Assistant Professor, University of Manouba, Tunisia
In today’s digital economy, communication style has had a radical shift. Thanks to ICT tools and connectivity, hierarchies have been flattened and power distance has been reshaped in a way that high power distance culture mind sets have acquired a certain proximity to sovereign authorities. Now an angry employee can dismiss a boss, a value driven client can promote or cause the bankruptcy of a reputed product brand, and a single person can start a revolution. Such a shift in communication style impacted the way policy makers manage their business, teams, or governments. Thus Gert Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory for cross-cultural communication seems to fade away in the digital economy era giving way to a revolutionary way of communication that overlooks traditional barriers.