Cultural convergence through web-based management techniques? The case of corporate web site recruiting

This paper empirically analyzes the influence of national culture on the comprehensiveness to which companies in different countries make use of corporate web site recruiting. Based on Hofstede's 4-Dimensions model of culture, four hypotheses are developed and tested against data from 420 companies in 14 countries. The results indicate that cultural effects are relevant even though a management technique is provided on the World Wide Web. Particularly, individualism has a strong influence on the use of corporate web site recruiting in different countries. Thus, the results lend support for the divergence approach in international management research.