Past research has shown a close connection between organizational culture and effectiveness, but nearly all of this research has examined the direct effects of culture on performance outcomes. In contrast, this article examines the idea that the effects of cultural consistency on organizational performance may differ depending on the levels of other culture traits. Data from 88,879 individuals in 137 public companies using the Denison Organizational Culture Survey were paired with three objective measures of organizational performance and used to examine the interaction effects of consistency with mission, adaptability, and involvement. Consistency shows a significant positive interaction with all three traits in predicting market-to-book ratios and sales growth. Firms that are both consistent and adaptable, for example, are high performers. In contrast, the results show a significant negative interaction when predicting return on assets. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to future culture and effectiveness research.
AlvessonM (2011) Organizational culture: Meaning, discourse, and identity. In: AshkanasyNWilderomCPetersonM (eds) The Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate, 2nd edn.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 11–28.
2.
ArgyrisCSchönDA (1978) Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
3.
AshkanasyNMBroadfootLEFalkusS (2000) Questionnaire measures of organizational culture. In: AshkanasyNWilderomCPetersonM (eds) Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
4.
AshkanasyNMWilderomCPetersonM (2010) Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
5.
BarnesJWJacksonDWJrHuttMDKumarA (2006) The role of culture strength in shaping sales force outcomes. The Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management26(3): 255–270.
6.
BeckerG (1964) Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education. New York: Columbia University Press.
7.
BliesePDHalversonRR (1998) Group size and measures of group-level properties: An examination of eta-squared and ICC values. Journal of Management24(2): 157–172.
8.
CaloriRSarninP (1991) Corporate culture and economic performance: A French study. Organization Studies12(1): 49–74.
9.
CameronKS (1986) Effectiveness as paradox: Consensus and conflict in conceptions of organizational effectiveness. Management Science32(5): 539–553.
10.
CameronKSFreemanSJ (1991) Cultural congruence, strength, and type: Relationships to effectiveness. In: WoodmanRWPassmoreWA (eds) Research in Organizational Change and Development, vol. 5. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 23–58.
11.
CameronKSQuinnRE (1999) Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
12.
CampbellDT (1965) Variation and selective retention in socio-cultural evolution. In: BarringerHRBlankstenGIMackR (eds) Social Change in Developing Areas. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman, 19–49.
13.
CartonRBHoferCW (2008) Measuring Organizational Performance: Metrics for Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management Research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
14.
ChanD (1998) Functional relations among constructs in the same content domain at different levels of analysis: A typology of composition models. Journal of Applied Psychology83(2): 234–246.
15.
CohenJCohenPWestSGAikenLS (2003) Applied Multiple Regression: Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
16.
CookeRARousseauDM (1988) Behavioral norms and expectations: A quantitative approach to the assessment of organizational culture. Group & Organization Studies13(3): 245–273.
Den HartogDNVerburgR (2004) High performance work systems, organisational culture and firm effectiveness. Human Resource Management Journal14(1): 55–79.
19.
DenisonDR (1984) Bringing corporate culture to the bottom line. Organizational Dynamics13(2): 4–22.
20.
DenisonDR (1990) Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
21.
DenisonDR (2000) Organizational culture: Can it be a key lever for driving organizational change? In: CartwrightSCooperC (eds) The Handbook of Organizational Culture. London: John Wiley & Sons.
22.
DenisonDRMishraA (1995) Toward a theory of organizational culture and effectiveness. Organizational Science6(2): 204–223.
23.
DenisonDRHaalandSGoelzerP (2003) Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness: Is Asia different from the rest of the world?Organizational Dynamics33(1): 98–109.
24.
DenisonDRNieminenLRGKotrbaLM (forthcoming) Diagnosing organizational cultures: A conceptual and empirical review of culture effectiveness surveys. Manuscript submitted for publication.
25.
DeshpandéRFarleyJUWebsterFE (1993) Corporate culture, customer orientation, and innovativeness in Japanese firms: A quadrad analysis. Journal of Marketing57(1): 23–27.
