
1.75 million Indians, 1.25 million Pakistanis, 500,000 Bangladeshis, 1 million from other Asian
communities and 500,000 Westerners. It is not uncommon in any large organization in the UAE
to have a working population representing more than 40 nationalities. Not unsurprisingly, this
mix of cultures produces cross-cultural miscommunication, tension, sometimes conflict and often
inefficiency. Sometimes these problems stem from language differences (El Amouri & O'Neill,
2011; Khuwaileh, 2003), but often poor levels of interpersonal trust or misunderstood values
contribute (Al-Ali, 2008; Ali, 2010; Ali, Azim, & Krishnan, 1995; Barhem, Younies, & Smith,
2011; Goodwin & J., 2010; Kuehn & Al-Busaidi, 2000). These points were often acknowledged
and discussed during cross-cultural management training undertaken by the first author, but
would seldom be discussed openly in the workplace.
Acculturation Migration and the Middle East Context
Migrants are expected to acculturate and studies of acculturation have tended to focus on
migrants who are expected to change gradually to conform to the norms of the society into which
they have migrated. Much research has focused on migrants into western societies and the extent
and speed of changes that occur for the migrants and their families (Budhwar, 2008; Malhi,
2009; Mirdal, 2006; Rasmussen, 2007). With a wider focus on multiculturalism, there has been
some shift to considering the benefits of different multicultural policies and whether this impacts
on rate of adjustment (Berry, Poortinga, Segall, & Dasen, 2002). However, there has been no
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research in a heterogeneous society, such as the UAE, in which there is no implicit pressure to
adjust at the social and organizational level to a dominant national group. In the UAE there is
also the added complexity of whether the minority local national society can maintain its own
cultural heritage in the face of such plurality (Al-Waqfi & Forstenlechner, 2010; Raven &
O'Donnell, 2010). Indeed this concern has been so prevalent that 2008 was decreed by President
His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan's as National Identity Year for the UAE and
included a National Identity Conference (UAW Interact, 2008).
There has been considerable interest in the West on the movement of Muslims into western
society (Mirdal, 2006) and, within the Middle East there has been a growing interest in defining
concepts of Islamic management (Ali & Al-Kazemi, 2007; Ali & Al-Owaihan, 2008; Fontaine,
2008; Yeganeh & Su, 2007), Islamic work ethic (Kumar, 2010; Yousef, 2001) and Arab
management styles (Behery, 2009; Dedoussis, 2004; Neal, 2007; Smith, 2007; Yasin, 2002,
2007). There appears to have been no research examining changing Arab culture as affected by
immigration, or the impact of western business practices within the Middle East.
As mentioned previously, approximately 50% of the UAE workforce is from the Subcontinent
which we define as comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We refer to the
nationals of these countries collectively as Subcontinentals for brevity. The literature on the
Subcontinent has examined both Hindu and Muslim culture and its behavioral implications in
comparison with Western management (Ahmed, 2008; Banerjee, 2008; Bhal, 2006; Khilji, 2004;
Kumar, 2004; Parboteeah, Paik, & Cullen, 2009; Sen & Wagner, 2009) and there are studies of
Subcontinentals as migrants into the West (Budhwar, 2008; Malhi, 2009). There is a growing
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literature on Subcontinentals as affected by migration to the Middle East (Schoepp &
Forstenlechner, 2010; Vora, 2008, 2011). There is also a significant literature on Westerners and
their need to adjust in foreign work environments, indeed the bulk of the cross-cultural
management literature examines these areas of difference from a western perspective, but
relatively few texts focus on the Arab world (Al-Omari, 2003; Williams, 1998).
Research Approach and the Significance of the Study
Our approach adds to understanding of migration adaptations in the Gulf environment and is
unique in a number of ways. First we have data from working populations situated in the context
of a work-based training program. Second, we have a sample of participants drawn from across
the spectrum of national identities working in Dubai and we were able to aggregate this
individual data into regional groups to help discern cultural trends. Third, because we have both
ratings of the self and ratings of the country of origin for every individual, we were able to
compute an accurate index for each participant of the extent to which they perceived their own
values and behaviors as deviating from those of their country of origin. To our knowledge, no
similar data have been collected previously and, combined with the fact that this study occurred
in a context without strong pressures to conform to local patterns of belief, values and behavior,
provides a unique test of the process of changing identities in response to such a unique
environment. Finally, our data confirm personal observations in the workplace that demonstrate a
complex web of personal adjustments in behavior and attitudes that many individuals perceive to
be the optimal way to maximize their opportunities in a situation of ambiguous and sometimes
conflicting cultural demands.
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First hand observation of behavior among the cultural groups in training classes in the UAE led
us to consider how individuals manage themselves in a heterogeneous society and how theories
relevant to cultural identity (Berry et al., 2002), including cultural identity strategy (Camilleri &
Malewska-Peyre, 1997) or social identity (Tajfel, 1978) would apply. Although there is a
substantial literature on this and related subjects, including whether or not Western and Eastern
individuals think and identify themselves in similar ways, the focus has been on comparing East
Asia and the West, often using student samples (e.g. Nisbett, 2003; Suh, 2002).
