Model Building in Organizational/Cross-Cultural Research: The Need for Multiple Methods, Indices, and Cultures

ologies in cross-cultural management. These studies were part of a larger research project whose primary goal was to develop a model relating societal culture, organizational strategy, and organizational performance. Study 1 consisted of field research on nine international airlines representing five different types of societal culture. l The primary data-collection methods were unobtrusive observations and interviews with key personnel. Study 2 was essentially archival research, using the published statistics and performance records of a sample of 32 international airlines, 8 of which were also included in the field study.2 The overriding objectives in terms of building a model were to ensure that it was grounded in reality and that it was generally applicable across a variety of societies. The rationale for adopting a multimethod approach was to attempt to achieve convergence through a process of triangulation. In this way it would be