IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v11y2022i10p486-d946333.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Strong Cultures on Organisational Performance in Public Organisations: The Case of the Greek Public Administration

Author

Listed:
  • Panagiota Xanthopoulou

    (Department of Business Administration, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece)

  • Alexandros Sahinidis

    (Department of Business Administration, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece)

  • Zorzeta Bakaki

    (Department of Government, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK)

Abstract

Existing literature suggests that a strong culture is essential to the success of an organisation. However, some researchers have since disputed this claim, arguing that while some strong cultures lead to success, others fail. Examining several examples over time, the so-called “case for a strong culture” presents significant weaknesses. The present study, based on the Competing Values Model, examines the effects of a culture’s strength on the organisational performance in the public sector. A sample of 92 departments of Greek public organisations was examined, of which a total of 424 people responded to an online questionnaire. The participating organisations and their departments range in size, in terms of the number of their staff, from 15 to 54 members, and come from different segments of the public administration. The results showed that there is no relationship between culture’s strength and an organisation’s performance and that strong cultures do not have a significant impact on organisational performance in the public sector. The main objective of this research is to enrich the existing knowledge on the relationship between culture and performance, especially in the area of the public sector, since existing studies mainly focus on culture comparisons between large companies using mainly small samples. This study highlights the importance of culture given the chronic problems of Greek public administration to create public value and to be innovative and effective. The results are also of particular importance for the post-pandemic period indicating the need for major changes and reforms in public administration.

