"When Culture Becomes an Excuse: The Limits of Cultural Models in Business Communication and Innovation" by Martin Kuhn

Topic

This guest lecture examines common cultural frameworks (e.g., Hofstede) and explores when behaviour in international business is shaped by organisational factors, incentives, power relations, or institutional environments rather than national culture. It also links the topic to innovation systems and argues that, when comparing contexts such as Germany and Italy, differences are often attributed too quickly to “culture”, while institutional settings (e.g., funding structures or legal frameworks) frequently shape behaviour and may even produce what is later perceived as culture. A case study would allow the audience to diagnose whether a cultural explanation is actually at play and what other factors may explain differences in practice.