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Chapter 2 - Attitudes toward Competition in Asian and Western Societies from the Late 1980s to the Early 2020s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Ahlam Lee
By
Ahlam Lee ,
Eun-A Park  and
HyunJung Jo
Ahlam Lee
Affiliation:
Xavier University
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Summary

Using the World Value Survey from Wave 2 (1989–1993) to Wave 7 (2017–2020), Study 1 demonstrates that individuals in individualistic regions exhibit more anti-competition attitudes compared to those in collectivist regions. Additionally, individuals in authoritarian, socialist, and collectivist Asian regions show the highest level of pro-competition attitudes, followed by those in democratic, capitalist, and individualistic Western regions and those in democratic, capitalist, and collectivist Asian regions. Study 2 reveals that competition is more likely to be endorsed by individuals who prioritize the individual’s responsibility over the government’s responsibility, value private ownership of businesses over government ownership of businesses, emphasize hard work for success, and prefer income incentives over income equality. Moreover, individuals with higher levels of materialism and self-determination are also inclined to endorse competition. Notably, variations exist in the relationship between individual difference variables and attitudes toward competition among the regions.

Keywords

competitionindividualismcollectivismAsiaWest
Type
Chapter
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Questioning Conventional Assumptions of Competition Dynamics , pp. 16 - 57
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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