26.
FeyCFDenisonDR (2003) Organizational culture and effectiveness: Can American theory be applied in Russia?Organizational Science14(6): 686–706.
27.
FlynnFJChatmanJA (2001) Innovation and social control: Oxymoron or opportunity? In: CooperCCartwrightSEarleyPC (eds) Handbook of Organizational Culture. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 263–287.
28.
GelfandMJNishiiLHRaverJL (2006) On the nature and importance of cultural tightness-looseness. Journal of Applied Psychology91(6): 1225–1244.
29.
GillespieMADenisonDRHaalandSSmerekRNealeW (2008) Linking organizational culture and customer satisfaction: Business-unit results from two companies in different industries. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology17(1): 112–132.
30.
GordonGDiTomasoN (1992) Predicting corporate performance from organizational culture. Journal of Management Studies29(6): 783–798.
31.
HofstedeGNeuijenBOhayvDSandersG (1990) Measuring organizational cultures: A qualitative and quantitative study across twenty cases. Administrative Science Quarterly35(2): 286–316.
32.
JamesLRDemareeRGWolfG (1984) Estimating within-group interrater reliability with and without response bias. Journal of Applied Psychology69(1): 85–98.
33.
KlineRB (2005) Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, 2nd edn.New York: Guilford Press.
34.
KotterJHeskettJ (1992) Corporate Culture and Performance. New York: Free Press.
35.
LawlerEEIII (1996) From the Ground Up: Six Principles for Building the New Logic Corporation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
36.
LawrencePLorschJ (1967) Differentiation and integration in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly12(1): 1–30.
37.
LeBretonJMSenterJL (2008) Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods11(4): 815–852.
38.
LeeSKJYuK (2004) Corporate culture and organizational performance. Journal of Managerial Issues19(4): 340–359.
39.
LikertR (1961) New Patterns of Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.
40.
MarchJG (1991) Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science2(1): 71–87.
41.
MartinJ (1992) Culture in Organizations: Three Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
42.
MintzbergH (1987) Crafting strategy. Harvard Business Review65(4): 66–75.
43.
NadlerD (1998) Champions of Change: How CEOs and their Companies are Mastering the Skills of Radical Change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
44.
O’ReillyCAChatmanJA (1996) Culture as social control: Corporations, cults and commitment. In: StawBMCummingsLL (eds) Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 18. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 157–202.
45.
O’ReillyCChatmanJCaldwellD (1991) People and organization culture: A profile comparison approach. Academy of Management Journal34(3): 487–516.
46.
OuchiWG (1981) Theory Z: How American Business can Meet the Japanese Challenge. New York: Avon Books.
47.
PetersTJWatermanRH (1982) In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies. New York: Harper & Row.
SchneiderBSalvaggioANSubriratsM (2002) Climate strength: A new direction for climate research. Journal of Applied Psychology87: 220–229.
53.
SengePM (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, 1st edn.New York: Doubleday/Currency.
54.
SmircichL (1983) Concepts of culture and organizational analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly28(3): 339–358.
55.
SørensenJ (2002) The strength of corporate cultures and the reliability of firm performance. Administrative Science Quarterly47(1): 70–91.
56.
TsuiASWangHXinKR (2006) Organizational culture in China: An analysis of culture dimensions and culture types. Management and Organization Review2(3): 345–376.
57.
TushmanMO’ReillyC (1997) Winning through Innovation: A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
58.
WeickKE (1979) The Social Psychology of Organizing, 2nd edn.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
59.
WilkinsALOuchiWG (1983) Efficient cultures: Exploring the relationship between culture and organizational performance. Administrative Science Quarterly28(3): 468–481.
60.
YilmazCErgunE (2008) Organizational culture and firm effectiveness: An examination of relative effects of culture traits and the balanced culture hypothesis in an emerging economy. Journal of World Business43(3): 290–306.
