Impact of culture on the acceptance and outcomes of assessment centre method

Assessment centre (AC) is a popular method that has been used to facilitate human resource
decisions and it has also been used in developing countries including Malaysia. Thus, it is important
to understand how different cultural settings may influence the implementation of AC and how this
might differ from its implementation in more developed nations. Therefore, this study aims to
empirically investigate the impact of cultures (collectivism and relationship preference, power
distance and preference hierarchy, and communication context) on the acceptance (structural aspect,
information sharing, interpersonal treatment and distributive justice) and the outcomes from
attending the AC (in terms of the attitude towards AC, affect and recommendation). This study
utilises organisational justice theory in exploring participants’ reactions on the implementation and
outcomes from attending AC. A total of thirteen hypotheses have been put forward to test the
relationships amongst the culture values, acceptance and outcomes after attending the AC. The
respondents for the study are from those who have had experience as participants of AC in
Malaysian public sectors. In total, a survey of 405 respondents was successfully carried out and 381
useful feedbacks were analysed. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with SmartPLS software
using Partial Least Squares (PLS) estimation is used for modelling analysis. The findings showed
mixed results that would be discussed in this article. In conclusions, human resource practitioner
may adopt the results from this study to improve the current practice in the selection process of staff
in an organization.