Impact of perceived organizational culture and learning on organizational identification

Abstract

Purpose

Understanding of antecedence of organizational identification (OID) will help managements to improve the efficiency of organizations by enabling employees to perform their roles and responsibilities with total commitment. Many micro-level factors have been found to influence OID. The present study aims to examine the role of organizational culture (OC) which encompasses all micro-level factors and the moderating role of organizational learning (OL) which is a framework either to totally submit to or redefine the tenets of different cultural orientations adopted by organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Four cultural types, namely clan, ad hocracy, hierarchy and market, were treated as independent variables; two learning styles, namely single loop (SLL) and double loop (DLL) learning styles, were included as moderator variables and four OID dimensions, namely positive identification, ambivalent identification, neutral identification and disidentification, were treated as dependent variables of a path analysis model. Three hundred and seventy-eight employees of ten private sector insurance companies located in south India were included as subjects and data on three questionnaires were collected. Best fitting path models one for each dependent variables, which had conceptual and practical relevance, were retained.

Findings

Adhocracy and hierarchy cultures show direct positive impact on positive identification and show direct negative impact on other three modes of identification. Clan culture shows a weak tendency towards positive identification and does not influence other three modes. Market culture shows no impact on positive identification but influences other modes. DLL and SLL learning both in isolation and in combination moderate the relationships to cultural orientations and various modes of OID.

Originality/value

This study highlights the importance of OC and OL in developing OID among the employees. The insights drawn from the findings can be used to build comprehensive model of OID.

Citation

Vijayakumar, V.S.R. and Padma, R.N. (2014), "Impact of perceived organizational culture and learning on organizational identification", International Journal of Commerce and Management, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 40-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCoMA-01-2012-0003