INTRODUCTION

The past few decades have witnessed an explosion in the number of studies that have focused on analyzing the impact of culture on various facets of business management such as ethical decision making, leadership, employee productivity, job commitment, managerial roles, organizational reward allocation, starting new ventures and so on. A noticeable feature of many of these studies is the predominant use of national boundaries as a proxy for cultural boundaries (Schaffer & Riordan, 2003). However, this trend in research has largely ignored the significance that intra-national cultural differences can have for various phenomena of social and organizational importance. In this article, we take the case of India, which despite a population of over 1.2 billion people (World Factbook, 2014), has largely been considered a culturally homogeneous entity. We carried out a comprehensive analysis of India’s cultural diversity. On the one hand, this analysis provides an opportunity to evaluate theoretical explanations for intra-nation cultural differences that always complement, but sometimes may even be more important than, between-nation differences in cross cultural research (Tung, 2008). On the other hand, given its rapid economic progress and attractiveness for foreign direct investment (World Bank, 2012), a thorough study of India’s cultural intricacies is practically important.

India is a conglomerate of culturally distinct regions. Historical and anthropological literature indicates that it was colonized by people from different societies who brought with them their values, traditions and customs, and contributed to the cultural diversity of this nation (Henderson, 2002; Zaheer, Lamin, & Subramani, 2009). For instance, the Turks and Central Asians came to India in the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, respectively, and influenced the culture of north India (Schimmel, 2004). Monuments such as the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Jama Masjid, built by these invaders, are a testament of their contribution to India’s cultural heritage. Similarly, the Portuguese colonized parts of south-western India between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries and influenced the traditions of this region (Kosambi, 2005). Likewise, the influence of the British in the eastern part of India led to many social reformist movements, such as the abolition of Sati (widow burning) (Banerjee, 1989; Mani, 1987).

As one travels through India, its cultural diversity becomes evident from explicit differences in cultural artifacts and through implicit differences in the behavior and identity of people in its different regions. Today, with only 2.4% of the world’s land area, but 17.4% of its population (Census India, 2011), India is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world (Budhwar & Bhatnagar, 2008). This fact has generally been ignored by academic researchers and multinational corporations (Kumar, 2005; Panda & Gupta, 2004). A quick review of the literature using academic business databases identified 443 studies of Indian culture. A majority of these, however, either treated India as a monocultural entity or provided only a shallow, unstructured framework to capture its cultural diversity. The lack of a careful assessment of India’s subcultures creates a lacuna that this article intends to fill.

We structure this article as follows. First, we describe the theoretical framework used to account for the origin, maintenance and change of culture (Kara & Peterson, 2012). Next, based on Lenartowicz and Roth’s (1999) framework of cultural assessment, we propose nine subcultural divisions of India and provide qualitative account of the distinct attributes of each of these regions. In the third section we present value measures that we have developed to be specific to the Indian society. Following this we present hypotheses using these value measures. In the fifth section, we present empirical tests of our hypotheses that we have conducted to quantitatively validate our argument of cultural differences within India. We conclude by discussing the findings and contributions of this study.

THEORIZING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Explanations grounded in functional and neo-institutional theories have typically been used by scholars to account for the origin, maintenance and change of culture (Kara & Peterson, 2012). Functional theories propose that all cultural groups face common problems, such as the need to relate to the physical environment and the need to reconcile individuality with social relationships (e.g., Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961). How a cultural group chooses to deal with these problems is based on the benefits of their choice for the group’s survival or prosperity (Merton, 1968). Thus different societies can produce unique responses to functional variables, such as climate, wealth, natural resources and so on, which account for cultural differences between as well as within nations (Lenartowicz & Roth, 2001).

Neo-institutional theorists account for how regulative, normative and cultural cognitive elements aid in the evolution, diffusion, modification and persistence of sociocultural practices (Peterson & Smith, 2008). Regulative elements often contribute to the transmission of culture by creating boundaries that either promote cultural homogenization or recognize the legitimacy of selected subgroups (Peterson & Smith, 2008). Normative elements introduce a prescriptive and obligatory dimension to social life (Scott, 1995). These can promote subcultures when they are specific to a subgroup. Cognitive elements represent shared conceptions about the nature of social reality (Scott, 2001). From a neo-institutional perspective, three conditions must occur for a cultural practice to persist. It should be transmitted across generations, it should be maintained with time, and changes to it should be resisted by the societal participants. Weberian theory emphasizes the persistence of institutionalized traditions (Kara & Peterson, 2012). However, Marxian theory implies that culture is likely to change with changes in technology and economic requirements.

In addition to functional and institutional explanations, management scholars need to recognize the indeterminateness of explanations for culture from history. Complex forces producing past events can be difficult to trace. Choices were made, battles won, things happened. During such times, societies overhaul their old cultural practices and adopt new ones consistent with time and place (Mead, 1954). Some characteristics of the culture of people are best viewed as simply being what they are. Explanations are still possible about how these characteristics might be maintained in the present and changed in the future, but may not be possible for how they came to be.

A variety of forces can produce cultural qualities of particular geographic areas including regions within nations. In the present study, we have looked for evidence of these regional effects, however, at the level of individuals. Doing so requires a theory of how societal culture characteristics affect individuals (Peterson & Wood, 2008). The experiences of individuals are influenced in two ways by the characteristics of their society. First, the cultural group in which one lives determines much about what an individual understands intimately and can choose to learn. Second, despite considerable individual variation, functional pressures and societal institutions including families have considerable success in shaping the values of a society’s members (Carden & Hall, 2010).

QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN INDIA

A challenge in theorizing cultural differences among major regions of any nation is that a small number of regions differ in a large number of ways. In order to handle this challenge, in this article we used Lenartowicz and Roth’s (1999) “Framework of Cultural Assessment” as a guiding tool. This framework suggests the use of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess the distinctiveness of subcultural regions. First, Ethnological Descriptions (Lenartowicz & Roth, 1999: 873) are used to provide a descriptive appraisal of subcultures. Factors such as climate, topography, geography, political and economic ideologies, which impact the evolution and maintenance of cultures gain intellectual spotlight here. Then, quantitative analytical methods are used to validate the distinctiveness of these subcultures.

In line with this approach, we explicated variables that prior literature suggests have produced the largest differences among India’s major regions. These include three largely functional variables – climate and land type that affect viable occupations, and topography that affects transportation that connects some groups and barriers that separates others. We also considered three largely institutional variables – political institutions, religious groups and modernizing forces of technology and education.