Migration and Cultural Identity
Cultural identity theory has developed largely from a western perspective in order to examine
how migrants adapt to living within or alongside another so-called “dominant” cultural group as
illustrated in general texts (Berry et al., 2002). Each theory handles the tension between ethnic
identity and civic identity in different way. Identity strategy (Camilleri & Malewska-Peyre,
1997) examines this tension from an “aspirational” perspective, that is what “is” as opposed to
what one would like to be, while social identity theory (Tajfel, 1978) seeks to identify with
which group the migrant identifies.
These theories predict that expatriates in the UAE should identify themselves increasingly with
either a Subcontinental or Arab culture, because these are politically and numerically the
strongest social groups. However, we cannot be sure that these theories apply with any certainty
in the heterogeneous Gulf environment. Our data set (collected between 2004-2008) indicated
that deviation from home culture was observable, the question was whether a direction of
cultural adaption could be identified. Our preliminary observations suggested that, contrary to
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theory-based expectations, convergence was towards the West, not towards the politically or
numerically dominant cultures. As a consequence, we framed and tested the following
hypotheses:
1. Non-Westerners will perceive a larger gap between themselves and their society of origin
than Westerners.
2. Self ratings of non-Westerners will converge on the Western self ratings
The first hypothesis, if confirmed, suggests that non-Westerners adapt more than Westerners
while the second suggests that adaptation is towards the Western cultural model rather than
towards any other, including the local Arabic culture.
METHOD
The Survey
This study was an initiative to support both post-graduate teaching in cross-cultural management
and professional training in cross-cultural awareness within local and multinational, public and
private organizations. The survey was designed to clarify whether a wide range of cultural
attributes, previously identified in teaching literature, were identifiable in the local working
populations. The instrument was original and designed to be understood by, and of interest to,
class participants in the Gulf environment. Well-known texts were used to identify cultural
descriptors (Hofstede, 1980; Kluckhohn, 1961; Scheider, 1997; Thomas, 2002; Trompenaars,
1997), with particular attention paid to attributes that were of interest to students or were
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particularly salient dimensions of inter-cultural dynamics in the region. The survey design also
allowed individuals to consider whether or not they identified with the cultural attributes of their
home society. The survey questions included in the analysis are listed in Appendix A.
Questions were in relatively simple English to avoid misunderstanding (Harzing, 2005, 2006).
Most Subcontinental and Western respondents either spoke native English or were fluent in
English. Among the local Arabic speaking population, many were fluent in English but others
were much less so. These participants were encouraged to complete the questionnaire in an
Arabic translation or use English and Arabic versions simultaneously in order to assist
understanding.
After providing demographic information regarding country of nationality, the country the
person had lived in longest, gender, age and religion; participants completed 120 items organized
into two sections. The first 60 items pertained to values, attitudes or behaviors from the
perspective of most people in “your society” and the second 60 repeated the questions but asked
for a “personal” response. The question of “national” identity was an important issue for those
participants who were effectively double migrants, perhaps having moved from the Subcontinent
to Britain and then recruited to work the Middle East. As a consequence, “Your society” was
explained as meaning either the country of a participant’s birth or the country with which they
most strongly identified and in which they felt most comfortable.
For each question, the respondent was asked to either agree or disagree with each statement on a
scale from 1-7. Some of the questions used agree-disagree as the anchors while others used ‘yes-
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no’. This was a historical accident and comparative analyses demonstrated that this had no
impact upon the results. Some questions were worded positively and some negatively.
Twenty-eight of the questions involved an exact or near-exact replication of the belief (e.g.
Q1/61: “My society believes that all people are equal”, Q61 “I believe that all people are equal”)
or behavior (e.g. Q24: “Where I'm from, people will meet a time deadline even if it clashes with
a social obligation”, Q84: “I will meet a time deadline even if it clashes with a social
obligation”). Twenty-six of the questions required slight rewording to make sense in both the
personal and societal context. For example: Q.13 asked “Where I come from people try to hide
their emotions in public,” Q.73 asked “I believe I should hide my emotions in public.” Six of the
questions (Questions 16, 27, 38, 45, 55, and 57) involved a significant rewording between the
societal and individual version and these were excluded from further analysis. Questionnaires
that were completed improperly (e.g. responses all the same) were discarded, as were incomplete
questionnaires.
Participants
Because participants in the survey came from a wide variety of countries, to increase statistical
power we grouped their data as follows:
Gulf Arabs (n=166): Included UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and a small sample of
Iranians.
Mediterranean Arabs (n=137): The Levant, Egypt, North African Arab Countries.
Subcontinent A (n=317): India, Sri Lanka.
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Subcontinent B (n=97): Pakistan, Bangladesh.
West (n=128): Western Europe, Canada, United States, New Zealand and Australia.
This arrangement requires explanation. The Gulf Arabs were separated from the Mediterranean
Arabs because the historical and economic bases of their culture were rather different. The small
Iranian sample was included in the Gulf Arab group. Although Iran is not an Arab country, it has
a common religion in Islam and has a long influence in the commercial history of the Gulf Arab
States. Subcontinent A was separated from Subcontinent B because of the obvious religious
differences and their potential impact on behavior and values. However, while noting that India
in particular is an extremely culturally and religiously diverse nation with sizeable Hindu,
Muslim, Buddhist and Christian populations, it was appropriate to separate this group from the
Muslim Subcontinent. In the Subcontinent A sample, the Hindu group was the largest and the
Indian Christian group second largest (reflecting commercial recruitment into the Gulf from the
Indian South). Muslims were only 10% of the sample among those who chose to reveal their
religious affiliation. The use of a regional “Subcontinental” group is consistent with Indian
perceptions of regional identity as noted by Vora (2008) in interviews with the Dubai Indian
population. The Western group was also heterogeneous and included non-English speaking
Europeans.