Suggested Citation

  • Panagiota Xanthopoulou & Alexandros Sahinidis & Zorzeta Bakaki, 2022. "The Impact of Strong Cultures on Organisational Performance in Public Organisations: The Case of the Greek Public Administration," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-15, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:10:p:486-:d:946333
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/10/486/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/10/486/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tom Christensen & Per Lægreid, 2001. "NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT: The effects of contractualism and devolution on political control," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 73-94, January.
    2. Chijioke Nwachukwu, 2016. "The Impact of Performance Management and Employee Empowerment on Organisational Culture of Selected Banks in Nigeria," Ekonomika a Management, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2016(2).
    3. Raili Pollanen & Ahmed Abdel-Maksoud & Said Elbanna & Habib Mahama, 2017. "Relationships between strategic performance measures, strategic decision-making, and organizational performance: empirical evidence from Canadian public organizations," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(5), pages 725-746, May.
    4. Michal Plaček & Juraj Nemec & František Ochrana & Milan Půček & Milan Křápek & David Špaček, 2021. "Do performance management schemes deliver results in the public sector? Observations from the Czech Republic," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(8), pages 636-645, November.
    5. Carmen M. Felipe & José L. Roldán & Antonio L. Leal-Rodríguez, 2017. "Impact of Organizational Culture Values on Organizational Agility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Robert E. Quinn & John Rohrbaugh, 1983. "A Spatial Model of Effectiveness Criteria: Towards a Competing Values Approach to Organizational Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 363-377, March.
    7. Antonio Botti & Massimiliano Vesci, 2018. "Competing Value Framework and Public Administration: Managerial Insights, Theoretical Reflections and Practical Implications from Italy," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(2), pages 147-160, February.
    8. Munashe Huragu & Redgelot Mufaro Chuma, 2019. "The Impact of Organisational Culture on Public Sector Performance: A Case Study of Local Authorities in Zimbabwe," International Journal of Public Policy and Administration Research, Conscientia Beam, vol. 6(1), pages 33-56.
    9. Abayomi Olarewaju Adeoye & Onyia Hope, 2020. "Organizational Culture, Employee Retention and Employee Loyalty: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria," Academic Journal of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy Bucharest,"Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University Bucharest, vol. 6(3), pages 139-145, September.
    10. Todisco, Lucio & Tomo, Andrea & Canonico, Paolo & Mangia, Gianluigi & Sarnacchiaro, Pasquale, 2021. "Exploring social media usage in the public sector: Public employees' perceptions of ICT's usefulness in delivering value added," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    11. Prentice, Catherine & Wang, Xuequn & Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia, 2019. "The influence of brand experience and service quality on customer engagement," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 50-59.
    12. Hamann, P. Maik & Schiemann, Frank, 2021. "Organizational performance as a set of four dimensions: An empirical analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 45-65.
    13. Warrick, D.D., 2017. "What leaders need to know about organizational culture," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 395-404.
    14. Michaela Kotková Stříteská & Yee Yee Sein, 2021. "Performance Driven Culture in the Public Sector: The Case of Nordic Countries," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, January.
    15. Taye Demissie Beshi & Ranvinderjit Kaur, 2020. "Public Trust in Local Government: Explaining the Role of Good Governance Practices," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 337-350, June.
    16. Armenia ANDRONICEANU, 2021. "Transparency In Public Administration As A Challenge For A Good Democratic Governance," REVISTA ADMINISTRATIE SI MANAGEMENT PUBLIC, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2021(36), pages 149-164, June.
    17. Owino O. Joseph & Francis Kibera, 2019. "Organizational Culture and Performance: Evidence From Microfinance Institutions in Kenya," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(1), pages 21582440198, March.
    18. Abdallah Mishael Obeidat & Shadi Habis Abualoush & Hani Jazza Irtaimeh & Aminah A. Khaddam & Khaled Adnan Bataineh, 2018. "The role of organisational culture in enhancing the human capital applied study on the social security corporation," International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 15(3), pages 258-276.
    19. Munashe Huragu & Redgelot Mufaro Chuma, 2019. "The Impact of Organisational Culture on Public Sector Performance: A Case Study of Local Authorities in Zimbabwe," International Journal of Public Policy and Administration Research, Conscientia Beam, vol. 6(1), pages 33-56.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:thr:techub:10014:y:2020:i:1:p:471-482 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Azeem, Muhammad & Ahmed, Munir & Haider, Sajid & Sajjad, Muhammad, 2021. "Expanding competitive advantage through organizational culture, knowledge sharing and organizational innovation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Hassan Rasool, 2021. "Behavior Leverage: Bringing Beneficial Cultural Change in Organisations," PIDE-Working Papers 2021:8, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    4. Marcel R. Sieber & Milan Malý & Radek Liška, 2022. "Conceptualizing organizational culture and business-IT alignment: a systematic literature review," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-25, September.
    5. Jesús Cambra-Berdún & Jesús Cambra-Fierro, 2006. "Considerations and implications on the necessity of increasing efficiency in the public education system: The new public management (NPM) and the market orientation as reference concepts," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 3(2), pages 41-58, December.
    6. Simanchala Das & Biswajit Acharjya, 2021. "Understanding Organisational Effectiveness Through Sustainable Human Relations Approach: The Role of Empowerment Climate in Selected Industrial Establishments," International Journal of System Dynamics Applications (IJSDA), IGI Global, vol. 10(2), pages 33-52, April.
    7. Kaja Prystupa, 2017. "The Role of Organizational Culture in KnowledgeManagement in Small Companies," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 13(3), pages 151-173.
    8. Khleef A. Alkhawaldeh, 2021. "Institutional Governance Practices in Jordan Government Units," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 52-65.
    9. Treur, Kim A.D. & Van Der Sluis, Lidewey E.C., 2005. "The Benefits of Coaching for Employees and their Organisations," Serie Research Memoranda 0013, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    10. Juan E. Núñez-Ríos & Jacqueline Y. Sánchez-García & Omar G. Rojas & Elias Olivares-Benitez, 2020. "Factors to Foster Organizational Sustainability in Tourism SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-21, October.
    11. Faiz Muhammad Khuwaja & Waheed Ali Umrani & Sanober Salman Shaikh & Ammar Ahmed & Sanaullah Shar, 2019. "University Markor: A Context-Specific Scale to Measure Market-Orientation in Universities," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, June.
    12. A. Emre Demirci, 2013. "Strategic Representation of an Abstract Reality: Spiraling Relations between Organizational Culture and Innovativeness," Journal of Management and Strategy, Journal of Management and Strategy, Sciedu Press, vol. 4(3), pages 39-55, August.
    13. Inmaculada Buendía-Martínez & Inmaculada Carrasco Monteagudo, 2020. "The Role of CSR on Social Entrepreneurship: An International Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, August.
    14. Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu & Kevin Baird & Sophia Su, 2022. "The association between the interactive and diagnostic use of financial and non-financial performance measures with individual creativity: The mediating role of perceived fairness," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 371-402, September.
    15. Hock-Doepgen, Marianne & Clauss, Thomas & Kraus, Sascha & Cheng, Cheng-Feng, 2021. "Knowledge management capabilities and organizational risk-taking for business model innovation in SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 683-697.
    16. Julia Naranjo-Valencia & Ricardo Vidal-Patiño & Gregorio Calderón-Hernández, 2019. "Characterization of Innovation Research Published in Latin American Journals Indexed in WoS," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(07), pages 1-38, November.
    17. Dritan Shoraj & Shyqyri Llaci, 2015. "Motivation and Its Impact on Organizational Effectiveness in Albanian Businesses," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(2), pages 21582440155, April.
    18. Gregorio Sánchez-Marín & Gabriel Lozano-Reina & Mané Beglaryan, 2022. "HRM Policies and SMEs Performance: The Moderating Role of CSR Orientation," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2022(1), pages 85-110.
    19. Alev Ozer Torgaloz & Mehmet Fatih Acar & Cemil Kuzey, 2023. "The effects of organizational learning culture and decentralization upon supply chain collaboration: analysis of covid-19 period," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 511-530, March.
    20. Björn Mestdagh & Olivier Sempiga & Luc Van Liedekerke, 2023. "The Impact of External Shocks on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Linking the COVID-19 Pandemic to SDG Implementation at the Local Government Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, April.
    21. Hoang Linh VU & Dominique BONET FERNANDEZ, 2014. "Proposition d’un modèle de relations producteur-distributeur : une application à la gestion des conflits en contexte interculturel," Working Papers 2014-231, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:10:p:486-:d:946333. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.