Social Axioms

To augment value-based frameworks for cross-cultural analysis, a framework based on social axioms, or generalized beliefs about the world, has been developed based on a global research program. Five dimensions of social axioms have been identified: Social cynicism asserts the malevolence of human nature and social institutions; reward for application refers to the belief complex that positive outcomes result from the application of effort, knowledge, and other resources to a problem; social complexity refers to the belief that people's behavior may vary across situations and that any given problem has multiple solutions; fate control refers to the belief in the preordination of events, but the possibility of predicting and improving one's fate by taking certain actions; finally, religiosity is concerned with the belief in the existence of a supernatural being controlling the universe and the beneficial social and personal functions of religious practice. At the cultural level of analysis, two dimensions have been identified. Dynamic externality refers to the belief in external agents of control as well as the usefulness of personal striving. Societal cynicism is conceptually similar to social cynicism. Both the individual- and culture-level social axiom frameworks have been applied in international management research on a variety of topics. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.