Organizations did not ask for the results of the survey and participants were not required to
provide information that would reveal their identity. Because the questionnaires were nearly
always completed as part of training and offsite, the survey was undertaken in an atmosphere of
learning, inquiry and trust. It was fully explained that outcomes were anonymous, that results
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were only for research purposes and that there were never “right” or “wrong” answer. We
believe this strategy counters the noted difficulties of both access and inhibition in responding to
questionnaires in the Gulf region, especially among women (Bennett & Wright, 2010;
Forstenlechner & Al-Nakeeb, 2010; Forster, 2011; Khan et al., 2010). The questionnaires were
handed in on completion without comment from trainers. Thus the pressures for socially
desirable responding were extremely low or nonexistent.
RESULTS
The data were analyzed in three different ways to obtain different, but converging, perspectives
on the data: a) an analysis of difference scores between self and societal ratings, b) a repeated
measures comparison between regions and c) a multiple discriminant analysis to confirm patterns
of results between regions. These analyses are presented in turn below.
Comparisons of Self and Societal Ratings within Regions
For each participant, absolute difference scores were first calculated for each item (e.g. Q1 –
Q61, Q2- Q62 ...). The mean absolute difference was then calculated for each participant across
all 54 pairs of items. This score thus indexed the extent to which each participant saw
themselves as deviating from their own societal beliefs and behaviors: High scores indicated
high perceived deviations and low scores indicated low perceived deviations from their own
society. The mean absolute difference between a participant’s societal rating and their personal
rating is herein referred to as a ‘deviation’ score as it reflects how far the individual perceives
that they deviate from their own culture.
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Although a series of planned comparisons fitting age, gender and religion as single predictors all
revealed significant differences, only Country of Origin was significant (F(4,510) = 6.8, p <
.001) when all the variables were included in the analysis. Because we expected time spent in a
country during formative years and total time spent in a country would exert an impact upon
personal beliefs, we conducted a separate analysis with just these two variables (“Country of
Origin” and “Country Most Lived In”) to explore interaction effects. There was a significant
interaction (F(7, 857) = 4.09, p < .001). The main effect for Country of Origin (F(4,857) = 2.92,
p = .02) was significant but Country Most Lived In (F(4, 857) = 1.04) was not.
Many (81%) of the participants had lived most of their lives in their country of origin, while
some (15%) had mostly lived in a Gulf Arab nation despite being born elsewhere (see Table 1).
These two populations were analyzed separately. There was a significant country effect for those
who had lived most of their lives in their country of origin (F(4,707) = 60.5, p < .001). Post-hoc
comparisons revealed 3 main groups of respondents, with those from the West deviating less
than those from either the Gulf Arab or Sub-Continent A regions, who in turn differed less than
either those from the Mediterranean Arab or Sub-Continent B regions. In other words, those
from the West who had lived most of their lives in their home countries, perceived themselves as
more similar to their own societies than those from other nations.
---------------------------------------------------TABLE 1 ABOUT HERE
----------------------------------------------------
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A similar pattern of results was also obtained for those who had lived most of their life in a Gulf
Arab nation (F(4,296) = 3.5, p = .01). However, here the power was considerably less and the
only significant group differences were between the Sub-Continent B participants and those from
the West or Gulf Arab nations. For those people who had spent most of their lives living in Gulf
Arab nations, those who were originally from a Gulf Arab nation or the West deviated the least
from their own ratings of their society. In summary, Westerners consistently saw themselves as
closer to their home societies than others, regardless of whether they had lived most of their lives
in their home country or as expatriates.
Comparisons Between Regions
To compare regions with one another we conducted a two by five repeated measures ANOVA
with self and societal ratings as the within subjects factor and country of origin as the betweensubjects factor. To control for positive and negative wording with regard to different cultural
attributes, scoring was reversed for all questions on which Westerners responded on average with
a score greater than 4 (the mid-point). Country of origin (F(4,877) = 63.8, p < .001) and the
comparison between self and societal ratings (F(1,877) = 1290.7, p < .001) were both significant
as was the interaction (F(4,877) = 39.3, p < .001). Figure 1 reveals that the interaction arose
because the differences between societal and self ratings for the West (and to some extent the
Gulf Arabs) were smaller than the differences for the other groups. Multiple comparisons
showed that, even though the difference between self and societal ratings for the Westerners was
the smallest, it was still significant (F(1,132) = 53.1, p < .001). Furthermore, separate analyses
revealed that the differences between the self ratings for the five national groups were
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substantially smaller (F(4,877) = 12.4, p < .001) than the differences between the societal ratings
(F(4,877) = 94.8, p < .001).
---------------------------------------------------FIGURE 1 ABOUT HERE
---------------------------------------------------This analysis was also conducted with just those subsets of people who had lived most of their
lives in Gulf Arab nations (Figure 2) and once again the pattern was repeated with a significant
interaction (F(4,294)=4.3, p = .002), although here only societal versus self ratings (F(1,291) =
192.4, p < .001) was significant while country of origin (F(4,291) = 1.1, p = ns) was not. In this
case, separate analyses revealed that the differences between the self-ratings were not significant
(F(4,291) = 0.7, p = ns) while the differences between the societal ratings were (F(4,291) = 4.2, p
= .003).
