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Past research has shown a close connection between organizational culture and effectiveness, but nearly all of this research has examined the direct effects of culture on performance outcomes. In contrast, this article examines the idea that the effects of cultural consistency on organizational performance may differ depending on the levels of other culture traits. Data from 88,879 individuals in 137 public companies using the Denison Organizational Culture Survey were paired with three objective measures of Downloaded from 242 Human Relations 65 (2) organizational performance and used to examine the interaction effects of consistency with mission, adaptability, and involvement. Consistency shows a significant positive interaction with all three traits in predicting market-to-book ratios and sales growth. Firms that are both consistent and adaptable, for example, are high performers. In contrast, the results show a significant negative interaction when predicting return on assets. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to future culture and effectiveness research.

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This study examines the first year in office of newcomer executives to understand how they make sense of the ongoing stream of experience (sensemaking) while they simultaneously articulate a desired future image (sensegiving). College and university presidents, who were hired as outsiders, were interviewed to examine how they make sense of the organization while they simultaneously set forth strategic initiatives. This research advances the executive transition literature by examining the simultaneity of "being and learning" an executive role. This contrasts with stage models that have examined sequential processes. Four empirically grounded processes emerged: (a) speaking in broad, ambiguous goals and "safe harbors"; (b) holding knowledge cautiously-knowing you do not know; (c) relying on social interactions to help make sense of the organization and to give more certainty in judgments; and (d) reducing equivocality through priority setting.

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