differences in U.S. and Chinese managers’ values orientations, Egri and Ralston (2004) found no
significant generational differences for the U.S. in respect to the importance of individuals’ selftranscendence
values. To the extent that interpersonal trust and self-transcendence values are
consistent with organizationally beneficial influence behaviors, this study’s finding regarding the
similarity between older and younger U.S. participants is not surprising.
Inglehart’s theory of culture change also helps explain the higher organizationally beneficial
behavior scores of younger Thai managers and professionals who grew up during a period of
relative economic and political security compared to their older counterparts, while life stage
theory substantially explains the findings for self-indulgent and destructive behaviors. As noted, a
cultural crossvergence effect would present one plausible explanation for the integrated culture
and life stage findings.