No abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of organisational culture on productivity and quality in software organisations, with special reference to India.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study was done in two phases. The first phase adopts qualitative methodology and examines the significant aspects of organisational culture, productivity, and quality and the nature of the relationship organisational culture has with productivity and quality. The second phase makes a quantitative analysis of this relationship.FindingsThe study develops a range of insights into the way cultural processes tend to influence productivity and quality in people centric and knowledge intensive work contexts such as software.Research limitations/implicationsThis study employed perceptual measures of productivity and quality in the quantitative analysis. Future studies can develop objective criteria, which would facilitate robust quantitative analysis. Future studies should also explore whether the findings of this study have generalisability beyond the Indian context.Practical implicationsThe study provides insights into the management of productivity and quality in contexts where work is characterised by high levels of abstraction and invisibility.Originality/valueThere are very few empirical studies on this relationship in dynamic and sophisticated work contexts such as software and this further contributes to the debate concerning the impact of organisational culture on effectiveness.

Although it has been suggested that both organisational culture and organisational commitment are important topics of contemporary organisational significance, there has been little attempt to explore the dynamics of these two concepts by scholars. The study reported in this paper adopts a three perspective framework (Martin 1992(Martin , 2002 to explore the impact of organisational culture on organisational commitment in a context (software sector in India) that is renowned to be dynamic and people-centred. The study adopts ethnographic methods including in-depth interviews, observation and document analysis. The findings lead to the development of a range of insights into the integrated, differentiated and fragmented nature of organisational culture and the impact of these on the perception of linkages with organisational commitment. The paper argues that adopting all three perspectives of culture in the study of culture-commitment linkages in a single organisation reveals significant insights into the perceived associations, while at the same time highlighting the problematic nature of such relationships. The paper concludes with a series of implications for theory and practice.

It is well established that expatriates need support from host country nationals (HCNs) to successfully adjust in their new location, and subsequently perform well in their jobs. Drawing on a sample of 149 Indian nurses in the United Kingdom, this two‐phase study illustrates how expatriate‐HCN interactions unfold over time (two years). To do this, we draw upon social identity theory and show that effective expatriate‐HCN relationship building (i.e., perceived categorization and perceived values similarity) lead to HCN support and, subsequently, expatriate adjustment. Results confirmed that perceptions of categorization and value similarity significantly impacted HCN willingness to offer support. We also find that expatriate age, education level, and time spent in the host country significantly impact adjustment. We discuss theoretical and practical implications and offer suggestions for future research.

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