POST-SOCIALIST TRANSFORMATION AND WORK ATTITUDES IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA: APPLICATION OF HOFSTEDE’S MODEL

Abstract

The study investigates the evolutionary proposition that systemic transition - from socialism to capitalism - reshapes cultural values and attitudes toward work. This proposition is anchored in modernization theory. Empirically, we trace changes in work attitudes and their predictors as they evolve through postsocialist transformation and the consolidation of peripheral capitalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The analysis draws on three temporal benchmarks: socialist Yugoslavia in the early 1970s; the unblocked postsocialist transition in Serbia 2000; and the consolidated phase of postsocialist transformation in BiH/Republic of Srpska 2020–2023, when the contours of an established capitalist system become visible. For measurement, we employ Hofstede’s standard VSM80 (Value Survey Module), adopting two adaptations used in the Serbian study - behavioral appraisal of managerial conduct for Power Distance and an “intention to stay” item for Uncertainty Avoidance - which we retain to ensure comparability across periods. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) supports the core hypotheses regarding value change. The findings indicate stable shifts aligned with modernization trends: declining power distance, rising individualism, persistent collectivism and uncertainty avoidance, and an increase in “masculine” values within an otherwise predominantly “feminine” cultural profile.