Firm Culture and Performance: Intensity’s Effects and Limits
Patrick J. Murphy, Robert A. Cooke, and Yvette Lopez (2013)
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ARTICLE SUMMARY
Firm Culture and Performance: Intensity’s Effects and Limits
Patrick J. Murphy, Robert A. Cooke, and Yvette Lopez (2013)
INSTRUMENTS USED: ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE INVENTORY® (OCI®), ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS INVENTORY® (OEI)
The Study:
Previous research shows that the strength of Constructive cultures is positively related to teamwork, inter-unit coordination, and performance. This study investigates whether the “intensity” or agreement between members regarding Constructive cultures also impacts outcomes.
Research:
Members of 302 units from a variety of firms described their organization’s culture by completing the OCI. They also completed the OEI by describing the level of cooperation within units, coordination between units, unit performance, as well as other organizational characteristics and outcomes. The OEI measures of cooperation, coordination, and performance were validated against interview data.
Findings:
Consistent with previous research, Constructive norms and expectations were found to facilitate cooperation within organisational units, coordination between units, and performance. In addition, intensity or agreement among members regarding the organization’s culture contributed to even higher levels of intra-unit cooperation and inter-unit coordination.
Implications:
The direction or content of culture is important to outcomes, but so is the intensity or amount of agreement among members. As noted by the authors, an intensive firm culture can “account for the difference between an organisation unit that stays cohesive and focused versus one that fractures when the external environment shifts… It can help a firm weather periods of upheaval.” Thus, leaders wanting to reap the full benefits of Constructive cultures and sustain them would do well to not only reinforce Constructive norms and expectations, but also do so in way that ensures such norms are consistently understood across organizational members.
Summary based on: Murphy, P. J., Cooke, R. A., & Lopez, Y. (2013). Firm culture and performance: Intensity’s effects and limits. Management Decision,
51(3), 661-679. DOI: 10.1108/00251741311309715