Mapping Organizational Culture Schemas Based on Correlational Class Analysis: A Tutorial

Abstract

Context: organizational culture tends to be investigated based on organizational consensus degree, even when it is seen as shared meanings. However, sharing meanings does not imply having the same opinions. On the contrary, there may be agreement on which cultural elements are relevant, even when opinions differ from each other, a fact that enables individuals to share cultural schemas, although they disagree with each other’s answers. Objective: we aim to use a scale of organizational values adapted to the Brazilian context to map cultural schemas based on a survey conducted with 207 workers from different companies. Method: recent advancements in the cultural cognition field have enabled the present tutorial article to map organizational culture schemas based on correlational class analysis. This method divides the sample into schematic classes by listing respondents based on the linear dependence between answers given to a questionnaire, rather than on agreement between respondents. Results: two different schematic classes (reactive and resilient) that condition the effect of attitudes and organizational structure on employee appreciation and satisfaction. Conclusions: besides providing a tutorial on how to use the investigated technique, the study points out its relevance for organizational culture field.

Keywords

• correlational class analysis
• belief systems
• shared meanings
• organizational culture
• cultural schemas