The darker side of strong organizational cultures: looking forward by looking back
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First author draft
Date
DOI
Authors
Anteby, Michel
Rajunov, Micah
Version
First author draft
OA Version
Citation
M. Anteby, M. Rajunov. "The Darker Side of Strong Organizational Cultures: Looking Forward by Looking Back."
Abstract
Organizational cultures encompass the norms, values, and beliefs that guide the thinking and
actions of organizational members. In this chapter, we highlight the moral power and ambiguity of such cultures. We review early research on organizational culture, and showcase its historical roots in moral questions around ideological control. We then trace how an emphasis on strong culture and firm performance slowly eroded these moral underpinnings. We also highlight specific studies that have surfaced the oft-forgotten moral consequences of these strong cultures.
Next, we illustrate our argument with two research streams (i.e., research on person-organization “fit” and research on the culture of business schools) that reveal a darker, more insidious side, of strong organizational culture. The darker moral side occurs when the moral repercussions of organizational culture are masked by good intentions from management, internalized by employees as beneficial, and lead to harmful consequences for workers, firms, and/or society.
Finally, we discuss how increased public awareness of the moral dimensions of work necessitate a deeper understanding of the moral implications of organizational culture.