Perceptions of Organizational Politics: A Cross-cultural Perspective

Abstract

Despite the large number of studies on organizational politics, we still know very little about cross-cultural differences in these perceptions. The present study focuses on the roles of cultural values and the level of perceived national corruption in explaining cross-national differences in perceptions of organizational politics. Specifically, the study emphasizes the impact that cultural values may have on the degree to which employees perceive their organizational environment as political. In addition, it is proposed that in countries with a high level of corruption, corruption permeates throughout society, down to the individuals’ workplace such that citizens who perceive their country as corrupt will similarly perceive their workplace as corrupt. Two empirical illustrations support the argument that cultural values and perceptions of corruption in a country are related to perceptions of organizational politics.