An Individual-Level Examination of the Impact of Cultural Values on Organizational Identification

Executive Summary The cultural values and beliefs of 137 business-to-business sales force employees of a multinational company operating in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand were measured at the individual level to examine their impact on organizational identification. Collectivism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation were found to be significantly correlated with organizational identification. However, power distance was not related. Using stepwise regression analysis, the 3 cultural values that predicted organizational identification (in descending order) were: (a) long-term orientation, (b) collectivism, and (c) uncertainty avoidance. The variance explained by these 3 predictors was 30.4%. This suggests one of the main advantages managers may capitalize upon when attempting to enhance organizational identification is to consider the hiring and retention of candidates who possess these values. This research also adds to the burgeoning body of work confirming the importance of assessing cultural values at the individual level utilizing an international sample. Introduction It is well-established that context and environment impact the maturation process and value development of individuals embedded in strong and unified national cultures. The widely deployed and heavily researched framework first proposed by Hofstede (1980; Hofstede & Bond, 1988) identifies the five primary dimensions characterizing a culture as: (a) individualism/collectivism, (b) power distance, (c) masculinity/femininity, (d) uncertainty avoidance, and (e) time orientation. Yet, the reduction of social, economic and structural barriers mitigating inter-nation travel and transplantation, and the resultant globalization suggest that within-nation homogeneity of values may be eroding. At a very minimum, it infers that researchers may begin to study and examine the impact of cultural value orientation at the individual-level, expanding investigations in this domain from between nations to within them. Given the challenges of maintaining organizational identification in our pluralistic and dynamic society, yet simultaneously recognizing the positive consequences associated with this construct (e.g., Mael & Ashforth, 1995), it is becoming increasingly important to understand how organizational identification evolves. This study expands and contributes to the organizational identification literature by examining the impact of cultural values as antecedents on organizational identification in a multinational sales force. Organizational Identification Organizational identification and affective organizational commitment have historically been intertwined in the literature. This primary differentiation is that affective organizational commitment is a broader concept that often encompasses the concept of identification. Affective organizational commitment is traditionally defined as an employee's identification with his/her employing firm, yet the construct also embodies an emotional attachment to and active involvement in the company (Meyer & Allen, 1984). There are many well-documented functional outcomes associated with high affective organizational commitment, including lower turnover intentions (Wasti, 2003), reduced absenteeism (Gellatly, 1995), improved performance (Preston & Brown, 2004), and increased organizational citizenship behaviors (Moorman, Niehoff, & Organ, 1993). Similarly, there have been numerous positive behavioral outcomes reported with elevated organizational identification, notably, those who are highly identified tend to exhibit more extrarole behaviors such as helping other members and offering innovative suggestions (Wieseke, Ullrich, Christ, & Dick, 2007). These organizational citizenship behaviors in turn lead to increased customer orientation, positive customer perceptions and better financial performance (van Dick, Grajean, Christ, & Wieseke, 2006). …

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