Examining the relationship between organizational culture and performance: Moderators of culture gap

Abstract

This quantitative, survey-based, non-experimental research study examined the relationship between employee-organization culture gap and performance. Managers are not aware that improvement in performance is possible when the importance of organizational culture is recognized. With the current pressure on managers to find solutions to organizational challenges, the need for a quantitative study exploring the relationship between employee-organization culture gap and performance has emerged. In addition, this study explored the possibility that employee gender, longevity, and age may moderate the relationship between employee-organization culture gap and performance, thus affecting the organization's overall objectives. Two hundred forty-seven of 369 employees from three technical institutes in South Dakota participated in the survey. The Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) survey was used to measure organizational culture. Survey data were analyzed using correlation and regression analysis. The results indicated a significant negative relationship between the employee-organization culture gap and organizational performance, r = -.52, p < .001. Results of the study also indicated that employee longevity with an organization moderated the relationship between the employee-organization culture gap and organizational performance, p = -.15, p = .012. The moderators, employee age, employee gender, and employee longevity with an organization, revealed that employee-organization culture gap and organizational performance was stronger for employees who had worked for the company longer than it was for shorter-term employees. Employee age and gender did not moderate the relationship between the employee-organization culture gap and organizational performance. The research findings added to the literature on the links between organizational culture and performance, and could promote public and organizational awareness of the impact of employee-organization culture gap on an organization. Recommendations for future research include the need to test other moderators that influence the employee-organization culture gap, support the potential utility of the OCP survey as a mechanism to test person-organization fit, and apply the OCP survey and analysis procedures in a comparative study across industries. A follow-up study at Western Dakota Tech, Lake Area Tech, and Mitchell Tech could reapply the OCP survey instrument, and compare the employee-organization culture gap scores between this and future studies.