---------------------------------------------------FIGURE 2 ABOUT HERE
---------------------------------------------------In summary, these analyses confirmed the earlier finding that Westerners had a smaller gap
between self and societal ratings than others. However, they also showed that the self ratings of
the other national groups converged on the Western ratings.
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The preceding analyses both collapsed items into a single mean score and therefore did not
consider patterns of response across multiple items. To examine these patterns, and to avoid
having to reverse the sign of any items, multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) was also used to
test whether significant differences existed between mean item profiles (across all questionnaire
items) for the different national groups. The MDA had a single dependent variable with 10
categories (societal and self ratings for each of 5 regions) and 54 independent variables
corresponding to the questionnaire items. To identify a reduced set of questionnaire items that
most effectively discriminated between groups, we used stepwise estimation as recommended by
Hair, Black, Babin and Anderson (2010). All 54 items showed significant mean differences
between groups (lowest F(9,1754) = 2.8, p = .003) so they were all candidates for inclusion in
the MDA. The thirty-one questions that best discriminated between groups were retained in the
analysis after the stepwise estimation.
Overall the Wilk’s λ of the discriminant function was .107 (χ2(279) = 3891.3, p < .001)
indicating that the ten group means (self and societal ratings for 5 national groups) were not
equal on the selected independent variables. Holdout analyses using Press’s Q statistic (Hair et
al., 2010: 301) provided strong support for model adequacy (estimation sample Q = 4219, p <
.001; holdout sample Q = 3429, p < .001). The first three discriminant functions together
explained 85.8% of the variance. Figure 3 depicted the reduced space scores (Hair et al., 2010:
310) for the first discriminant function which explained 58.6% of the variance (canonical r =
.893). This function weighted most heavily on the items: “My society is comfortable with young
men and women meeting freely in public”, “In my society men and women usually work with
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their own gender rather than a mix” and “In my society most people at work wait to be told to do
something rather than just do it without being asked”. Thus, this discriminant function could be
thought of as reflecting both the perceived importance and formality of gender, and a mix of
fatalism and authority relations. The next two discriminant functions explained 17.0% of the
variance (canonical r = .596) and 8.9% of the variance (canonical r = .473) respectively. For all
three functions, the difference between the self and societal scores was the smallest for the
Western group (indicated in Figure 3 by the Western line having the least slope). Furthermore,
for all three, the self ratings for the non-Western groups converged on the Western values. Thus
participants from the other groups saw themselves as being more similar to Westerners than their
own society.
---------------------------------------------------FIGURE 3 ABOUT HERE
----------------------------------------------------
Discussion
In summary, using three different dependent variables (differences between self and societal
ratings, mean transformed scores and multivariate patterns of covariation between items), we
have shown that non-Westerners perceived a larger gap between themselves and their home
societies than did Westerners (Hypothesis 1), and that the self ratings of the non-Western
nationalities converged on the Western self ratings (Hypothesis 2). This acculturation pattern
requires explanation and we now examine why these effects might have arisen in terms of three
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possible explanations: personal disposition and identity, temporary changes in response to local
demands, and globalization. We also consider associated gender and workplace issues.
Personal Disposition and Identity
A combination of identity strategy (Camilleri & Malewska-Peyre, 1997) and social identity
theory (Tajfel, 1978) appears to provide a partial explanation for the observations. Using
Camilleri and Malewska-Peyre’s (1997) concepts we assert that non-Westerners express an
aspirational value for themselves to become more like those in the West, and yet assert that their
home communities represent their heritage and past associations. This strategy is mediated by a
need to belong to a group – either at work or at home (Tajfel’s “social identity”). Recognition
through citizenship is closed to members of migrant communities (Vora, 2008) and there is no
formal policy geared to achieving multiculturalism. So in the UAE, joining the dominant
political community is not a realistic aspiration. Consequently neither the “melting pot” or
“multicultural” models of plurality distinguished by Berry (2001) apply in this context.
Indeed, a fuller explanation for the expressed deviation among the non-western groups, but still
allowing them to domicile within their ethnic communities, is their additional capacity
pragmatically to assume multiple identities, according to needs for acceptance within home or
workplace; a strategy which Suh (2002) observed is a non-Western phenomenon. Malhi (2009)
also noted that Canadian South Asians shifted to a hybrid identity when conversational
circumstances forced or allowed this and Vora (2008) noted Indians in Dubai adapted to cultural
ambiguity, differentiating themselves both from other expatriate groups and Indians in India.
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In terms of identity, why did Western expatriates demonstrate the smallest gap between self and
societal ratings? First, they were the only expatriate group for whom returning home had no
major long-term economic disadvantage so there would be no aspiration to adopt alternative
cultures as part of a family migration strategy. Second, given that most Gulf businesses in which
they were employed formally aspired to western practice, their need to adjust their workplace
identity was minimal. Third, despite the challenges faced in the Gulf (Cerimagic, 2010), many
Westerners appear to see their management style and its underlying values as self-evidently the
right way to behave, consistent with the widely accepted individualism and emphasis on a strong
internal locus of control in the West (Joffe & Staerklé, 2007; Trompenaars, 1997). This contrasts
with other cultural groups where comfort with multiple identities and sensitivity to external
pressures are normal (Suh, 2002).
How Transient Is Identity Change?