Climate, land type and topography have a functional impact on the advantages of particular forms of agricultural and other occupations, as well as on lifestyles and cultural contacts between regions (Landes, 1999; van de Vliert, 2008). Climate varies throughout India (Collier & Webb, 2002). It ranges from alpine in the north to temperate, subtropical and then tropical in the south. The north-western region is arid while the north-eastern is prone to floods during the monsoons (Wolpert, 1977). Minerals such as coal, iron-ore, manganese, bauxite and chromite are found in the east (Khullar, 2008), while the north-western, north-central and coastal regions are home to agricultural land (De Blij & Muller, 2008). Climate and resources have created a functional basis for differences in occupational patterns throughout the country. Topographically, India is divided into five major regions: (1) the Mountain rim in the north, (2) the Thar Desert in the north-west, (3) the Indo-Gangetic plains in the north-central and north-east, (4) the Deccan Plateau in the central peninsula and (5) the Western and Eastern Ghats, which run parallel to the coastal plains (Suri, 1974). The major waterways generally flow from the north and west toward the south-east. Historically, the Grand Trunk road running east and west across northern India connected trade on the Ganges River to Europe and Asia (Waldman & Delhi, 2005).

Once societal choices that meet functional requirements are made, they produce norms that adherents incline to maintain even when functional conditions change (Kara & Peterson, 2012). Norms tend to support ideologies that are defended by political and religious groups. Exposure to cosmopolitan ideas comes through education and technology that can both challenge long-standing institutions and provide alternative sets of norms that have their origins elsewhere in the world. Conway, Sexton, and Tweed (2006) indicated that institutional differences in the political framework within a nation can promote intra-nation cultural differences. India is politically divided into 29 states, many with their own regional political parties belonging to different ethnic, linguistic or religious groups, which exert a strong influence on people’s day-to-day life, behavior and culture (Hardgrave, 1993).

The content of religious or ideological doctrines that are integral to cultural socialization and the similarity in religious beliefs within a community promote institutional maintenance. While Hinduism is the dominant religion, millions are followers of Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism (Clothey, 2007). India’s regions also differ in their exposure to technology and education. To some extent, these differences are consequences of functional and institutional factors that have promoted the growth of urban areas that have the most contacts outside India. Several metropolitan cities in India were originally trade centers along important waterways and are among the technologically most advanced places in the world (Das, 2011). In contrast, many rural areas suffer from lack of education and deep poverty (Jalan & Ravallion, 2003).

A systematic analysis of these factors suggested the presence of nine subcultural regions within India (see Figure 1). Although diversity is found even within these regions, they offer a useful and sound advance over typical analyses of India for international business research. Some prior cultural reports of these regions use vague or generalized language, which suggests that existing stereotypes need to be evaluated based on new data. A summary of the major differences in the distinct sociocultural attributes of these regions is shown in Table 1.Footnote 1

Table 1 Main characteristics of Indian regions
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Figure 1
figure 1

Map of India with subcultural regions.

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Proposed Subcultural Divisions of India: Nine Regions

North India

By the end of the thirteenth century, people in this region had a cultural identity of their own (Panigrahi, 2012), as depicted through its literary work, music and poetry (Naravane, 1991). Studies indicate that the distinct culture of this region is formed by an intermingling of Islamic, Indo-Tibetan and Dogra traditions (Ikbala & Nirash, 1978). Cold climate and mountains have had a central functional impact on the society and culture of this region. Despite problems created by these, people here are often described as hard working, tolerant of others and cheerful (Bamzai, 1994). They follow different religions and celebrate common festivals (Bakshi, 1997). However, contrary to its internal harmony, this region has been at the center of conflict between India and its neighbor Pakistan (Lyon, 2008), which has produced sporadic social unrest (Victoria, 2001) and delayed its economic progress (Karim, 1991).

North-western India

Known as “The Grain Bowl of India,” this region is fertile and irrigated (De Blij & Muller, 2008) by a network of rivers (Singh, 1976). Sikhism emerged here in the fifteenth century (Purewal, 2000). In addition, a series of invasions by the Afghans, Turks and Persians in the seventeenth century left an Islamic imprint on this region (Deol, 2003). As such, its culture is formed by a combination of Sikh, Islamic and Hindu traditions and is said to display a tolerant and universalistic attitude (Naravane, 1991). Availability of natural resources, such as fertile land, minerals and water has led to a dominance of agricultural activities within this region (De Blij & Muller, 2008). Studies often describe people of this region as sturdy, deterministic, chivalrous and pro-social (Deol, 2003; Saran & Ziegler, 2001).

Western India

The northern part of this region is a desert while the southern part is prone to earthquakes (India Earthquake Report, 2001). People here are said to have maintained their traditionalistic roots (Narain & Pande, 1976) through practicing long held customs and rituals (Omvedt, 1978). However, a growing emphasis on technology and industrial growth has increased the number of businesses and entrepreneurial ventures in this region (Joshi, 2000; Kundu, 2000). Lately, various educational and infrastructure development projects have been introduced here (Economic Review Rajasthan, 2011; Socio Economic Review Gujarat, 2011). Words such as confident, creative and progressive are often used to characterize people of this region (Fox, 1987; Hirway, Kashyap, & Shah, 2002; Sinha et al., 2004).

North-central India

Among the distinguishing features of this region is the river Ganges, considered as a Goddess by millions of IndiansFootnote 2 and the several pilgrimage centers that spread along its banks (Ruback, Pandey, & Kohli, 2008). These have made this region an active center of Hindu philosophy (Eck, 1996). Studies indicate that people here consider nature and natural objects as symbols of devotion. Abundance of natural resources, such as fertile soil and water has made land here suitable for agriculture. However, high population density has increased poverty and malnutrition in this region (Ojha, 2007; Parker & Kozel, 2007). This region has also garnered attention as a center of political power and corruption. Often, access to governmental institutions is mediated by a person’s economic and social status (Jeffrey, 2000; Witsoe, 2011). Dutt and Noble (1982) noted violence as part of social life in this region. Illiteracy and unemployment are noted high here (Dube, 1977; Know India, 2001). As many parents fear that educating a girl child will make her less attentive to household work (McDougall, 2000), social norms insist on early marriage of girls (Stephenson, Koenig, & Ahmed, 2006).

Central India

Popularly called the Deccan Plateau, this region is known for its rich mineral deposits (Rogers, 1986) and is home to many ethno-lingual tribal communities who dwell in the forests of this region (Pati & Dash, 2002). These tribes are deeply ingrained in their religion, rituals and ways of living (Mathur, 2008) and often consider modern education as an encroachment on traditional practices. At the same time, tribal development activities are often carried out in a bureaucratic manner with little attention paid to the weakest among the weak (Leclercq, 2003).

Eastern India

Due to proximity to the sea and access to ports, this region served as a center of trade with foreign nations for many centuries (Kling, 1975). It was also noted to be a center of resistance to British imperialism in India. The literature and drama of this region depicts this sense of freedom and a concern for India’s future (Ghosh & Roy, 1997). Culture here is also said to have supported the intellectual growth of its people (Baumer, 1975). Not only the educated and elite, but even women and lower class communities in this region played an active role in creating its historical and social literary narratives (Ray, 1995). However, despite modernization, a big economic gap still exists between the upper and lower sections of society (Gupta, 2005).

