A Developmental Re-Interpretation of Cross-Cultural Value Trajectories: A Stage-Based Analysis of Hofstede and World Values Survey Data
Abstract
Large-scale cross-cultural surveys have generated extensive empirical insights into societal values, norms, and institutional orientations, yet their interpretation often relies on static typologies or linear modernization assumptions. This study applies a developmental, stage-based lens to the comparative analysis of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the World Values Survey (WVS), with the aim of clarifying recurring patterns and apparent contradictions across datasets. Rather than introducing new measurements or testing causal hypotheses, the analysis re-examines existing country-level indicators to identify recurring configurations of autonomy, authority, emotional regulation, and social coordination. Five ideal-typical socio-cultural configurations are described, ranging from authoritarian–dependent to collaborative–inter-independent orientations, and longitudinal WVS data are used to illustrate stability, transition, and oscillation between configurations. The findings suggest that a developmental perspective may enhance the explanatory coherence of cross-cultural research by differentiating qualitatively distinct forms of collectivism and individualism and by accounting for non-linear value change over time. This approach is advanced as a complementary analytic framework, rather than a replacement for existing empirical models.