The intersection of personality and culture has long intrigued various disciplines, having gained renewed attention with the advancements in psychometrics as a means to study personality traits as well as progression in the use of quantitative methods to study intercultural relations. This paper investigated the relationship between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the Big Five personality traits across 22 countries. It did so with the goal of testing hypotheses on whether Hofstede’s cultural dimensions significantly relate to the Big Five traits and whether countries sharing cultural similarities exhibit similar personality trait scores. The findings produced here highlight a substantial link between certain cultural dimensions (specifically, Masculinity, Power Distance, Individualism, and Uncertainty Avoidance) and the Big Five traits, while dimensions such as Long-Term Orientation and Indulgence did not significantly correlate with personality traits. Through regression and cluster analyses, this study confirmed that countries grouped based on cultural dimensions showed similar personality trait scores.

In recent years, the English government has been using competitive elements in the process of allocating public funds through policy. Front-line workers struggle with the limitations imposed by such a model. A qualitative case study was conducted to investigate the impact of a new performance-based policy on front-line workers of a public service called Liaison and Diversion. The findings demonstrated that professionals have been adapting the policy to local circumstances found at the street level. We argued that adaptation is a form of employee-based innovation that optimises the use of scarce resources and customises services to the clients.

This study examines how national cultural practices influence perceived honesty across 62 countries. Using the GLOBE framework and data from the World Honesty Report, as well as controlling for socioeconomic factors such as GDP, HDI, happiness levels, immigration rates, and population size, this research investigates the role of nine cultural dimensions in shaping societal perceptions of honesty. Key findings reveal that dimensions such as uncertainty avoidance and institutional collectivism positively influence honesty, while in-group collectivism and assertiveness exhibit negative associations. Additionally, socioeconomic factors like GDP and HDI significantly mediate the relationship between cultural practices and honesty. These results provide insights for policymakers and organizations aiming to design ethical governance and management strategies tailored to specific cultural contexts. The study contributes to cross-cultural management literature by highlighting the critical role of cultural nuances in shaping ethical behavior.

Purpose: This paper investigates the influence of sector-specific cultural practices on interagency collaboration between criminal justice and welfare services, specifically within the context of offender rehabilitation. The study addresses the cultural barriers that inhibit effective collaboration, despite its critical role in successful rehabilitation outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study was conducted on the Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion service, employing data collection methods that included document analysis, semi-structured interviews and participant observations. Findings: The study identifies key barriers to collaboration, including fragmented IT systems, ethical concerns related to performance-based policies and the pivotal role of interpersonal relationships in overcoming cultural divides. Research limitations/implications: One limitation is the sample size, which may not fully represent the diversity of experiences within criminal justice and welfare services. Another limitation is the potential bias in participant responses due to social desirability or fear of repercussions. Additionally, the generalizability of the findings may be limited to similar contexts and may not apply to different cultural or organizational settings. These limitations might have affected the results by providing a narrower view of the issues at hand. Thus, further research should investigate the impact of intercultural training on actual collaboration outcomes and service delivery improvements. Practical implications: The findings highlight the need for integrated technological solutions, adaptable administrative policies and intercultural training initiatives to facilitate interagency collaboration. Addressing these areas can improve collaborative practices and contribute to more effective and humane approaches to offender rehabilitation. Originality/value: This paper provides actionable strategies for addressing cultural disparities between criminal justice and welfare services, with an aim to enhance offender rehabilitation outcomes through improved collaboration.

This study explores the relationship between customs officer students’ intercultural values, bias awareness and professional confidence in communication and judgement during border control encounters. Drawing on intercultural competence theory, dual-process cognition and naturalistic decision-making, the study investigates whether awareness of cultural biases reduces reliance on first impressions, and whether valuing intercultural competence predicts greater self-awareness and communication confidence. Data were collected through a survey of 91 Norwegian customs students and analysed using correlation and regression methods. The results indicate that while belief in the importance of intercultural competence is associated with greater bias awareness, it does not predict reduced reliance on first impressions or higher communication confidence. Instead, practical field experience emerged as the strongest predictor of confidence. The findings highlight a gap between intercultural values and applied competence, emphasising the need for experiential and reflective training models to bridge awareness and behaviour in customs education.

In England and Wales, Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services work to facilitate integrated rehabilitative interventions orchestrated between Criminal Justice and Welfare systems to improve health and social care outcomes. A new L&D national model was introduced in 2014 to unify practice across all L&D sites. This chapter analyses the L&D’s historical activity before, during and after the process of implementation of this national model and provides a timeline whereby potential tensions and their underlying contradictions within and between the L&D and neighbouring services activity systems are identified. A case study of an L&D service in southern England is used by way of illustration and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) articulates the complexity of interactions between the professionals at the street-level. Our findings showed that fragmented information technology (IT) systems, both intra- and interagency, have been particularly problematic in this setting and that the national model was not apt to transform this situation. Fragmentation hinders information sharing and ultimately affects professionals’ capacity to collaborate. We suggest service providers at a local level engage in a dialogue with one another and that they are in a better position to govern local practices instead of having policy enforced unilaterally top-down.