The Past is Prologue: Moving on from Culture’s Consequences

In this article, we examine the theoretical and empirical understanding of culture within the international business discipline post the publication of Kirkman, Lowe, & Gibson, (2006). In their paper, Kirkman et al. (2006) provide a comprehensive retrospective on the impact of Hofstede’s seminal publication, Culture’s Consequences. In addition to looking at what followed on from Hofstede, they laid out a research program they believed was necessary to move the study of culture forward. Unfortunately, in their current review published in this issue, they outlined how little, if any, of their thoughtful guidance was taken to heart. In our perspective, we believe that this signals that the study and use of culture in the international business field has become stuck in a theoretical and methodological rut and more radical thinking is necessary if we are going to advance beyond “more of the same” science that simply reiterates repeatedly that culture matters without any coherent advancement of the key role that it plays in the international arena.