wtfeWays They Frame Engineering
日本語

Japanvsthe Netherlands

日本とオランダJPNL

Seen from Japan: each line below describes the Netherlands relative to Japan.

Swap: see Japan from the Netherlands

Culture Map: eight scales

Erin Meyer's eight scales, sorted by how far apart Japan and the Netherlands sit, largest gap first.

Filled dot: Japan, where you are looking fromHollow ring: the Netherlands

Where you will notice the difference6 scales

  1. Evaluating

    The Netherlands gives negative feedback more directly than Japan (6 steps)

    Japan +3, the Netherlands −3, on a line from −3 (Direct negative feedback) to +3 (Indirect negative feedback).

  2. Leading

    The Netherlands keeps less distance between boss and team than Japan (6 steps)

    Japan +3, the Netherlands −3, on a line from −3 (Egalitarian) to +3 (Hierarchical).

  3. Communicating

    The Netherlands spells things out more explicitly than Japan (5 steps)

    Japan +3, the Netherlands −2, on a line from −3 (Low-context) to +3 (High-context).

  4. Disagreeing

    The Netherlands is more willing to disagree openly than Japan (5 steps)

    Japan +3, the Netherlands −2, on a line from −3 (Confrontational) to +3 (Avoids confrontation).

  5. Trusting

    The Netherlands builds trust through reliable work more than Japan (3 steps)

    Japan +1, the Netherlands −2, on a line from −3 (Task-based) to +3 (Relationship-based).

  6. Deciding

    The Netherlands leaves decisions to the person in charge more than Japan (1 step)

    Japan −3, the Netherlands −2, on a line from −3 (Consensual) to +3 (Top-down).

Where you are close1 scale

  1. Scheduling

    Japan and the Netherlands sit on the same step

    Japan −2, the Netherlands −2, on a line from −3 (Linear time) to +3 (Flexible time).

Not placed1 scale

These scales are left unmarked: either Meyer leaves a country off the scale or no source places it, and drawing it anyway would be guessing.

  • PersuadingMeyer leaves Japan off this scale and describes its reasoning as holistic
Positions are read by eye from Erin Meyer's published charts and rounded to seven steps. A step means “further towards that pole”, not a measured distance. How the positions were read

Hofstede: six dimensions

Scores from 0 to 100, sorted by the gap between Japan and the Netherlands. They describe national averages, not either country's character.

  1. Motivation towards achievement and success

    The Netherlands scores 81 points lower than Japan (14 against 95)

    Japan 95, the Netherlands 14, on a line from 0 (Consensus-oriented) to 100 (Decisive).

  2. Uncertainty avoidance

    The Netherlands scores 39 points lower than Japan (53 against 92)

    Japan 92, the Netherlands 53, on a line from 0 (Tolerant of ambiguity) to 100 (Avoids ambiguity).

  3. Individualism

    The Netherlands scores 38 points higher than Japan (100 against 62)

    Japan 62, the Netherlands 100, on a line from 0 (Collectivist) to 100 (Individualist).

  4. Long-term orientation

    The Netherlands scores 33 points lower than Japan (67 against 100)

    Japan 100, the Netherlands 67, on a line from 0 (Short-term) to 100 (Long-term).

  5. Indulgence

    The Netherlands scores 26 points higher than Japan (68 against 42)

    Japan 42, the Netherlands 68, on a line from 0 (Restrained) to 100 (Indulgent).

  6. Power distance

    The Netherlands scores 16 points lower than Japan (38 against 54)

    Japan 54, the Netherlands 38, on a line from 0 (Low power distance) to 100 (High power distance).

Country averages. About 80% of variation in values is between people inside a country (Taras et al. 2016).Source: The Culture Factor — Country comparison tool (2026).About the Hofstede dimensions

What the sources say, theme by theme

Entries for Japan and the Netherlands, side by side on wide screens. Each keeps its own confidence label and citations.

Design & quality

Japan4 claims

Netherlands2 claims

Failure & risk

Japan3 claims

Netherlands2 claims

  • ING moved to a Spotify-style structure of squads and tribes in 2015. In a McKinsey interview (2017), it described each tribe writing down its results and biggest learnings every quarter and celebrating both successes and failures.

    Attested1 source2017nl-failure-1

  • According to Thomke (HBR, 2020), only about 10% of Booking.com's experiments produce positive results; the other 90% or so do not support the hypothesis. The company runs its experiments on that assumption.

    Attested1 source2020nl-failure-2

Feedback & code review

Japan4 claims

Netherlands2 claims

Hierarchy & decisions

Japan3 claims

Netherlands3 claims

Communication & docs

Japan3 claims

Netherlands2 claims

Work & careers

Japan5 claims

Netherlands2 claims

Open source & community

Japan4 claims

Netherlands2 claims