Institutional distance: A measurement validation and link to job and international business travel strain.

Abstract

The 3 studies presented here introduce a measure of institutional distance at the individual level. Institutional distance is defined as the extent of similarity or dissimilarity between the regulatory, cognitive, and normative institutions of 2 countries, and is conceptualized in this article as a multidimensional construct at the individual level. Study 1 developed and tested the new measure in a sample of business school students. Study 2 cross-validated the measure using a sample of international business travelers departing from the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, assessing its convergent validity with other distance measures. Study 3 linked the measure to travel and job strain by surveying international business travelers departing from the Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport. Together, the three samples totaled 551 international business travelers from 53 nationalities that supported the construct validity of the new measure. Specifically, institutional distance was positively associated with travel and job strain (beta = .17 and .14, p < .01), respectively. The results of the studies illustrate the potential value of an individual level measure of institutional distance as a predictor of travel and job strain while on an international business trip.