The concept of the “consumer citizen” appears in the literature concerning those who aspire to a
range of western consumer behaviors, while not assuming western values (Assad, 2007;
Ramsaran, 2003; Vora, 2008). Since our survey data indicates that many non-western individuals
actually claim behavior and beliefs that are western and are also migrants who have moved to an
environment defined by consumerism, this possibility of a superficial transient identity must be
considered. This links to and supports our conclusions above concerning the assumption of
multiple identities acknowledging that any claimed identity may not be firmly held or permanent.
It may be transient or a step on a road to acculturation.
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That non-western individuals were more likely to choose behavior patterns in order to maximize
their personal advantage at work or in their community is confirmed at least for Indians in
studies of the Hindu mindset (Kumar, 2004; Sen & Wagner, 2009). The latter suggests, among
other things, a religious basis for Hindu cultural pragmatism and contrasts this with the more
inflexible basis of the Abrahamic (Western) religions. Behavioral pragmatism was also
confirmed in class discussions with the first author when members of the non-Western
community indicated that they made pragmatic choices about Western or non-Western behaviors
according to need, usually using the phrase, “it all depends….” Our data alone does not allow us
to judge whether or not the differences claimed by non-Western groups between themselves and
their home societies were transient or signs of permanent identity change, albeit towards multiple
identities. Most likely all three states were present.
Globalization
Our data reveals both that non-Westerners adapt more than Westerners, and that the direction of
adaptation is towards the Western model. However, it is not clear from where behavior is
learned. This is not a region with a dominant Western culture. In addition, commercial
organizations in the region have a mix of Western, Subcontinental and Arab management, and
Government institutions are almost entirely Arab. So there do not appear to be strong
organizational pressures to become more Western in beliefs and attitudes. But our data shows
significant changes in all the groups, including the Gulf Arabs, towards the more Western
cultural model. One possible reason for these changes is the pervasive influence of Western
media in all its forms throughout the region. Not only can we expect this to be the key influence
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in Gulf Arab attitudes and behavior (who are not exposed to pressures to change by a conflict
with the culture of the UAE) but also a necessary condition for changed values and behaviors
amongst all the other non-Western groups.
Western media and commerce influences the thinking and behavior of a large group in any nonWestern society with access to communication systems. The phenomenon is described in the
literature on globalization, for example for the Gulf in Saudi Arabia by Assad (2007) where it is
described as “emulation” of the west and for India by Vora (2008). The influence of media can
explain why so many non-Western migrants are sufficiently familiar with Western norms that
they are able to adapt quickly to Western behavioral strategies in the corporate environment.
This influence is consistent with Khilji’s (2004) observations of changing values among younger
employees in Pakistan and Budhwar’s (2008) observations on the impact of media and the
internet in India. It also explains why the Gulf Arab group which is “in situ” also adopts Western
behavior patterns, albeit to a more limited degree. Presumably the Gulf Arab group members
were both very aware of key western behaviors but must also be responsive to the overwhelming
presence of their home societies. In summary, the pattern of change towards the Western model
for all the groups sampled, but particularly including the Gulf Arabs, suggest that the identity
deviations observed in our samples were sown before migration and represent a wider
globalization, westernization, or modernization process which may or may not be associated with
longer term value changes.
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Interactions Between Acculturation and Globalization: Attitudes Towards Gender
The Gulf Arabs (including Emiratis), who had to adapt to a working life in a society in which
they were a numerical minority, albeit with overarching political and economic influence,
demonstrated a somewhat different pattern of convergence. The MDA analysis showed that the
Gulf Arab group appeared to have deviated from their home society on many items but self
ratings were still similar to their home societal ratings on social gender issues. On this they
deviated significantly from western values at the personal level. Of course the area of gender
relations, in particular issues concerning social separation of the sexes, remains a significant
difference at a societal level between Islamic and Western culture.
We assert that this illustrates a key area in which personal choice is heavily influenced by the
home culture. Indeed, the first author experienced on many occasions the problems faced by
Emiratis adopting western behaviors in their home country. The strength and resilience of Gulf
Arab culture has been described elsewhere (Crabtree, 2007; Itani, Sidani, & Baalbaki, 2011;
Madsen, 2010; Raven & O'Donnell, 2010; Sidani & Thornberry, 2010; Wright & Bennett, 2008)
although its importance has been contested in relation to workplace issues (Naser et al., 2009;
Yousef, 2001). That Gulf Arabs remain personally supportive of their society’s traditional view
on gender supports our contention that individuals make pragmatic adjustments to suit their
identity needs, in this case according to the proximity of the home environment and the strength
of the value in question.
While the Emirati group has been studied in the context of the Government’s push for
“Emiratization”, and its success or otherwise (Al-Ali, 2008; Forstenlechner, 2008; Ibrahim, Al
23
Sejini, & Al Qassimi, 2004; Pech, 2009; Raven, 2011), and the progress of women in the
workforce (Al-Lamky, 2007; Al-Sayegh, 2001; Gallant & Pounder, 2008; Naser et al., 2009;
Raven, 2011), the cultural responses of the national Gulf Arabs to the high number of expatriates
has not been studied. While we note that the Gulf Arab group covers some cultural variation both
between countries, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman (Elamin & Omair, 2010; Neal,
2007), and to some extent within the Emirates themselves (Khan et al., 2010; Naser et al., 2009),
we stress that the Gulf Arabs showed a significant convergence on the Western model, albeit
smaller than that of other non-Western groups (see Figures 1-3). The pattern of results suggests
that Gulf Arabs adapted certain non-core attitudes and behaviors towards the Western model but
that core attitudes and behaviors associated with Gender were not influenced by Globalization
pressures.