Far-east India

This region is home to many big and small tribal communities who live in the difficult mountainous terrain behind their ordinary though hard lives (Miri, 2012). Studies have identified these communities as distinct from one another and from the rest of India in terms of their language, culture, religion and ways of living (Ali & Das, 2003). Sinha (1977) indicated that some tribes living in the wild parts of this region are hostile and show little respect for law and order. Their suspicion and distrust for outsiders has made them self-reliant (Ali & Das, 2003; Singh, 1987). The clan system prevalent here unites tribal groups with others of related clans (Bhattacharyya, 1995). Women in these societies are said to fare better than women in the rest of India (Maharatna, 2005; Mitra, 2008).

South-western India

From a functional standpoint, the most significant characteristic of this region is its many ports, which have made it an active travel and commercial center (Zaheer et al., 2009). The institutional implication of its many ports is that Western thoughts and ideas, particularly from the Portuguese, French and British (De Souza, 1989), have been influential. This region has also gained access to technology from other parts of the world. Its industrial sector is highly developed (GDP Report, 2010). Its culture depicts enthusiasm for reform, a passion for social justice and a quest for better life (Naravane, 1991). During the colonial period, it attracted people from all over India who settled here as compradors, entrepreneurs and capitalists (Singh & Mehta, 2004). This region has also been a center of activist movements geared to provide equality, self-respect and social mobility to backward classes (Singh & Mehta, 2004). Women here are said to play an active social and economic role (Poonacha, 2008). People are reputed to be open-minded and ready to accept challenges (Zaheer et al., 2009).

Southern India

Being the southernmost region of peninsular India, this region is surrounded by sea on three sides. Soil here is suited for the cultivation of richly priced spices such as pepper, cardamom and cinnamon (Chandrakanth, Bhat, & Accavva, 2004). Fishing, trade and tourism are important to its economy (De Silva, 1978). Education imparted in English has gained popularity here, as people recognize that global opportunities depend on English language skills (Gokulsing & Dissanayake, 2009). The large number of universities in this region reflects its emphasis on learning (Täube, 2004). This region is also home to many domestic and international service and technology industries. Bengaluru, an important city of this region, is referred as The Silicon Valley of India (Parthasarathy, 2004).

DEVELOPING VALUE DIMENSIONS FOR QUANTITATIVE VALIDATION

In line with the “Cultural Assessment Framework” (Lenartowicz & Roth, 1999) we aimed to use value survey data to assess the distinctiveness of our proposed subcultural regions. Our goal was to analyze whether differences existed in the values of people living in the aforementioned subcultural regions. For this, we first reviewed literature to isolate specific cultural domains important to the Indian society. Then based on these domains, we selected items from the World Value Survey (WVS) database and factor analyzed them to come up with value dimensions of individuals in India. We used these value dimensions to formulate and test hypotheses about the cultural distinctiveness of our proposed subcultural regions for the values of people living in them.

Cultural Domains Important to the Indian Society

We designed individual-level measures specifically for people in India based on World Value Survey (WVS) data for two reasons. One is that the majority of WVS dimensions for individuals are based on a pancultural analysis that combines data from all countries in which the WVS is administered (Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Inglehart & Welzel, 2005). Pancultural analysis of this sort combines within-nation differences among individuals with between-nation differences among individuals (Leung, 1989). Consequently, they are unlikely to replicate in each country studied separately (Hofstede, 1993). Another reason is that attempting to work from nation-level value dimensions has the potential to produce an ecological fallacy, since nation-level value measures are not necessarily reflected in individual-level value dimensions (Hofstede, 2001). In India, for example, the society-level GLOBE value dimensions (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004) are not replicated at the individual level within India (Chhokar, 2007). Unless individual-level value dimensions have been shown to apply to a particular country, country-specific studies should include variables that capture the potentially culturally specific responses of individuals to cultural attributes distinctive to that country (Perrinjaquet, Furrer, Usunier, Cestre, & Valette-Florence, 2007). Keeping this in mind, we conducted a broad literature review to identify values important to the Indian society. The publications vary widely in historical period, research methods (e.g., interpretive, quantitative) and audience (scholarly or sophisticated practitioner), so they require careful evaluation. We sought to strike a balance between working in an entirely inductive way to design measures that might not be theoretically interpretable and over-theorizing based on prior WVS literature that might have a non-Indian theoretical bias on the other. We identified seven sets of values that are well covered in the WVS and often appear in the literature about India’s culture. Table 2 provides an overview of these values, their descriptions and the referenced studies.

Table 2 Distinctive cultural attributes of the Indian society
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Values about the state

Abusing public resources for private benefits (Shah, 2009; Verma, 1999) and engaging in unethical practices toward governmental agencies (Quah, 2008) are frequent topics of debate in the Indian society. Sarin (2012) showed that 40–60% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is unaccounted for, that is, money on which taxes are not paid. Similarly, Heston and Kumar (2008) stated that practices such as hoarding black-market money are often considered a status symbol. Transparency International’s ranking of India as below the global average in 2012 (Transparency International, 2013) lends further support to the prevalence of such practices in India.

Values about gender roles

Indian society is largely patriarchal and patrilocal (Jejeebhoy & Sathar, 2001). Women often live with their husband’s family after marriage and take responsibility not only for their immediate family, but also for their husband’s extended family (Stephenson et al., 2006). Even though the Indian constitution provides women with rights equal to those of men (Ghosh & Roy, 1997), in practice women are often targets of domestic violence and occupational discrimination (Banerjee, 1999). Even educated women are typically considered less important than men of the same rank and qualifications (Lamoreaux & Morling, 2011). Even when no longer practiced, long established customs such as Sati (widow burning), child marriage, dowry and prohibition of widow remarriage discourage gender equality in India (McDougall, 2000).

Values about traditions

The Indian society has long believed that one’s present life and fate are determined by the deeds of previous life; thus one should perform rightfully, even toward animals and the environment (Chakraborthy & Chakraborthy, 2006). Saha (1992) suggested that the Indian culture considers an individual as the union of nature (Jiv) and spirit (Atma). Thus Indian traditions include worshiping earth, ponds, wells, rivers, trees, mountains and natural elements such as fire, wind, and rain (Tripathi, 1988) as well as idols representing them (Young, Morris, Burrus, Krishnan, & Regmi, 2011). Animals such as cows, lion, snakes, rats and so on are also venerated during religious events.

Values about work

The Indian culture has long been associated with principles of Karma and Dharma (Chakraborthy & Chakraborthy, 2006). These emphasize that an individual should work hard and fulfill his/her responsibilities to attain salvation (Kopalle, Lehmann, & Farley, 2010). A famous Sanskrit text from The Bhagavad Gita (the sacred book of Hindus), Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana (2.4), means “To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction” (Radhakrishnan, 1993). Studies have noted traditional beliefs supporting strong work values in the Indian society. For instance, Dhawan, Roseman, Naidu, Thapa, and Rettek (1995), Furnham and Rajamanickam (1992) and Singh (1990) found that the Indian society values perseverance and social obligations when formulating goals. The GLOBE Study (2004) ranked Indian managers as moderately high on Performance Orientation, indicating that they give importance to taking initiative and achieving results.

