Attribution and Cultural Differences Attribution of Failure

Attribution and Cultural Differences

Attribution

Attribution of failure and cultural differences in business

'Personal responsibility' is a common buzzword in American political and business life. Americans are often more forgiving of politicians and CEOs who accept responsibility for the mistakes they have made. Individual responsibility is seen as a positive value, but this is not true of all cultures. In more collectivist cultures, the stress is upon collective and 'team' responsibility when things go wrong. "In some cultures (those in the West), it is the individual that has agency, as the group is merely the context within which individuals act. In some cultures (those in the East), it is the group that has agency. In Asian cultures, individual agency is constrained by family roles and social rules so that there is less individual 'innovation and improvisation'" (Friedman et al. 2007: 857). As a result, in the media and in society, it is the institutions which are blamed, not the select individuals who directly caused the negative consequences.

In an individualistic business culture, when there is a failure, the tendency is to try to find out 'who is to blame.' Quite often, after a significant corporate or political scandal, there will be a mass firing of several leadership figures who personally shouldered the blame for the faulty decision-making. The focus is not what the company did wrong, or possible faulty standard operating procedures of the company, rather the question that is asked is 'who' went wrong. In contrast, a collectivist culture will focus on the failure of the entire team. Even if someone did not make the main decisions associated with the failure, the 'success' or 'failure' of the individual is associated with his or her team and the larger organization as well. In Japan, there is very little distinction between the responsibility of an individual at the company for a specific action vs. The actions of the company: both are seen as one and the same.

While this lack of individualism might seem like a positive thing in terms of promoting organizational success, it can actually have a negative impact upon entrepreneurship, given that the failure of a business is seen as such a weighty responsibility. Suicides of people involved in business scandals are far more common in Japan than in the U.S. "While launching a business anywhere is no picnic, Japanese start-ups face cultural, funding and regulatory hurdles much higher than counterparts in the U.S., for example. Not least…is an unforgiving tradition of viewing business failure as a personal disgrace. Small company bankruptcies often involve the total ruin of their owners, with an accompanying grim toll in resulting suicides" (Dickie 2011). To fail in business is to bring shame to the institution, one's family, and one's self. It is never viewed as 'purely business matter' nor can other individuals or market conditions be blamed. Japan is often called a business culture of 'no second chances' (Dickie 2011).