1. “An Integrative Model for Examining Money Attitudes in Central Asia: The Relevance of Money Attitudes for Banking Managers in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Sang H. Lee, PhD, Bang College of Business, KIMEP University,
Carolyn Erdener, PhD Bang College of Business, KIMEP University,
Woosung Kim, PhD Bang College of Business, KIMEP University
Presented at the KIMEP International Research Conference, April 13-14, 2018

2. Abstract: This paper builds on a previous presentation at the KIMEP International Research Conference (Lee, Garkavenko and Erdener, 2017) that identified cultural differences as a relevant focus for research in the area of Finance. The present paper reports on a research project designed to produce and test a conceptual model for use in a survey of attitudes toward money among current and future bank managers in Kazakhstan.
Key Words: Cultural Finance, Money Attitudes, Kazakhstan

3. Introduction.
This is essentially a progress report on the current status of an ongoing effort to identify cultural influences on the decision making processes of individuals and organizations engaged in Banking and Finance in Kazakhstan.

4. Conceptual Foundations.
The current stage in our examination of these issues involves developing a model that links various dimensions of attitudes to selected financial behaviors. This builds on the preliminary review of Finance literature that we conducted in 2017 (Breuer and Quinten, 2009; Karolyi, 2015; Reuter, 2011; Stulz and Williamson, 2001).

5. Building on the conceptual model developed in our previous paper, we now develop a more fine-grained understanding of the relationship between attitudes and specific behaviors. The basic model is: Values underlie Attitudes, which shape Behaviors.

6. BEHAVIOR
ATTITUDES
VALUES

7. A number of questionnaires have been previously developed for such a research program, e.g. the Meaning of Money, Meaning of Work, Meaning of Leisure, and others related to Trust. From these we have selected money attitudes (Meaning of Money) for use in the current survey, using measures that were carefully developed by Thomas Tang and his associates over several decades and have been widely used in many countries throughout developed and developing regions of the world.
Empirical Test. Based on the preliminary examination of the literature on Culture and Finance carried out last year, we identified the need for a comprehensive framework for examining the relationship of culture to issues in finance. Despite some difficulty in finding a suitable conceptual or theoretical foundation for our research project, we eventually located a special journal issue containing six papers that had been presented at a conference on Cultural Finance. We also found support for our position that Hofstede’s well-known configuration of national work values is insufficient for the purposes of research on cultural finance.
In the search for other approaches that combine variables across levels, linking national patterns with the attitudes and values of individual members of society, we adapt the methodological approach developed by James Rest for revealing cognitive patterns of association between subjects’ attitudes toward money and particular kinds of behaviors The basic thrust of Rest’s technique is to present subjects with a short case scenario describing an potential ethical dilemma and invite them to explain how to resolve it. This sheds light on how the situation is viewed by different subjects from the perspective of their own individual cognitive schema.
A number of questionnaires have been previously developed for such a research program, e.g. the Meaning of Money, Meaning of Work, Meaning of Leisure, and others related to Trust.
From these we have selected money attitudes (Meaning of Money) for use in the current survey, using measures that were carefully developed by Thomas Tang and his associates over several decades and have been widely used in many countries throughout developed and developing regions of the world.

8. Empirical Test.
Based on the preliminary examination of the literature on Culture and Finance carried out last year, we identified the need for a comprehensive framework for examining the relationship of culture to issues in finance.
Despite some difficulty in finding a suitable conceptual or theoretical foundation for our research project, we eventually located a special journal issue containing six papers that had been presented at a conference on Cultural Finance.

9. We also found support for our conjecture that Hofstede’s well-known configuration of national work values is of limited relevance for the purposes of research on cultural finance.

10. In the search for other approaches that combine variables across levels, linking national patterns with the attitudes and values of individual members of society, we adapt the methodological approach developed by James Rest for revealing cognitive patterns of association between subjects’ attitudes toward money and particular kinds of behaviors.

11. The thrust of Rest’s technique is to present subjects with a short case scenario describing an potential ethical dilemma and invite them to explain how to resolve it.
This sheds light on how the situation is viewed by different subjects from the perspective of their own individual cognitive schema.

12. Our understanding of the logical basis of attitudes and behaviors will be tested and refined in a series of interviews with managers in local banks and financial institutions.
An important aspect of the interviews will be to elicit responses to a selection of short ethical dilemma scenarios which we will develop in advance.

13. The logic underlying attitudes and behaviors will be tested and refined in a series of interviews with managers in local banks and financial institutions.
One aspect of the interviews will be to elicit responses to a selection of short ethical dilemma scenarios which we will develop in advance.
The outcome of the project will be the development of a survey instrument for publication and use by others in future research.