Values about the self

Although Indian culture is typically classified as collectivistic (Hofstede, 2001), studies (Sinha & Tripathi, 1994; Sinha et al., 2004) have emphasized the coexistence of values such individualism–collectivism and independence–interdependence within the Indian society. Roland (1988) indicated that despite emphasis on social conformity and subordination of individual desires to family responsibilities (Dumont, 1980), Indians, much like Westerners, maintain an inner psychological space of personal needs, ambitions and satisfaction. To provide a clear account of the complex self-oriented Indian values, we have classified them into three subcategories: values about hedonism, values about goal formulation and values about life satisfaction.

Values about hedonism

Even though India has a low GDP per capita (World Bank, 2011) the Indian society displays a taste for comfortable living (Sinha et al., 2004; Srivastava, 2001). Historical accounts indicate that rulers, nobles and administrators in India lived ostentatiously. Even today, India’s festivals, rituals and social gatherings are marked by a display of jewelry, lavish clothing and spending (Bloch, Rao, & Desai, 2004). Indian society is also considered as one of the principal consumers of gold (WGC, 2011) and of branded products (Eng & Bogaert, 2010).

Values about goal formulation

While Indian society may be influenced by the doctrines of Moksha or salvation (Gopalan, 1991; Gopalan & Rivera, 1997), values, such as autonomy, success, competitiveness and living up to the expectations of family and friends are also espoused (Kunnanatt, 2008; Sinha & Tripathi, 1994). Mines (1988) and Mines (1992) indicated that in contrast to the predominant hierarchical–collectivist view of the Indian society, people show a strong inclination to formulate goals in an autonomous and independent manner.

Values about life satisfaction

The Indian cultural ideology gives importance to maintaining a balance between leading a comfortable life and fulfilling social responsibility through serving others. Thus on one hand where education and income are considered important for improving one’s satisfaction from life, practicing the espoused Gandhian principle of Sarvodaya, which expounds to focus on the welfare of all, is also given due importance (Walz & Ritchie, 2000).

Based on these cultural domains, we next generated value measures using items from the WVS.

The Measures

The WVS 2006 wave was used for developing the measures. The survey interviewed 2001 adult individuals (age 18–99), belonging to eight of the nine proposed subcultural regions. Lack of data from the north region prevented us from including it in the analysis. However, this does not limit the scope of our study as this region accounts for only 1.03% of India’s population (Census India, 2011). We relied on extant cultural and anthropological studies (Naravane, 1991; Panigrahi, 2012; Victoria, 2001), which suggested that the cultural attributes of this region are distinct from other regions of India.

The WVS database provides responses to approximately 300 sociocultural indicators, however, many of these were not considered as relevant to the theoretically defined Indian cultural domains. For instance, around 45 items queried respondent’s opinion toward various global issues and political framework, 40 items inquired the ethnicity of their neighbors, 39 items questioned their confidence in various supra-national institutions, 12 items probed preferred features of democracy and 18 asked about their perceived global citizenship. Items such as these were deleted, which reduced the number of items to 36, categorized into one of the seven theoretically defined Indian cultural domains. These items were subject to further screening process, wherein items which seemed conceptually similar to others within their cultural domain were deleted, as they did not capture any additional information. Next, a correlation matrix of the remaining items was created and items which did not correlate significantly with others within their value domain were deleted. This reduced the number of items to 25 (see Table 3).

Table 3 Selected variables
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In the next step we factor analyzed these 25 items, so as to produce fewer interpretable value dimensions. Cases with missing data and negative values were deleted using listwise deletion, which reduced the number of usable observations to 1036. Sample demographics are provided in Table 4.

Table 4 Sample demographic
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Next, following Hinkin (1998), we randomly split the full dataset (n=1036) into two halves and performed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the first half followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the second half. For EFA, standardized variables were used. The appropriateness of the data was checked using the Kaiser–Meier–Olkin (KMO) statistic and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. The KMO statistic was 0.754, and was considered satisfactory (Kaiser, 1970). Bartlett’s test was significant. Using the Kaiser Guttmann rule of retaining principal components with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994), a seven-factor solution was identified using Varimax rotation. Two items were subsequently deleted as they hindered with the interpretability of the factors (see Table 3). The remaining 23 items were reanalyzed (Fugate & Kinicki, 2008; Hinkin, 1998) and generated a clear and interpretable seven-factor structure. These factors matched the theoretical domains of values important to people in India that we discussed previously.

Each of the 23 items loaded highly (>0.40) onto only one dimension without any relevant cross-loadings (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). The seven dimensions cumulatively explained 63.97% of the variance. Reliability of the dimensions was assessed using Cronbach’s α, which ranged from 0.63 to 0.89 and are in line with previous studies in international management literature (Lawler, Chen, Wu, Bae, & Bai, 2011; Mabey, 2008; Thomas & Au, 2002). In addition, as suggested by Bartram (1994), Nunnally and Bernstein (1978) and Robinson, Shaver, and Wrightsman (1991), given the large individual-level sample size, we considered an alpha threshold of 0.60 to provide adequate power to identify substantial differences between regions. The factors along with their item loadings, eigenvalues, variance explained and Cronbach’s α are provided in Table 5. We also assessed the discriminant validity by computing the average item–dimension correlations. In this case, items correlated more strongly with their own than with other dimensions (Messick, 1988).

Table 5 Exploratory factor analysis: Rotated factor matrix with item loadings and reliability indicators
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Next, to cross-validate the seven-factor structure and to analyze the goodness of fit of the measurement model, we conducted a CFA using Amos 21.0.0. In line with Hinkin (1998), the second random half of the full data set was used for this purpose. Various indices including, χ2 per unit degree of freedom (CMIN/DF), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Adjusted Goodness of Fit (AGFI), Incremental Fit Index (IFI), Root Mean Square Residual (RMR) and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) were used. The suggested cutoffs for these indices are: CMIN/DF<3.0 (Carmines & McIver, 1981), CFI>0.90 (Bentler, 1990), AGFI>0.80 (Chen, Chen, Chen, Chen, Yu, and Cheng, 2002), IFI>0.90 (Bollen, 1989), RMR<0.1 (Chen et al., 2002), RMSEA<0.08 (Browne, Cudeck, & Bollen, 1993). Results (CMIN/DF=2.80; CFI=0.90; AGFI=0.88; IFI=0.91; RMR=0.059; RMSEA=0.058) indicated an acceptable fit between the seven-factor model and the data. Reliability of the seven dimensions was assessed for this half of the dataset using Cronbach’s α. These ranged between 0.62 and 0.91 and are consistent with α’s obtained using the first half of the data set.

