Organizational Climate and Culture An Introduction to Theory, Research, and Practice

About the Authors

Preface

1. Introduction

• Definitions of Organizational Climate and Culture
• Assumptions
• Our Goals: What We Hope to Accomplish
• What We Are Not Trying to Accomplish
• Organization of the Book

2. History of Organizational Climate Theory and Research

• From 1939 to the Mid-1960s: The Early Years of Climate Research
• From the Late 1960s through the Early 1970s: The Expansion of Empirical Climate Research
• The Mid-1970s: Major Critiques of the Climate Literature and Their Resolution

3. Organizational Climate Research: The Current State of the Field

• Definitions of Organizational Climate
• Measurement and Levels of Analysis
• Types of Climates Studied: Molar and Focused Climates
• Climate Strength
• Other Boundary Conditions of Climate-Outcome Relationships
• Climate Itself as a Moderator Variable
• Additional Approaches to Studying Climate: Antecedents and Mediators
• Climate Interventions

4. Foundations of Organizational Culture

• A Brief History of Research on Organizational Culture
• Approaches to Understanding Organizational Culture
• Defining Organizational Culture
• The Substance of Organizational Culture
• Methods for Studying Organizational Culture

5. The Emergence, Effectiveness, and Change of Organizational Cultures

• The Emergence of Organizational Culture
• Socialization and the Perpetuation of Organizational Culture
• Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness
• Organizational Subcultures
• Culture Strength
• Organizational Culture Change

6. Integrating Organizational Climate and Organizational Culture

• On the Relative Absence of the Integration of Climate and Culture
• Similarities between Organizational Climate and Culture
• Differences between Organizational Climate and Culture
• What Organizational Climate Researchers Can Learn from Organizational Culture Research
• What Organizational Culture Researchers Can Learn from Organizational Climate Research
• Toward Integrating Organizational Climate and Culture
• Climate, Culture, and Competitive Advantage
• Climate, Culture, and Organizational Change

7. A Practitioner’s Guide to Cultural Inquiry

• Why Executives Care: Strategy, Leadership, and Organizational Culture
• The Bases for Cultural Diagnosis and Change
• Talent Management and Cultural Inquiry
• The Measurement Framework for Cultural Inquiry and Diagnosis
• Qualitative Approaches to Cultural Diagnosis
• Quantitative Approaches to Cultural Diagnosis
• A Brief Note on Blending Qualitative and Quantitative Cultural Inquiry
• The Fundamental Attributes of Organizational Culture

8. Summary and Conclusion

• Organizational Climate
• Organizational Culture
• Integrating Organizational Climate and Culture
• Implications for Practice
• Organizational Climate and Culture: A Research Agenda

References

Biography

Mark G. Ehrhart is a Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Central Florida, USA. His research interests include organizational climate and culture, organizational citizenship behavior, gratitude, leadership, and implementation.

Benjamin Schneider is Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, USA. His research interests concern organizational climate and culture, employee engagement, service quality, staffing issues, and the role of personality in organizational life.

William H. Macey is Senior Research Fellow at CultureFactors, Inc., USA. He has over 35 years of experience consulting with organizations to design and implement survey research programs.

“As someone who has studied culture for years, I can say unequivocally that this is the single most comprehensive and important integration of the culture and climate research I have ever seen. It is a masterful summary of the literature and a must read for any researcher or practitioner interested in these topics. It is filled with useful insights and suggestions for research and practice.”

Charles A. O'Reilly, Ph.D., Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, USA

“Ehrhart, Schneider, and Macey have written the definitive book on climate and culture. The authors deftly summarize, synthesize and extend the complex, intersecting and sometimes contradictory climate and culture literatures with clear descriptions and helpful tables, ranging from early history to current issues like remote work and gig work. Leaders will find the practical insight in the later chapters especially helpful and practitioners will appreciate the clear, practical advice on assessing and influencing climate and culture.”

Alexis Fink, Ph.D., Meta, USA

“The concepts of organizational climate and culture have vexed scholars and practitioners for 60 years. Are they the same? How can they be measured—and changed? Grounded in organizational psychology and deep practice-based insight, this evidence-based book demystifies and informs and then guides change interventions. Keep it close to tap its insights on how the human experience of organizations shapes what organizations become—and what you can do about it.”

Denise Rousseau, Ph.D., Heinz College and Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

“Hats off to this seasoned team of authors for an impressive new work! Under the guise of an update of their excellent 2014 overview of the climate and culture literatures, they have actually given us a brilliant integrative review of nearly a century of research on the importance of organizational contexts and work environments to our well-being, collaboration, and productivity! Read it!”

Daniel Denison, Ph.D., IMD Business School, Switzerland

“Scholars and practitioners have long been intrigued by the concepts of climate and culture, and how these notions play out in today’s ever-challenging world. Who better to turn to than the scholars who “share over 100 years of experience with research and thinking on, and practical implications of, organizational culture and climate.” In this volume, the authors update their earlier work and present the proverbial “last word” on the topic. Congratulations are in order on an excellent update of knowledge in this field! I love it!”

Neal M. Ashkanasy, Ph.D., UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Australia