Management and Workplace Implications
There is a growing literature on the effective functioning of the multicultural Gulf workplace
including studies of work satisfaction (Elamin, 2011; Goodwin & J., 2010; Klein & Radnell,
2009), the impact of Islam (Hillman, 2007), Arab culture (Hutchings & Weir, 2006) and the
changing role of women (Al-Lamky, 2007; Al-Sayegh, 2001; Bennett & Wright, 2010). The
presence of cultural ambiguity or discontinuity, consistent with our assertion of the presence of
multiple identities, has been noted (Ali, 1995; Behery & Paton, 2008; Crabtree, 2007; Elamin &
Omair, 2010).
The qualitative experience of the first author in the classroom suggests that the patterns of
adaptation suggested by our data may cause a loss of trust in the workplace. For example,
24
Western managers sometimes commented that the capacity of their non-Western colleagues to
change their behavior, language and values according to pragmatic needs was both unexpected
and disconcerting. Conversely non-Western managers often became frustrated and commented
that Western managers were inflexible, intolerant and unwilling to adjust to local conditions. The
loss of trust on both sides resulting from cultural ambiguity is inimical to economic cooperation
and productivity (Aboyassin, 2008; Ahmed & Salas, 2008; Fukuyama, 1996; Kim, Dirks, &
Cooper, 2009; Wang & Clegg, 2002).
In order to improve workplace performance, non-Westerners need to better understand and
appreciate why Westerner’s appear relatively unwilling to adapt as suggested by our data.
Westerners need to understand and accept that non-Westerners are adept at assuming multiple
identities - which may seem disconcerting but does not reflect untrustworthiness. These
observations and suggestions for action are supported by evidence from class discussion in
training groups. In these groups non-Western cultural groups could usually explain their own
cultures well, and knew the behavioral manifestations of Western culture, but seldom understood
what made Westerners “tick.” Conversely, Westerners who did not have prior training or
experience in cross cultural matters were seldom capable of explaining their values to members
of other cultural groups. We suggest, therefore, that cross-cultural training should go well
beyond behavioral issues, should include the study of underlying values, and must be undertaken
across all cultural groups present in the workplace.
To summarize, in the UAE we see cultural developments that challenge the typical concept of
acculturation toward a dominant or majority group. We believe that the outcomes of the cultural
25
mix in the UAE are moderated by factors including residential transience, broader globalization,
and for local Arabs proximity to their home culture. This is a very complex environment and
explanations may be undermined because arguments based on data such as ours often mask other
realities. For example, we claim that migrants understood that adoption of local nationality was
closed to them but Vora (2008, 2011) notes this is not necessarily true for well-established
wealthy families. Nonetheless, we have argued that changes to identity resulting from exposure
to the ‘melting pot’ of the UAE are complex and arise from aspirations to act in more Western
ways as well as forces to acculturate. We believe that individuals will seek to maximize their
personal advantage by adaption of attitudes and behaviors that will work well for them in this
ambiguous environment. It seems that for all nationalities, choosing to emulate Western
behaviors provides the most satisfactory outcome.
Implications for Further Research
The data were collected among a predominantly expatriate group of whom the majority were
reasonably well educated, albeit at a range of levels in the workforce. Further research is clearly
required to understand whether such patterns of change also arise in non-working populations in
the home communities, particularly for those who are less well-educated. We have argued that
both globalization and expatriation are important influences upon behavior. Widespread access
to international media, the internet and mobile phone technology throughout the Middle East and
the Subcontinent may result in similar patterns of change across the region even among less well
educated or non-working populations. Further research is required to separate the effects of
media and internet technology from those of expatriation or migration.
26
A second line of enquiry would explore the extent to which the stated deviant values of nonWestern expatriates are deep-seated and permanent or, as we suggest, a pragmatic reaction to
immediate need. We accept that individuals can have varying degrees of flexibility or ability to
move from their home cultural orientation (Rosinski, 2003). What is poorly understood is how
and when an aspiration becomes a permanent value, when a value identity becomes a real
identity, especially when domestic and work environments are in different cultural domains. Can
this happen within a generation, or is it a matter of generational change? Can emulation lead to
deeper change and does the consumer-citizen eventually become a citizen if the doors are open
to long-term residency?
Finally, measuring both self-perceptions and perceptions of the culture of a person’s home
society provides a new and important approach to investigating issues of acculturation. Our data
allowed us to explore gaps between personal and cultural identity in a way that has not been
done before. In our view, our approach provides a promising line of measurement and analysis
for further studies of acculturation and the effects of globalization. However, our instrument also
has limitations. The survey was developed from cultural descriptors used in well-known texts
(Hofstede, 1980; Kluckhohn, 1961; Scheider, 1997; Thomas, 2002; Trompenaars, 1997), and the
items were selected and adapted based on their value for teaching and discussion, with particular
attention paid to attributes that were of interest to students or were particularly salient
dimensions of inter-cultural dynamics in the region. The intention was not to develop a
standardized research instrument. It is possible, therefore, that some important attitudes and
beliefs that change may not have been sampled in the instrument, or that some of the items were
27
less reliable than others. Given the significant and interesting findings revealed by the
instrument, further attention should now be given to validating the instrument against other
approaches.
