Data equivalence in cross-cultural international business research: Assessment and guidelines

Data equivalence refers to the extent to which the elements of a research design have the same meaning, and can be applied in the same way, in different cultural contexts. Failure to establish data equivalence in cross-cultural studies may bias empirical results and theoretical inferences. Although several authors have encouraged researchers to ensure high levels of data equivalence, no study has assessed the status of the field in relation to compliance with data equivalence standards. Accordingly, this study examines three aspects of data equivalence (construct equivalence, measurement equivalence, and data collection equivalence) within 167 studies that involve cross-cultural data published in the Journal of International Business Studies, Management International Review, Journal of World Business, Strategic Management Journal and the Academy of Management Journal from 1995 to 2005. The findings indicate that international business researchers report insufficient information in relation to data equivalence issues, thus limiting confidence in the findings of many cross-cultural studies. To enhance future research, a guideline for procedures for researchers to follow and report in establishing data equivalence is offered. © 2008 Academy of International Business

Outliers in Evidential C-Means: An Empirical Exploration Using Survey Data on Organizational Social Capital

Evidential C-Means (ECM) is a technique for cluster analysis, which has a methodology based on the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence (DST). To date this technique has been theoretically discussed but has had limited application. Based on DST, ECM facilitates the association of objects to sets of clusters, rather than simply a single cluster. One feature of ECM is the facility for classifying cases to no cluster, the level of which is effected by the parameters in ECM (in particular (, which controls for the datapoints considered outliers). In this study, the substantive effects of varying ( are explored by investigating the relationship between organziational social capital and employee engagement. Drawing on a large-N survey of senior public sector executives, the clustering of different dimensions of organizational social capital is undertaken, and the relationship between those clusters and employee engagement analysed at varying levels of δ.The implications of the findings are discussed