We also performed a CFA to test the equivalence of our scales (van de Vijver & Poortinga, 2002) across the eight subcultural regions. Multigroup CFA with Amos 21.0.0 was used to simultaneously fit a predefined seven-factor model to the eight regions. Following Arbuckle and Wothke (1999) and Thomas and Pekerti (2003), we first allowed the factor loadings to vary across samples. Results (CMIN/DF=2.42; RMSEA=0.026 [90% CI: 0.025, 0.027]; RMR=0.09) indicated a reasonable fit. We then constrained the loadings to be equivalent across samples. Results (CMIN/DF=2.51; RMSEA=0.027 [90% CI: 0.026, 0.028]; RMR=0.10) showed only a minor decrement in the fit of the model. This suggested that the latent structure of the seven dimensions was invariant across regions (Chen, 2007; Milfont & Fischer, 2010).

HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

Value Differences

Our preceding review of the broad literature about differences in functional and institutional influences on India’s major regions suggests that values of individuals probably differ across India’s regional subcultures. A basic functional reason for variability is that differences in regional resources promote culture differences. A basic institutional reason to expect regional variability is that different parts of India are adjacent to culturally distinctive external groups. External contacts can produce coercive influence on regions that have been influenced by other parties such as Great Britain and Pakistan. They can also provide normative and imitative influence due to locations on land and water trade routes that extend outside India. Combining functional and neo-institutional thinking, topographic barriers such as mountains and rivers have limited both coercion and communication that would be needed to spread institutionalized beliefs and practices between regions. Of course, traditional cultural differences might eventually be overcome by modern transportation and communication systems. However, traditional influences on regions have helped quite distinctive traditions to arise and become institutionalized in different regions of countries in many parts of the world (Lenartowicz & Roth, 2001; Yamawaki, 2012). For India, our review suggested that regional cultural differences remain that are likely to influence the values of individuals (Sinha, Sinha, Verma, & Sinha, 2001; Zaheer et al., 2009). However, whether or not traditional differences have been overcome by such potentially unifying systems needs to be empirically evaluated. Thus:

Hypothesis 1:

  • The relative emphasis that individuals place on the value dimensions will vary across the different subcultural regions of India.

In addition to our preliminary hypothesis, we used the literature about regions of India to identify the functional and institutional rationales for expecting particularly distinctive differences for each of the seven proposed value dimensions among specific regions of India. Below we provide an interpretation of these dimensions, which we carried out while ensuring that we did not use an imposed etic framework as it may not fulfill our aim to capture the reactions of individuals to the unique cultural aspects of the Indian society. Instead, we used a derived etic approach to identify the nuanced elements specific to the Indian society (Morris, Leung, Ames, & Lickel, 1999). Wherever appropriate, we indicate value dimensions which exist in the management literature and seem conceptually similar to our proposed Indian value dimensions. We also suggest implications of these dimensions for international business management.

Institutional Non-Compliance

This dimension includes four items (see Table 5), which indicate the extent to which individuals consider it acceptable to circumvent the governance system to gain personal benefits. It is closely related to our conceptual discussion of values about the state that are important in at least some regions of India (Sinha et al., 2004). It also seems to be similar to Leung, Li, and Zhou’s (2012) societal cynicism dimension. Support for this factor is likely to be high in regions with low accountability, low likelihood of detecting ethical laxity, low cost of punishment and where high benefits from corruption seem viable (O’Connor & Fischer, 2011). People in such subcultures will be less opposed to seeking personal benefits through cheating governing institutions, mainly because there is less moral stigma than elsewhere on these practices. Further, organizations in such region(s) will display higher tolerance toward unethical behavior.

While studies have noted that some unethical practices prevail throughout India (for instance Gupta, 2006; Tummala, 2002), we suspected higher rates of Institutional Non-compliance to exist in the north-central region than in the rest of India. The rationale behind our argument is that this region has long remained a center of political power (Jeffrey, 2002), has low gender egalitarianism (McDougall, 2000) and is the most populous region in India (Ojha, 2007; Stephenson et al., 2006). These attributes are associated with alienation of individuals from societal norms and authorities and a disregard of institutionalized practices (Bond et al., 2004; Durkheim, 1993). Consequently, we anticipated relatively high level of non-conformity to governmental institutions in this region. Thus:

Hypothesis 2:

  • The north-central region will display a higher mean score on Institutional Non-compliance than will the rest of India.

Male Dominance

This dimension includes three items (see Table 5). It connotes values associated with the cultural ideology of male role supremacy that we discussed previously. It also seems to reflect individual-level responses to GLOBE’s Gender Egalitarianism construct (House et al., 2004). In line with the role congruity theory of prejudice toward women (Eagly & Karau, 2002), in cultures high on this dimension, women who occupy leadership roles are likely to face social and occupational prejudice (Chang, 1999) because they tend to violate gender norms (Eagly & Karau, 2002). In contrast, societies low on this dimension will encourage equal work and pay opportunities for both genders (Lease et al., 2013). In such cultures, women will not be negatively evaluated for gender role violation. They will get more opportunities to occupy leadership positions in organizations and incidences of sexual harassment against them will be fewer.

Based on our theoretical discussion, we anticipated gender relations and gender issues as likely to vary within India, such that the far-eastern, western and south-western regions would display less Male Dominance, than the rest of India. This expectation was based on extant studies, which have indicated that cultural practices such as occupational segregation and hierarchical family structure are relatively absent from the far-eastern region of India (McDougall, 2000; Zehol, 2003). Similarly, factors such as the presence of ports, and a greater influence of Western culture, education, economic growth and industrialization are said to have facilitated the decrease in gender gap in the south-western and western regions of India (Devasia, 1998; Malhotra, Vanneman, & Kishor, 1995; Rajagopal & Mathur, 2000). In a study, Kishor and Gupta (2004) found that women in these regions fared somewhat better than those in the rest of India on some indicators of women empowerment. Thus:

Hypothesis 3:

  • The far-eastern, west and south-western regions will display a lower mean score on Male Dominance than will the rest of India.

Harmony with Traditions

This dimension includes four items (see Table 5) that reflect the importance of proper behavior, protecting the environment and conforming to customs. It captures our previous theoretical discussion of values about traditions, including religious symbolism, rightful conduct and ceremony. It also seems similar to Schwartz’s (1992) Universalism and Traditionalism dimensions and to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s (1961) nature orientation values. In business organizations, this dimension is likely to mirror the notion of corporate sustainability, which emphasizes preserving environment and sociocultural capital (Dyllick & Hockerts, 2002). Further, firms planning to grow in regions that score high on Harmony with Traditions are likely to support practices that display corporate sustainability.