Conclusions
Our study has demonstrated that expatriates from four regions, including the national Gulf
Arabs, claim to diverge from their home cultures and converge on several key cultural attributes
associated with a Western model of self, while the Westerners themselves apparently claim no
significant movement towards any of the local cultures. We interpret these observations through
a model that allows for cultural identity based on pragmatism, rather than a more deeply rooted
cultural change. In a unique heterogeneous workforce with no predisposition to conform to any
dominant culture, we observe a form of globalization, with convergence on the Western attitudes
and behaviors. However, whether the convergence is real and permanent is questionable. We
need to understand the adoption of these seeds of cultural deviation, so that our understanding of
their impact on behavior after migration is better understood. These observations have wider
application than in our limited Middle Eastern research environment.
Workplace managers should note that tolerance and trust are better developed through
appreciation of individual’s needs for pragmatic adaption rather than through a desire to seek
more permanent attitudinal or behavioral change. Although there is a business literature that
emphasizes the need for Western expatriates to prepare for culture shock when they travel
overseas, our data and personal observations provide evidence that Western expatriates see little
need to adjust their values in the UAE. This observation, and our earlier note that non28
Westerners seldom understand the foundation of Western values, indicate a need to teach cultural
understanding to all participants in the Gulf workplace.
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37
APPENDIX A: SURVEY ITEMS INCLUDED IN ANALYSES
001. My society believes that all people are equal / 061. I believe that all people are equal
002. Where I am from people are born into different levels of society (e.g. high and low) / 062. I believe people
are born into different levels of society (e.g. high and low)
003. In my society people can get authority and status through wealth / 063. I believe people can get authority and
status through wealth
004. My society believes people with more ability should have more authority / 064. I believe that people with
more ability should have more authority
005. Where I am from, if you work harder than others you get higher status / 065. I believe if you work harder
than others you should get higher status
006. Where I come from, strong personal relationships are more important than rules / 066. I believe strong
personal relationships are more important than rules
007. In my society it is acceptable for people to bend the rules/laws if they get in the way / 067. I believe it is
acceptable to bend the rules/laws if they get in the way
008. Where I'm from, if there is a conflict, keeping a personal relationship is more important than achieving
objectives / 068. I believe if there is a conflict, keeping personal relationships is more important than achieving
my ...
009. In my society, people in the workplace prefer to be managed as a group rather than as individuals / 069. I
prefer to be managed as part of a group rather than individually
010. In my society, people believe they must take care of themselves, and cannot depend on their community in
times of need / 070. I believe that I should look after myself and not depend on others
011. Where I come from people will bend the rules/laws if they have to, in order to be loyal to a friend / 071. In
my friendships I believe I should bend the rules/laws if I have to, in order to be loyal to a friend
012. In my society we only invite very close friends into our homes / 072. I only invite very close friends to my
home
013. Where I come from people try to hide their emotions in public / 073. I believe I should hide my emotions in
public
014. In my society we talk about difficult subjects directly and openly / 074. I am comfortable discussing difficult
subjects directly and openly
015. My society is comfortable with young men and women meeting freely in public / 075. I am comfortable with
young men and women meeting freely in public
017. Where I come from, if people are given a choice, they like to do many things simultaneously rather than one
at a time / 077. If given a choice, I like to do many things simultaneously rather than one thing at a time
018. In my society most people want to finish tasks even if they are given new priorities to work on / 078. I prefer
to finish an old task even when I am given new priorities to work on
019. Where I'm from people prefer quick (e.g. quarterly) returns rather than waiting for (possibly better) longerterm (e.g. 2-year) results / 079. I prefer quick (e.g. quarterly) returns, I don't like waiting for (possibly better) long
term (e.g. 2-year) returns
020. In my society people plan for the long term (like 5 years), rather than for the short term (like 1 year) / 080. I
prefer to plan for the long term (like 5 years), rather than for the short term (like 1 year)
021. In my society people think more about the past than the future / 081. I prefer to think about the past rather
than the future
022. Where I come from, people spend most of their time doing traditional things rather than new things / 082. I
prefer to spend my time doing traditional things rather than new things
023. In my society people believe there will always be enough time to complete a task / 083. I believe there will
always be enough time to complete a task
024. Where I'm from, people will meet a time deadline even if it clashes with a social obligation / 084. I will meet
a time deadline even if it clashes with a social obligation
38
025. In my society people think of time as being in endless supply / 085. I believe time is in endless supply
026. Where I'm from, people get to meetings on time no matter what may come up / 086. I believe I should get to
meetings on time no matter what may come up
028. In my society people conduct business meetings in public offices rather than requiring privacy / 088. I prefer
to conduct business meetings in public offices rather than make an appointment to see ...
029. Where I'm from, most people work in a room with others and have little personal privacy at their desk / 089.
I don’t mind working in a room with others
030. People in my society usually go shopping in crowded market places rather than shops or stores / 090. I prefer
shopping in open crowded market places rather than shops or stores
031. Where I come from, people wait in line or queue rather than crowd around to do business / 091. I would
prefer to wait in line or queue, rather than crowd around to do business
032. Where I'm from, people in offices work with their doors open rather than keep them closed / 092. I prefer to
keep my office door open rather than closed
033. In my society friends usually greet each other by embracing / 093. I prefer to greet people by embracing
them rather than shaking their hand or just saying a greeting
034. In my society people would be comfortable concluding a contract discussion in a café rather than waiting for
a formal business meeting / 094. I don't mind holding formal contract discussions in a casual atmosphere (like a
café)
035. Where I am from we touch each other during friendly conversation rather than stand at a distance / 095. I
prefer to be able to touch my friends when having a conversation rather than stand at a distance.
