Associations of Culture and Personality With McClelland’s Motives: A Cross-Cultural Study of Managers in 24 Countries

Abstract

Using a cross-cultural sample of 17,538 managers from 24 countries, this study explores the interrelationships between McClelland’s motives and specific aggregate-level cultural dimensions and personality factors. The results reveal significant relationships between the Achievement, Affiliation, and Power Motives, and the cultural dimensions of Performance Orientation, Humane Orientation, and Power Distance, respectively. Support for posited relationships between the managers’ motives and aggregate-level personality, as measured by the Big Five factors, was also obtained. Finally, the results demonstrate that the relationships between McClelland’s motives and managers’ aggregate-level Big Five factors are moderated by the cultural dimensions of Performance Orientation, Humane Orientation, and Power Distance.

Keywords

McClelland’s motives Big Five personality factors societal culture

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