Career Motivation, Mentoring Readiness, and Participation in Workplace Mentoring Programs: A Cross-Cultural Study

In this study, the author examined participation in workplace mentoring programs in two cultural (individualistic and collectivistic) contexts. Data were collected from two samples (United States = 83; Ghana = 132) of workers (from 80 organizations) at managerial development workshops. Analysis of variance showed differences in willingness to participate and intention to participate in mentoring programs. Hierarchical linear regression results also showed interactive effects of culture on participation and mentoring readiness as well as participation and career motivation. The findings show criterion validity for the mentoring readiness construct, which is important for selection of participants for mentoring programs.