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Construction and validation of a scale measuring cultural beliefs and values in Cameroon

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Abstract

Scales measuring cultural beliefs and values within African cultural contexts are rare. However, it is important to consider these beliefs to understand organizational behaviors in the actual context of the internationalization of work. This article presents a scale grasping cultural beliefs and values in Cameroon. Two questionnaire-based cross-sectional surveys were conducted on 525 participants (study 1) and 444 participants (study 2), all belonging to various cultural groups in Cameroon. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of data revealed three dimensions of cultural beliefs and values in Cameroon: beliefs and values associated with the protection and celebration of life, beliefs and values related to the identification with and belonging to a cultural group, and beliefs and values associated with manifestations of joy. The overall scale and its three dimensions had good psychometric properties in both studies. The importance of taking into account the cultural beliefs and values in intercultural studies is discussed.

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Notes

  1. The authors are African and two of them are native Cameroonians, grown in rural and urban areas. They have a good knowledge of cultural practices of the Sudano-sahelian and Bantu traditions.

  2. Rather than reduce the African culture to fatalistic beliefs, the purpose of this analysis is to verify the ecological validation of our scale. It would be good to carry out further research by undertaking the same study to explore the link between African beliefs and values and normative beliefs and/or socio-instrumental control beliefs.

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  1. Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Laboratoire de psychologie, F-25000, Besançon, France

    Robert Ngueutsa

  2. Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Laboratoire de Psychologie, F-25000, Besançon, France

    Robert Ngueutsa

  3. Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, LIP-PC2S (EA4145) & Univ. Paris Descartes, Laboratoire de Psychologie et d’Ergonomie Appliquées (LaPEA), Paris, France

    Emmanuel Wassouo

  4. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, LIP-PC2S (EA4145), Grenoble, France

    Dongo Rémi Kouabenan

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Ngueutsa, R., Wassouo, E. & Kouabenan, D.R. Construction and validation of a scale measuring cultural beliefs and values in Cameroon. Curr Psychol 42, 8931–8945 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02187-4

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