The 'fluid paradigm': the impact of national culture on small business management

Does national culture impact management in small business settings? The literature answers that question positively with the implicit use of the classic paradigm of national culture. The paper revisits the national culture concept and suggests a perspective called 'fluid paradigm' that introduces changes in the relationship between national culture and management. This relationship is however confirmed and examined through the cultural attributes of paradoxicality, negotiation, recreation, perception, and enactment. National culture affects strongly management and its components (such as human resources management, entrepreneurial behaviour, innovation) mainly through the human cognitive phenomenon. The very way to define national culture strongly impacts the relationship that appears as a system rather than a simple relationship. Implications for management are proposed at the end of the paper.