Despite deep rooted customs and rituals being practiced throughout India (Fuller, 2004), we expected variance in emphasis on the Harmony with Tradition dimension within India. We considered the north-central and western regions more likely to rank high on Harmony with Traditions than the rest of India. In this regard, extant studies have indicated that the north-central region being the center of Hinduism (Brass, 2005) has largely maintained its traditional culture (Lorenzen, 1995). Hundreds of temples that support the Hindu philosophy of worshiping nature are spread across this region (Sharma, 2009). The river Ganges, worshiped by millions of Hindus, flows through this region. People take a dip in the river and donate to the poor as it is believed to lead to salvation (Eck, 1996). The Kumbh festival that occurs every 12 years and is visited by millions of Hindus, culminates here (Freitag, 1992).

Similarly, the western region, despite recent modernization, is said to have maintained its traditional cultural practices (Omvedt, 1978). Lack of arable land emphasizes the importance of conserving the environment. Sacred forests and groves traditionally referred to as Orans considered to be blessed by the gods (Meena & Singh, 2012) exist here. Hunting, cutting trees, encroachment and destructive extraction of environmental resources within Orans is considered as taboo (Robbins, 1998). Many places here are also referred to as Devasthan (Land of the Lords) or Bani (Deity’s domain). Here environmental deterioration is regarded as displeasing to gods (Gold & Gujar, 1989). The western region is also the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, whose support for non-violence, upliftment of the backward classes, Sarvodaya (welfare of all) and Satyagraha (insistence of truth) are part of the identity of people in this region (Spodek, 1971). As such, many non-governmental and governmental bodies work to integrate these ideals into the region’s social milieu (Ramanathan, 2006). Thus:

Hypothesis 4:

  • The north-central and western regions will display higher mean scores on Harmony with Traditions than will the rest of India.

Work Values

This dimension includes four items (see Table 5) and echoes our theoretical discussion of the importance of work, perseverance and a sense of social obligations present in the Indian society (Dhawan et al., 1995; Sinha, 1990). It reflects the Doctrine of Karma and Dharma, an important facet of Indian work philosophy (Chakraborthy & Chakraborthy, 2006). It also seems similar to other work centrality measures used in comparative research (MOW, 1987). Regions scoring high on this dimension have people who are likely to be intrinsically motivated to work diligently and perform socially relevant endeavors (Peterson & Ruiz-Quintanilla, 2003). This will satisfy their self-actualization needs (Dvir, Eden, Avolio, & Shamir, 2002). Even though intrinsic motivation is one criterion which gears individuals to devote energy toward such activities, in line with Self-Determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2012) external influences such as incentives offered by leaders can also increase one’s motivation to accomplish these tasks. By incentivizing diligent work and socially relevant activities, leaders in societies high on work values will be able to motivate workers to expend efforts toward fulfilling their tasks.

Existing studies (for instance Panda & Gupta, 2004; Sinha et al., 2004), have suggested that differences in work values exist within India. Following from these, we expected the north-central and north-western regions to rank high on the Work Value dimension. The north-central region has long been associated with many social movements that emphasize Karma (Ciotti, 2013; Lorenzen, 1995), that is, righteous and assiduous work. Similarly, people in the north-western region are known to take pride in their work (Bal, 2006) and display commitment toward it (Sinha et al., 2004). This region also includes the nation’s capital, where public figures are praised and recognized for their service and dedication toward the society (Bhawuk, 2003; Sharma, 2009). Thus:

Hypothesis 5:

  • The north-central and north-western regions will display higher mean scores on Work Values than will the rest of India.

Luxury Life

This dimension includes three items (see Table 5). It reflects the importance of luxurious, comfortable and secure living and captures our previous discussion of hedonistic values within India. It also seems conceptually similar to Schwartz’s (1992) Hedonism dimension. Values such as these are said to be associated with the motivational domain of enjoyment (Schwartz & Bilsky, 1990). When individuals are motivated to seek enjoyment, they direct their energy to activities that enable them to lead a comfortable life (Lenartowicz & Roth, 2001). Based on this argument, in regions where more importance is given to Luxury Life, individuals are likely to emphasize productivity and performance (Grant, 2008; Lee, Sheldon, & Turban, 2003).

Economic prosperity promotes the tendency to live affluently (Hofstede, 2001). Since, leading a comfortable life not only reflects preference for materialism but is also part of India’s traditional culture (van Wessel, 2004), we expected an increased importance of this dimension in somewhat traditional, yet economically well-to-do regions. The south-western and southern regions of India have high GDP/capita and are centers of India’s technological and economic growth (GOI, 2012; Khomiakova, 2007). Their prosperity can be attributed to the functional advantages that large natural ports have for trade and the institutional influences of interactions with trading partners and immigrants from technologically developed nations. In an existing study, Sachs, Bajpai, and Ramiah (2002) found these regions to boast high quality of life and outperform other regions of India on various social indicators such as literacy. Thus:

Hypothesis 6:

  • The south-western and southern regions will display higher mean scores on Luxury Life than will the rest of India.

Goal Orientation

This dimension includes three items (see Table 5), which reflect the importance of autonomy, independent thinking and self-worth in setting one’s goals, as discussed previously under values about goal formulation. It seems similar to Schwartz’s (1992) Self-direction and Stimulation dimensions. It supports our argument that even within collectivistic nations, scarcity of resources and urbanization can instigate the formation of individualistic values (Kagitcibasi, 2005). With regards to India, Sinha and Tripathi (1994) found in a survey that respondents displayed their preference for independence and autonomy. Since values associated with this dimension characterize individuals who are prone to creating new ventures (Amit, MacCrimmon, Zietsma, & Oesch, 2001; Davidsson, 1995), in regions which give more importance to Goal Orientation, individuals are likely to display greater entrepreneurship, as it will serve as a vehicle to fulfill their autonomy seeking needs (Hessels, van Gelderen, & Thurik, 2008).

Singh (1990) considered goal orientation an important criterion in analyzing cultural variations within India. We predicted people in the north-western, western and south-western regions would display higher Goal Orientation than those in the rest of India. Studies have indicated that people in the western and north-western regions tend to be autonomous, individualistic and achievement oriented (Bal, 2006; Panda & Gupta, 2004; Sinha & Tripathi, 1994; Sinha et al., 2004). These characteristics could be attributed to the functional impact of climate. van de Vliert (2008) indicated that people living in harsh climates endorse autonomous values. The western and north-western regions unveil extreme climates with scant rainfall and high temperatures (Sharma & Coutinho, 1977), which entails that people here face competition for resources and thus tend to display autonomy and competitiveness (Jodha, 1985; Mehta, 2001). Similarly, we expected people in the south-western region to also display increased Goal Orientation. The presence of several ports, a progressive and multicultural society and an emphasis on urbanization (Bhat & Rao, 2013; Kulkarni, 2001; Sachs et al., 2002) has boosted an educated and working class society in this region, which is said to prefer maintaining nuclear households. These factors suggest a strong endorsement of values representing the Goal Orientation dimensions (Inglehart & Baker, 2000). Thus:

Hypothesis 7:

  • The western, north-western and south-western regions will display higher mean scores on Goal Orientation than will the rest of India.

