IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i20p13109-d940862.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Management Attitude Shaping Cultural Sustainability in a Taxi Company—An Israeli Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Yaffa Moskovich

    (Behavioral Science, Zefat Academic College, Safed 1320611, Israel)

Abstract

This research examined human interaction in a taxi driving company, analyzing the cultural influence of the management’s social definition of its employees. In addition, this case study examined the relevance of “activity theory” through the perspective of the “iceberg model”. Based on this model, the researcher explored the overt and practical layers of the organizational culture of the company as well as its hidden layers. The ethnographic research developed along qualitative lines: 28 interviews and 10 direct observations in the organizational setting. The research questions were: ‘How did the owners’ attitude shape the culture of their taxi company and how did their behavior influence cultural sustainability?’ The findings portrayed a culture of conflict, driven by the owners’ motivation to become rich quickly. The overt layers of the organizational culture included domineering managerial behavior, exploiting the drivers’ inferior status, creating a high level of stress, and openly humiliating them. The drivers were deeply dissatisfied, which led to high rates of turnover. Moreover, analyzing the social interactions in the firm uncovered the hidden agenda of the owners (i.e., the covert layers), which was to amass a fortune in a short time at the expense of their workers. The analysis highlighted the damage this capitalist managerial attitude caused to the organizational sustainability of the company. The managerial behavior caused high driver turnover, which led to a constant shortage of drivers and instability in the company. By focusing on one taxi driving company in northern Israel, this research enriches the literature in the fields of social interaction, activity theory, organizational culture, and sustainability. This paper presents insights that stem from “activity theory”, according to which managers can interact with their employees, overcoming mistrust and conflict, in order to enhance organizational sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Yaffa Moskovich, 2022. "Management Attitude Shaping Cultural Sustainability in a Taxi Company—An Israeli Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-23, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13109-:d:940862
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/20/13109/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/20/13109/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yaffa Moskovich, 2018. "Belief systems and business strategy in a privatized kibbutz factory," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 5-36, March.
    2. Hugo Machado Sanchez & Eliane Gouveia de Morais Sanchez & Maria Alves Barbosa & Celmo Celeno Porto & Mario Silva Approbato, 2019. "Comparison of Quality of Life and Work Ability of Taxi and Motorcycle Taxi Drivers: Evidence from Brazil," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Alfred M. Jaeger & Sung Soo Kim & Arif N. Butt, 2016. "Leveraging Values Diversity: The Emergence and Implications of a Global Managerial Culture in Global Organizations," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 227-254, April.
    4. Yaffa Moskovich, 2020. "Business Sustainability Strategy in a Cooperative Kibbutz Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Ante Glavas & Jenny Mish, 2015. "Resources and Capabilities of Triple Bottom Line Firms: Going Over Old or Breaking New Ground?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 623-642, March.
    6. Yaffa Moskovich, 2020. "Family Home Business in Kibbutz Industry Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Karen Golden-Biddle & Karen Locke, 1993. "Appealing Work: An Investigation of How Ethnographic Texts Convince," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(4), pages 595-616, November.
    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. Yaffa Moskovich, 2020. "Business Sustainability Strategy in a Cooperative Kibbutz Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-23, November.
    2. Al-Shaer, Habiba & Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Do shareholders punish or reward excessive CSR engagement? Moderating effect of cash flow and firm growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Lucía Muñoz-Pascual & Carla Curado & Jesús Galende, 2021. "Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis on the Adoption of Environmental Practices: Exploring Technological- and Human-Resource-Based Contributions," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(13), pages 1-21, July.
    4. Jimin Shim & Joonho Moon & Won Seok Lee & Namho Chung, 2021. "The Impact of CSR on Corporate Value of Restaurant Businesses Using Triple Bottom Line Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    5. Daniel Kiel & Julian M. Müller & Christian Arnold & Kai-Ingo Voigt, 2017. "Sustainable Industrial Value Creation: Benefits And Challenges Of Industry 4.0," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(08), pages 1-34, December.
    6. Yaffa Moskovich, 2023. "Communal Organizational Culture as a Source of Business-Success Sustainability in Kibbutz Industry—Two Case Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Christopher Meyer & Laima Gerlitz & Monika Klein, 2022. "Creativity as a Key Constituent for Smart Specialization Strategies (S3), What Is in It for Peripheral Regions? Co-creating Sustainable and Resilient Tourism with Cultural and Creative Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-31, March.
    8. Whiteman, G.M. & Phillips, N., 2006. "The Role of Narrative Fiction and Semi-Fiction in Organizational Studies," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2006-079-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    9. Tony J. Watson, 2011. "Ethnography, Reality, and Truth: The Vital Need for Studies of ‘How Things Work’ in Organizations and Management," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 202-217, January.
    10. Tomasz Witold Trojanowski & Pawel Tadeusz Kazibudzki, 2021. "Prospects and Constraints of Sustainable Marketing Mix Development for Poland’s High-Energy Consumer Goods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-25, December.
    11. Yaffa Moskovich, 2020. "Family Home Business in Kibbutz Industry Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-20, July.
    12. Reza Kiani Mavi & Denise Gengatharen & Neda Kiani Mavi & Richard Hughes & Alistair Campbell & Ross Yates, 2021. "Sustainability in Construction Projects: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-24, February.
    13. Elizabeth Goodrick & Trish Reay, 2010. "Florence Nightingale Endures: Legitimizing a New Professional Role Identity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 55-84, January.
    14. Beltagui, Ahmad & Sesis, Achilleas & Stylos, Nikolaos, 2021. "A bricolage perspective on democratising innovation: The case of 3D printing in makerspaces," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    15. Järvenpää, Marko & Hoque, Zahirul & Mättö, Toni & Rautiainen, Antti, 2023. "Controllers’ role in managerial sensemaking and information trust building in a business intelligence environment," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    16. Stephen Allen & Ann L. Cunliffe & Mark Easterby-Smith, 2019. "Understanding Sustainability Through the Lens of Ecocentric Radical-Reflexivity: Implications for Management Education," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 781-795, February.
    17. Thibaut Bardon & Lionel Garreau & Chahrazad Abdallah & Benoît Journé & Maja Korica, 2020. "Rethinking Observation: Challenges and Practices," Post-Print hal-02986240, HAL.
    18. Tomasz Trojanowski, 2021. "Sustainable Environmental Management in an Energy Company: A Case Study," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 89-101.
    19. Patricia Janosova, 2021. "Sustainable activities in manufacturing enterprises: Consumers’ expectations," Upravlenets, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 12(1), pages 91-101, March.
    20. Sayantan Khanra & Puneet Kaur & Rojers P Joseph & Ashish Malik & Amandeep Dhir, 2022. "A resource‐based view of green innovation as a strategic firm resource: Present status and future directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1395-1413, May.

    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:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13109-:d:940862. 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.