The study examines similarities and differences in the values and Type A Behavior Patterns (TABP) of working adults between developing countries (Belize and the Bahamas) and developed countries (the UK and the USA). For value convergence, 30 of the 36 values of the developed and developing countries were similarly ranked as most important, important or unimportant. For value divergence, the developed countries placed higher importance on the achievement and competition values—freedom and independence; whereas the developing countries placed higher importance on the safety and security values—a world at peace, national security, forgiving, helpful, wisdom, health, and broadminded. The value system in Belize and the Bahamas had more similarity (convergence) with the US as compared to the UK. TABP were higher in Belize and the Bahamas as compared to the US. The study has implications for international business entrepreneurs.

The globalization of the marketplace mandates that managers of companies operating around the world should understand the values, attitudes and behaviors of their employees, managers, customers and competitors (Cavico and Mujtaba, 2008; and Cavico and Mujtaba, 2009). Deeply held values tend to influence or drive ethical decision-making and ethical judgment of employees and managers across cultures and countries. As managers and employees throughout the world increasingly work with people from different cultures, they modify their values, attitudes and behaviors so that they become more similar. While Bailey and Spicer (2007) argue that, "the identification of cultural similarities may be just as important as that of differences, since members of different societies need to build on common moralities and beliefs (values) when working together to meet common goals". A relatively neglected region in the cross-cultural literature that focused on the values, attitudes and behaviors of working adults are Belize and the Caribbean. The present study attempts to fill this research gap by exploring whether there were similarities or differences between the developing countries (Belize and the Bahamas) and the developed countries (the UK and the USA) in terms of values and TABP.

The topic of similarities and differences between developed and developing countries is of extreme importance because companies are developing global production processes, hiring employees in the global marketplace, making ethical judgments, motivating employees, and marketing their products globally (Bigoness and Blakely, 1996; Elkhouly and Buda, 1997; Neelankavil et al., 2000; Lenartowicz and Roth, 2001; Lenartowicz and Johnson, 2002; Triandis and Suh, 2002; Ryckman and Houston, 2003; Gustavo, 2004; McGuire et al. 2006; Cavico and Mujtaba, 2008; Mujtaba, 2008; Cavico and Mujtaba, 2009). Presently, studies on cross-cultural similarities and differences in values and Type A Behavior Patterns (TABP) in the UK, the USA, Belize, and the Bahamas have not been reported. This study expands the work of Murphy et al. (2007a) which explored values and TABP in the developed countries (the USA, Hong Kong, and Singapore) as compared to the developing countries (Afghanistan, China, Colombia, Mexico, Philippines and Thailand). It adds to cross-cultural and practitioner literature concerning developing and developed countries and will serve as a second study of similarities and differences between countries using the developed versus developing country constructs.

Organizational Behaviour Journal, Business Entrepreneurs, Globalization, Global Production Processes, Cultural Patterning, Social Interactions, Economical Analytic Tool, Type A Behavior Patterns, TABP, Cross Cultural Research, CHD Indicators, Human Resources Programs, Stress Reduction Programs, Business Environment, TABP Scale.