In contrast, the cultural perspective has concentrated its attention on the cultural distinctiveness of practices, beliefs and values shared by a community. Culture and values are associated with the national culture of a country as boundaries that allow interaction and socialization within them. Scholars have analysed the influence of these national cultural values, attitudes and behaviours on business and management styles (Hofstede, 1980; Laurent, 1986; Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997). At the same time, the movement of people across national borders and the preservation of particular groups with specific idiosyncratic customs, together with differences in social and economic experiences, highlights that subcultures can co- exist in many countries.
In this chapter, we focus on the cultural approaches to comparative HRM, examining how cultural values and norms shape managerial choices across national contexts and how these may, in turn, explain differences in HRM. In a first step, we review conceptualizations of culture and consider the main cultural frameworks applied in comparative research on HRM. We also explain the sources for these national effects and describe mechanisms through which culture influences the design of HRM. In a second step, we review specific areas of HRM that are subject to the influence of culture, placing a particular focus on four key HRM functions. In a third step, we concentrate on multinational companies (MNCs) as carriers of culture that promote the flow and adaptation of culturally-imbued HRM practices. Finally, we reflect critically on the limitations of the cultural perspectives on comparative HRM and we conclude with directions for future research.