The Latin Europe Cluster

This week, our series on Global Leadership and Culture Clusters continues with Latin Europe

I had forgotten how gently time passes in Paris. As lively as the city is, there's a stillness to it, a peace that lures you in. In Paris, with a glass of wine in your hand, you can just be.

- Kristin Hannah, The Nightingale -

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The Latin Europe cluster includes France, Israel (considered by the Globe Project as part of this cluster because it was founded by Jewish people who migrated from Latin Europe to Eastern Europe to escape religious repression, but maintained their ties to Latin Europe over the centuries), Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland (French- and Italian speaking samples).

Latin European societies are defined by:

- a high-context communication style, that relies on contextual knowledge more than on explicit messages to transmit and share information;

- a polychronic approach to time management (time is seen as a repetition of natural cycles and patterns);

- high collectivism (note: same as the Eastern Europe cluster, the Latin Europe cluster scores high on In-Group Collectivism - also defined as “family collectivism”, the extent to which individuals identify with and prioritize the group they belong to - and low on Institutional Collectivism, “the degree to which organizational and societal institutions encourage individuals to be integrated into groups and organizations”);

- a being orientation (based on “moral relativism”, the idea that moral principles are culture-bound: being cultures tend to more more concerned with maintaining the collective harmony than they are with pursuing the “truth”);

- strong power dynamics, even though societies that belong to this cluster express a desire for a more even distribution of power and resources;

- a dislike for ambiguity and unpredictability (Uncertainty Avoidance. This cluster has wish for more rules and regulations to reduce the possibility of uncertain future outcomes).

In terms of gender egalitarianism - the belief that people should receive equal treatment regardless of their gender - Latin Europe falls in the middle-range.

With reference to Hofstede’s Masculinity - Femininity cultural dimension, it's worth noting that some of societies that belong to this cluster share a "Feminine" orientation (Portugal, France, Spain, Israel) - although close to the middle score-, while the remaining ones qualify as "Masculine" (Italy, Switzerland).

 

When it comes to leadership, the ideal leader in Latin European societies appears to be charismatic, group-oriented, and participative. Both autonomous- and self-protective leadership is appreciated, self-protective leadership (the self-conscious style that focuses on “face-saving”, on the safety and protection of the leader) are seen in a slightly negative light.

 

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The Latin Europe Cluster