Upon completing an extensive literature review of cultural research, Dorfman et
al. (2006) found that "existing literature on culture and its relationship with
behavior/practice shows that almost all recent researchers measure national or societal
culture through a set of values reflecting what is important or desirable in any culture" (p.
899). The concept is based on the assumption that measuring values is an effective way
of assessing cultures; hence, by assessing individuals' values, a researcher can measure
the collective culture (p. 899). Dorfman et al. categorized this approach as the "ecological
values assumption, meaning that knowing the values of members of a culture is a
sufficient way of knowing the culture" (p. 899).