Organisational culture in internationally federated non-profit organisations : the importance of industry and governance

Abstract

In the era of globalisation, organisations around the world have increasingly become stages of global diversity where multi-cultural workforces interact in teams on a daily basis. International organisations, in particular, are a characteristic display of cross-cultural interaction. The study of organisational culture in a multi-cultural organisational environment is receiving growing attention due to a pressing need to understand and manage the consequences of cross-cultural interaction and achieve better organisational outcomes. However, so far, studies in the area have focused on multinational for-profit organisations and neglected other industry and governance, missing opportunities for broader and richer understanding in the field. The present study covered a case of an internationally federated complex non-profit organisation and captured new insights, thereby contributing to theory and enriching the empirical evidence in the field of study. The results shed light on the importance of industry and governance, and provoked critical questions for further research. The unique features of non-profit and federated governance culture depicted the opportunities for cross-learning with other industries. The study highlighted the distinct formation of conventional cultural dimensions contributing to cultural cohesion and cushioning the federation against excessive fragmentation. The dimensions of institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, power distance and uncertainty avoidance depicted interesting behaviours in the study context. These dimensions dominated behaviour and have rendered other dimensions subservient. Cultural behaviours, such as cultural-anchoring and power grouping, transpired as unique findings to the industry and governance, where consensus and fragmentation have played integrative and accommodative roles. Dominant dimensions determined direction and intensity in subservient dimensions irrespective of values espoused by leadership in the subservient dimensions. The line between organisational politics and the ingroup collectivism dimension was blurred, calling for further research in the field of organisational behaviour. Further research in the field could focus on shaping organisational cultural dimensions fit for diverse industry and governance contexts, identifying areas of cross-fertilisation of learning, investigating the significance of dominant versus subservient dimensions in the process of organisational cultural change, and broadening the knowledge base in the field by studying diverse organisational typologies.