Cultural Values and Intercultural Communication Competence: A Review of Individualism and Collectivism Studies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i2.10903Keywords:
cultural values, intercultural communication competence, individualism, collectivism, cultural awarenessAbstract
Purpose. This article reviews the relationship between cultural values and intercultural communication competence (ICC), focusing specifically on individualism and collectivism, in order to answer two review questions: (1) How do individualism and collectivism shape communication style, conflict management, cultural awareness, and adaptability as components of ICC? and (2) What gaps remain in the literature, particularly regarding digitally mediated intercultural communication? Design/methodology. This study used a thematic literature review of sources published between 2001 and 2025, drawn from Google Scholar, Scopus, ERIC, and ScienceDirect, with explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria applied to every source consulted (see Section 3.2). Findings. Five themes emerged: communication style, conflict management, cultural awareness, adaptability, and newly foregrounded in this revision digitally mediated intercultural communication. Individualistic orientations are consistently associated with direct, low context communication and explicit conflict engagement, while collectivist orientations favor indirect, high context communication and harmony preserving conflict strategies; however, several recent studies complicate this binary, particularly in online and hybrid identity contexts. Originality/value. Unlike prior narrative reviews that treat individualism–collectivism as a static dichotomy, this review synthesizes classic frameworks (Hofstede, Hall, Gudykunst) with recent (2022–2025) research on virtual exchange and computer mediated communication, and it identifies contradictory findings rather than only convergent ones. Practical implications. The review offers implications for curriculum design, teacher education, and intercultural training, and argues that ICC development should be integrated into language education rather than treated as a supplementary skill.
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