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HOME › COUNTRY COMPARISON

COUNTRY
COMPARISON
Select one or several countries in the menu below
to see the values for the 6 dimensions.
To compare your personal preferences to the scores
of a country get the Culture Compass™ from our
store.

Spain ×

* estimated

Spain

WHAT ABOUT SPAIN?

If we explore the Spanish culture through the lens
of the 5-D Model, we can get a good overview of the
deep drivers of Spanish culture relative to other
world cultures.

POWER DISTANCE
This dimension deals with the fact that all
individuals in societies are not equal – it expresses
the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities
amongst us. Power Distance is defined as the extent
to which the less powerful members of institutions
and organisations within a country expect and
accept that power is distributed unequally.

Spain’s score on this dimension (57) is a high score,

which means that Spain has a hierarchical society.
This means that people accept a hierarchical order
in which everybody has a place and which needs no
further justification. Hierarchy in an organisation is
seen as reflecting inherent inequalities,
centralisation is popular, subordinates expect to be
told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent
autocrat.

INDIVIDUALISM
The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension
is the degree of interdependence a society
maintains among its members. It has to do with
whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of
“I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are
supposed to look after themselves and their direct
family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to
‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for
loyalty.

Spain, in comparison with the rest of the European

countries (except for Portugal) is Collectivist
(because of its score in this dimension: 51).
However, compared with other areas of the world it
is seen as clearly individualist. This has made
Spaniards quite easy to relate with certain cultures
-mainly non European- whereas other cultures can
be perceived as aggressive and blunt. On the other
hand, teamwork is considered as something totally
natural, employees tend to work in this way with no
need for strong motivation from Management.

MASCULINITY
A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates
that the society will be driven by competition,
achievement and success, with success being
defined by the winner/best in field – a value system
that starts in school and continues throughout
organisational life.

A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means

that the dominant values in society are caring for
others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one
where quality of life is the sign of success and
standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The
fundamental issue here is what motivates people,
wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what
you do (Feminine).

Spain scores 42 on this dimension and is a country

where the key word is consensus. So polarization is
not well considered or excessive competitiveness
appreciated. Spanish children are educated in
search of harmony, refusing to take sides or
standing out. There is a concern for weak or needy
people that generate a natural current of sympathy.
Regarding management, managers like to consult
their subordinates to know their opinions and,
according to it, make their decisions. In politics, it is
desirable to have participation of all the minorities,
trying to avoid the dominant presence of just one
winning party. It is the country opposite to ‘the
winner takes it all’.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with
the way that a society deals with the fact that the
future can never be known: should we try to control
the future or just let it happen? This ambiguity
brings with it anxiety and different cultures have
learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. The
extent to which the members of a culture feel
threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations
and have created beliefs and institutions that try to
avoid these is reflected in the score on Uncertainty
Avoidance.

If there is a dimension that defines Spain very

clearly, it is Uncertainty Avoidance, as is reflected in
a high score of 86. Spain is considered the second
noisiest country in the world. People like to have
rules for everything, changes cause stress, but, at
the same time, they are obliged to avoid rules and
laws that, in fact, make life more complex.
Confrontation is avoided as it causes great stress
and scales up to the personal level very quickly.
There is great concern for changing, ambiguous and
undefined situations. Thus, for example, in a very
recent survey 75% of Spanish young people wanted
to work in civil service (i.e. a job for life, no concerns
about the future) whereas in the USA only 17% of
young people would like it.

LONG TERM ORIENTATION

This dimension describes how every society has to
maintain some links with its own past while
dealing with the challenges of the present and
future, and societies prioritise these two existential
goals differently. Normative societies. which score
low on this dimension, for example, prefer to
maintain time-honoured traditions and norms while
viewing societal change with suspicion. Those with
a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take
a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift
and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare
for the future.

Despite an intermediate score of 48, Spain is a

normative country. Spanish people like to live in the
moment, without a great concern about the future.
In fact, Spain is the country that has given the
meaning of ‘fiesta’ to the world. In Spain, people
look for quick results without delays. Moreover,
there is a need for clear structures and well defined
rules prevailing against more pragmatic and relaxed
approaches to life, particularly, in the long term
time.

INDULGENCE
One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in
the past, is the degree to which small children are
socialized. Without socialization we do not become
“human”. This dimension is defined as the extent to
which people try to control their desires and
impulses, based on the way they were raised.
Relatively weak control is called “Indulgence” and
relatively strong control is called “Restraint”.
Cultures can, therefore, be described as Indulgent
or Restrained.

With a low score of 44, Spain is not an Indulgent

society. Societies with a low score in this dimension
have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. Also, in
contrast to Indulgent societies, Restrained societies
do not put much emphasis on leisure time and
control the gratification of their desires. People with
this orientation have the perception that their
actions are Restrained by social norms and feel that
indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.

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