Perception of Satisfaction

This dimension includes two items (see Table 5), which depict our concept of values about life satisfaction in the Indian society. It seems to resemble the measure of Life Satisfaction proposed by Suh, Diener, Oishi, and Triandis (1998). Individuals with higher perceived satisfaction experience a more positive affect and fewer negative emotions. As such, they will tend to display greater job satisfaction (Diener, Sapyta, & Suh, 1998; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). Based on these arguments, in regions which lie on the positive extreme of this dimension, individuals are likely to display greater job satisfaction and work commitment stemming from their positive affect and mood (Hulin, 1991; Judge & Hulin, 1993; Judge & Locke, 1993).

In individualistic cultures, an individual’s satisfaction tends to be based on internal feelings (Triandis, 1989), while in collectivistic cultures, relational aspects and social norms gain dominance (Triandis, 1995). Our theoretical discussion of values about India details the nature of balance between collectivism and individualism preferred by people in India. Based on this viewpoint, we anticipated Perception of Satisfaction to be high in regions where individuals perceive that they are able to strike a balance between fulfilling collective as well as individualistic goals. We rest our argument on functional theories, which have explained satisfaction as the fulfillment of individual and societal needs. Economic affluence, resource availability, adequate infrastructure, social capital and social welfare increase the extent to which a broad range of human needs are satisfied (Diener & Diener, 1995; Diener, Lucas, & Scollon, 2006). Comparing across India, the south-western and southern regions offer many employment and growth opportunities, host responsive and progressive social and financial systems (Heller, 1996; Kundu & Gupta, 1996; Seabright, 1991), have good infrastructures (GOI, 2012), established technology sectors, attract foreign direct investment and are ranked high on the human development index (Pal & Ghosh, 2007). Thus:

Hypothesis 8:

  • The south-western and southern regions will display higher mean scores on Perception of Satisfaction than will the rest of India.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Before testing our hypotheses, we assessed measurement invariance and goodness-of-fit of the seven-value dimensions across the regional pairs mentioned in Hypotheses 2 through 8. For this, we used Amos 21.0.0 with maximum likelihood algorithm. First, we assessed fit of the seven-dimension model separately across each regional pair. Results (based on several indices such as GFI, CFI, RMR and RMSEA) indicated an acceptable fit between the seven dimensions and the data. We also assessed reliability of the focal dimensions across each regional pair. Results indicated acceptable Cronbach’s α coefficients.Footnote 3

Then, using Multigroup CFA, we assessed the configural and metric equivalence of the seven dimensions across all regional pairs. Results indicated that the fit was acceptable and change in fit indices between the unconstrained and constrained model was small and within the cutoff suggested by Chen (2007), Cheung and Rensvold (2002) and Wu, Li, and Zumbo (2007). This supported invariance of the seven dimensions across the different regional pairs. We also assessed the configural and metric invariance of the seven dimensions simultaneously across all the regions under consideration in our hypotheses. Results for the unconstrained model (CFI=0.900, AGFI=0.832, IFI=0.901, RMR=0.072, RMSEA=0.028) and constrained model (CFI=0.898, AGFI=0.836, IFI=0.899, RMR=0.075, RMSEA=0.027) suggested adequate fit. The change in fit indices was small and supported invariance of the factor loadings across the different regions (Chen, 2007; Cheung & Rensvold, 2002; Milfont & Fischer, 2010; Wu et al., 2007).

Following this, we derived factor scores for each of the seven cultural value dimensions using the full data set (n=1036). We used MANCOVA to assess the overall difference in these dimensions across the eight theoretically defined subcultural regions of India. Gender, age and marital status were included as covariates (Lenartowicz, Johnson, & White, 2003). Results (Wilks’ λ=0.62, F(7, 1003)=10.18, p<0.01) indicated a significant effect of regions on the cultural value dimensions. We then performed univariate ANCOVAS for each value dimension. Results (F(7, 1003) value for Institutional Non-compliance=7.53, Male Dominance=12.98, Harmony with Tradition=3.33, Work Values=3.26, Luxury Life=23.31, Goal Orientation=14.91, Perception of Satisfaction=2.84) indicated that all dimensions were significantly different (p<0.01) across regions. The effect of gender was significant (p<0.05) for Male Dominance, Harmony with Traditions and Goal Orientation, but the effects of age and marital status were non-significant (p<0.05) across all dimensions. In summary, the significant results of MANCOVA and ANCOVAS supported Hypothesis 1.

Next, to test Hypotheses 2 through 8, we performed ANCOVAS with gender, age and marital status as covariates. Results (see Table 6) list the means, standard deviations, F-statistics and significant covariates for the regions under consideration. Effect sizes for the difference between means of the dimensions for the hypothesized regions and the rest of India were above 0.20 and thus ranged from medium to large (Cohen, 1992). Consistent with our hypotheses, as compared with the rest of India, the north-central region scored higher on Institutional Non-compliance (Hypothesis 2), a region including far-eastern, western and south-western India scored higher on Male Dominance (Hypothesis 3), a region including north-central and western India scored higher on Harmony with Traditions (Hypothesis 4), a region including north-western and north-central India scored higher on Work Values (Hypothesis 5), a region including south-western and southern India scored higher on Luxury Life (Hypothesis 6), a region including north-western, western and south-western India scored higher on Goal Orientation (Hypothesis 7) and a region including south-western and southern India scored higher on Perception of Satisfaction (Hypothesis 8).

Table 6 ANCOVA results
Full size table

DISCUSSION

Before discussing contributions, some limitations of this study should be noted. This study is about a single nation, so we are unable to speak to the question of the relative influence of how different the values of individuals in different regions of India are, as compared with the differences between people in India as a whole and other nations. Our value measures were developed specifically for the purpose of assessing differences in values across the different subcultural regions of India. This may limit their use to assess differences between nations or subcultural regions of other nations. However, we have suggested and discussed society-level values that seem conceptually similar to our proposed value dimensions. Further, while the number of regions that we can distinguish in India is large enough to illustrate the multiple functional and institutional influences on regional culture, it is not large enough to statistically separate the effects of multiple overlapping explanations. We have highlighted particular explanations that we argue are likely to be most important for understanding the cultural uniqueness of regions. With careful archeological research, one might find functional explanations for societal choices that the Dravidians of southern India made; choices that we have treated as aspects of institutional heritage. The use of secondary data for drawing conclusions about Indian culture can also be considered a limitation to the scope of this study. In particular, we are dependent on region codes used in the WVS that correspond in reasonable ways to a considerable amount of literature about India’s regions, but that do not allow us to address even finer possibly important subgroupings. Similarly, while the WVS includes many items that can have locally unique nuances to develop measures for India, its design for global applicability no doubt means that it leaves out other variables that are important just for India. Finally, in view of non-availability of data from the north region in WVS, we only considered eight of the nine Indian subcultures in our quantitative analyses. Although that region accounts for just 1.03% of the total Indian population, it leaves our work slightly incomplete.

