A Theory of Cultural Value Orientations: Explication and Applications

Abstract This article presents a theory of seven cultural value orientations that form three cultural value dimensions. This theory permits more finely tuned characterization of cultures than other theories. It is distinctive in deriving the cultural orientations from a priori theorizing. It also specifies a coherent, integrated system of relations among the orientations, postulating that they are interdependent rather than orthogonal. Analyses of data from 73 countries, using two different instruments, validate the 7 cultural orientations and the structure of interrelations among them. Conceptual and empirical comparisons of these orientations with Inglehart's two dimensions clarify similarities and…