036. In my society most people at work wait to be told to do something rather than just do it without being asked /
096. I like to wait to be told to do something, rather than do it without being asked
037. Where I come from, social groups tend to take credit collectively for the achievements of individuals within
their group / 097. I prefer to share credit collectively for my achievements rather than take personal credit
039. In my society men and women usually work with their own gender rather than a mix / 099. In my workplace
I prefer to work with my own gender rather than with a mix of genders
040. In my society a spoken agreement has the same importance as a written agreement / 100. I believe that a
spoken agreement has the same importance as a written agreement
041. Where I'm from managers expect to give written approvals before action will be taken / 101. I expect staff to
request written approvals before taking action
042. Where I'm from employees always get written approval before taking action / 102. I prefer to receive written
approvals rather than act on spoken instructions
043. In my society we need to get a personal commitment from a staff member in order to ensure an application is
processed / 103. I expect to need a personal commitment from a staff member in order to ensure an application is
...
044. In my society people are rewarded with long-term employment rather than more cash / 104. I prefer to be
rewarded with long-term employment rather than with more cash
046. In my society people will accept a better/higher job title rather than a pay rise as a reward for doing well /
106. I prefer to be given better/higher job title as a reward for doing well instead of receiving cash
047. In my society people take long term employment rather than higher status as a reward for good work / 107. I
would prefer to be given a promise of long employment rather than higher status as a reward for ...
048. Where I'm from people would prefer to leave nature (rivers, forests etc) alone rather than try to manage it /
108. I believe that we should leave nature (rivers, forests etc) alone rather than try to manage it
049. In my society we believe the future will look after itself, we should not try to influence it / 109. I believe the
future will look after itself, I should not try to influence it
050. In my society people let problems sort themselves out rather than take action / 110. I prefer to let problems
sort themselves out rather than take action
051. Most people where I'm from have a career plan (e.g. 5 or 10-year) / 111. I believe I should have a career plan
for 5 or 10 years ahead
052. In my society it's important to think and reflect on a decision, even if it may cause long delay / 112. I think
it's important to think and reflect on a decision, even if it may cause a long delay
39
053. Where I'm from people accept their situation in life rather than strive to make changes / 113. I accept my
situation in life rather than try to make changes
054. Where I come from people enjoy leisure and art more than seeking monetary rewards / 114. I would rather
enjoy myself through leisure and art than look for financial reward
056. In my society people do not pay upfront and trust someone to finish a job, they only pay when a job is
completed / 116. I pay for a job when it is completed, I do not pay upfront and trust someone to finish it
058. Where I am from we believe that even when people are not supervised they will still work as hard as they
can / 118. I believe that most people will work as hard as they can even when they are not supervised
059. In my society we like to act after carefully thought out logic, rather than on intuition and what 'feels right' /
119. I like to act after carefully thought out logic rather than on intuition and when it 'feels right'
060. Where I am from we like to explain things with stories rather than with scientific explanation / 120. I prefer
to explain things with stories rather than by scientific explanation
40
Table Captions
Table 1: Number of participants, means and standard deviations of perceived deviation of self
from own societal ratings for those who had lived most of their life in their country of origin and
those who had lived most of their life in a Gulf Arab nation. Rows are ordered by decreasing
size of perceived deviation.
41
Table 1
Lived most of life in Country
Lived most of life in a Gulf Arab
of Origin
nation
Country of Origin
n
M (SD)
n
M (SD)
Sub-Continent B
81
2.1 (0.55)
17
2.1 (0.49)
Med Arab
92
2.0 (0.51)
38
1.9 (0.65)
Sub-Continent A
262
1.8 (0.51)
69
1.7 (0.54)
Gulf Arab
161
1.7 (0.47)
161
1.7 (0.47)
Western
113
1.2 (0.38)
11
1.5 (0.41)
42
Figure Captions:
Figure 1: Mean self and societal ratings across all items for the five national groups with
positively worded items reversed.
Figure 2: Mean ratings for those who had lived most of their lives in Gulf Arab nations.
Figure 3: A plot of reduced space coordinates (Y-axis) for the first discriminant function of the
multiple discriminant analysis explaining 58.6% of the variance. A discriminant function is a
weighted average of all the items assigned statistically (Hair et al., 2010).
43
Figure 1
4.5
4.3
4.1
Mean Response
3.9
Gulf Arab
3.7
Med. Arab
3.5
SubCont A
SubCont B
3.3
West
3.1
2.9
2.7
2.5
Societal Ratings
44
Self Ratings
Figure 2
4.5
4.3
4.1
Mean Response
3.9
3.7
Gulf Arab
Med. Arab
3.5
SubCont A
SubCont B
3.3
West
3.1
2.9
2.7
2.5
Societal Ratings
45
Self Ratings
Figure 3:
800
Discriminant Function 1
600
400
Gulf Arab
200
Med. Arab
SubCont A
0
SubCont B
West
‐200
‐400
‐600
Societal Ratings
46
Self Ratings