Despite these limitations, this study makes several theoretical and methodological contributions and provides evidence that India has culturally different regions. Analyzing India’s subcultural regions advances the overgeneralized international business (IB) literature about India. Several extant studies have pointed to the challenges of classifying India’s culture. In Homo Heirarchicus, a seminal work on Indian anthropology, Dumont (1980) stated that Indians are culturally different from Westerners. Sparrow and Budhwar (1997) treated India as a cultural island different from other nations. Ronen and Kraut (1977) grouped India with the United States and United Kingdom, while Hofstede (2001) placed India with some south-east Asian nations. Ronen and Shenkar (2013) referred to India as a “strange bedfellow” or “singleton” country. Despite recognizing this challenge, IB scholars have not analyzed possible regional culture differences within India. Standard country-level measures (such as Hofstede’s, 2001; Schwartz’s, 1999; GLOBE’s, 2004) are at an aggregate level and do not reflect the differing values of people living in different regions of India. To face the challenge of understanding India’s culture, this article attempted to identify values specific to people in India and used these to capture some of the implications that India’s regional cultural diversity has for its people and organizations.

Theoretical Contributions

Our basic theoretical contribution has been to use functional and institutional explanations for culture (Peterson & Smith, 2008) in order to organize reasons for anticipating cultural differences within India that have implications for individuals. These explanations expand on Ralston, Gustafson, Cheung, and Terpstra’s (1993) crossvergence idea. Their point that established traditions can stabilize cultures represents a major Weberian institutional explanation for culture. Their point that economic and technological forces promote cultural change combines functional and institutional principles of modernity. These principles suggest that industrialization creates complex functional necessities (e.g., clock time, educated workforce) for societies, and the institutional transfer of knowledge between societies provides possible ways for societies to manage these necessities.

The industrialization process has spread such functional and institutional forces to India as it has been increasingly exposed to global production, service and communication technologies. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, India’s imitation of global practices promoted its absorption into the global business community as the world’s fourth largest economy (World Bank, 2012). Global forces also spread to India through the direct influence of foreign business owners as it has become a top destination for global FDI (OECD, 2011; World Investment Report, 2012). Consequently, India shares global functional forces to adopt business policies that will produce internationally competitive business products as well as institutional forces to maintain legitimacy by conforming to global business norms. Although such global forces might predict that Indian business is just like business anywhere, business arrangements often do not succeed because of foreign managers’ inability to understand India’s cultural intricacies and regional variations (Cartwright & Cooper, 1992; Johnson & Tellis, 2008; Slangen, 2006).

Scholars and businesses need additional information about how recent global functional and institutional forces have combined with national forces to shape India’s overall culture and how more local forces have shaped its regions. For example, the higher importance given to Luxury Life and Perception of Satisfaction in the southern and south-western regions of India suggested that people in these regions derive satisfaction from leading a comfortable life and support materialistic values which often come with economic wealth (Lenartowicz & Roth, 2001). These local values may well be due to the distinctive functional and institutional influences of urbanization, high GDP, employment opportunities and technological advancement of these regions (Gokulsing et al., 2009). Neither global nor national explanations for such regional effects of modernization in India are sufficient.

In addition to reconsidering the global and national effects of modernization, functional and institutional explanations also complement crossvergence principles by showing how early functional constraints and institutions continue to influence regional cultures. Distinctive functional requirements of particular regions such as those with severe compared with moderate climates, explain cultural differences. Values that have an ancient functional origin that then became institutionalized as local traditions also help to explain differences in the values of individuals across regions. For instance, we found that the north-central region displayed higher mean scores on Work Values and Harmony with Traditions, which implies that people here give importance to work, especially work that is aimed at the betterment of the society, maintain social conformity and respect nature. These values parallel the dominance of Hindu ideologies in this region, which in turn may be associated with earlier functional conditions that promoted values which opened its population to these Hindu beliefs.

Physical functional barriers such as mountains and rivers that are only recently being overcome by transportation and communication technology have played a major part in institutionalizing distinctive regional cultures. Conversely, navigable waterways provide a traditional functional explanation for communication along the waterway that promotes institutional spread both within and outside a nation. Turning to the institutional aspects of our explanations, we used regulative, normative and imitative principles to explain how foreign ideas and practices penetrated into regions of India. They sometimes penetrated during periods of control by foreign governments and they also penetrated through trade and immigration in specific regions throughout India’s history. In general, functional and institutional explanations for the emergence, spread and change of culture as well as key cusps and critical, transforming events (Peterson & Smith, 2008) improve the understanding of culture emergence, stability, change and geographic boundaries for application in international business.

Methodological Contribution: Developing Value Measures for Individuals in a Particular Country

Most international research about the values of individuals centers on individualism and collectivism (Kirkman, Lowe, & Gibson, 2006; Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002). Efforts to use the Hofstede (2001) dimensions to inspire measures of the values of individuals have had only limited success (Taras, Kirkman, & Steel, 2010). What were originally presented as 10 individual-level measures from the Schwartz Value Survey appear to collapse into four higher order dimensions that represent two value contrasts (Fischer, Vauclair, Fontaine, & Schwartz, 2010; Ralston et al., 2011). The WVS has been designed for nation-level research (Inglehart & Welzel, 2005), but it has sometimes identified two dimensions using pancultural analysis that include respondents from many nations. Such analyses are affected by nation differences as well as individual differences within nations (Inglehart & Baker, 2000). The lack of individual-level measure information separately for different countries, however, does not encourage the use of existing WVS measures at this level.

Our use of WVS items to design new measures specifically for India presents a possible way forward. We identified cultural characteristics meaningful in India, sought items to reflect these characteristics and then checked the measures empirically. Some of these measures have precedent in prior WVS research. For example, our individual-level Institutional Non-compliance measure is composed of the same items that appear in the country-level measure called Norm Obedience by Inglehart and Welzel (2005). Other individual-level measures that we have developed for India are more locally unique than this one.

Methodological Contributions: Integrating Multiple Methods

This article also illustrates the kind of contribution that integrating multiple methods can provide for understanding results that would be difficult to understand from a single method. The high mean scores for people in the western region for both Goal Orientation and Harmony with Traditions appear to be contradictory. High Goal Orientation implies that people value independence and autonomy, while valuing Harmony with Traditions implies a tendency to protect the environment and maintain social conformity. Considering qualitative information about the economic and political framework, however, indicates that it is an industrially progressive region, where people start new businesses (Stewart, May, & Kalia, 2008). At the same time, lack of arable land in this region means that people here focus on conserving their environment (Robbins, 1998). A general implication is that drawing from complementary qualitative and quantitative research can sometimes resolve apparent contradictions such as this one. Building on the contributions of this work, future studies can aim to remove some limitations of this study. This could be done by designing a primary survey specifically for the Indian population and testing whether our proposed cultural dimensions remain consistent. Care should be taken to collect data from larger samples so that sophisticated data analysis can be carried out.