Projects / Programmes
Izkoriščanje sinergijskih učinkov jasnih organizacijskih vrednot, poslanstev in vizij za zagotavljanje trajnostne konkurenčnosti slovenskih podjetij (Slovene)
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.04.03 |
Social sciences |
Administrative and organisational sciences |
Management |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.01 |
Social Sciences |
Psychology and cognitive sciences |
Researchers (12)
Organisations (1)
Significance for science
There is a strong belief in last two decades among researchers, managers and practitians that clear organizational values, clear sense of shared mission and clear organizational vision are key elements of excellent organizational cultures. This belief was confirmed by numerous important international research projects.
Clear and unambiguous mission, values and vision seem of such importance to managers, that they are usually written by organizations in form of specific statements. However, numerous researchers noted big conceptual disparities with regards to understanding of the meaning of values, mission, and vision in organizations. During our project we cleared these disparities and clearly defined particular concepts and their differences.
Even though numerous empirical data confirm the importance of internal discussions about organizational values, mission, and vision and confirm a positive relationship between such discussions and organizational effectiveness and competitiveness, some authors pointed out methodological issues regarding these findings. Existing research mostly took industry-specific samples of organizations. We, however, deliberately took a wider cross-industrial sample, as we found this approach a better way to get to more generalized data.
One of important findings of our research is confirmation that organizations with more specifically defined values, mission and/or vision perceived themselves as more profitable regarding their competition, perceived higher value added per employee regarding their competition and perceived larger numbers of clients. Organizations with better informed employees with regards to values, mission and vision also self-perceived better financial and non-financial results. But even more important data confirmed the connection between explicitely written values, mission, and vision and value added per employee. Furthermore, we confirmed the connection of value added per employee with two implicit dimensions of these statements: (1) orientation towards quality of life and (2) orientation towards results. Organizations with strong emphasis on these implicit dimensions in their values, mission, and vision statements in average show higher value added per employee.
With regards to development of science we confirmed a link that was frequently mentioned in scientific and professional literature, but lacked of empirical evidence. We confirmed, that integration of organizational values, mission, and vision into organizational processes thorugh interpersonal interactions is more connected with particular financial indicators, while their integration through rules and norms is more connected with particular non-financial indicator, these relationships being slightly negative. While integration of organizational values, mission, and vision into direct and interpersonal directive processes is connected with positive organizational outcomes, their integration into rules and normative documents is slightly connected with negative outcomes. These findings confirm that exaggerated focus on normative function of organizational values, mission and vision statements is not sufficient condition for presumed positive relatedness to outcomes. If these statements stay nothing more than written rules, if they are not adopted by top, middle, or lower management, it is hardly to expect that they could guide lives and work of employees.
Among other important results we would like to mention the development of new research methodology and confirmation of the hypothetical model, which can be a good platform for new research and search for possible causal connections between variables incorporated in it.
Significance for the country
Our research confirmed important relationships between operationalization of organizational values, mission, and vision, their communication and integration into organizational processes and some important financial and non-financial outcomes.
Our results showed that documents about organizational values, mission, and vision are usually results of formalized process, which is usually limited to small groups of members of the organization. Weak involvement of wider groups of employees into these discussions can lead to weaker identification with resulting documents and their contents, which can result in weaker integration into organizational processes and results. Higher explicity of values, mission, and vision statements is linked with higher level of integration into organizational processes. We see an important potential for rising of slovene organizations competitiveness and success in dissemination of knowledge about the meaning and possible outcomes of organizational-wide discussions about these central elements of organizational identity.
Our results represent important confirmation of the belief that different statements that stay nothing but word in rules and normative documents, and are not adopted by top, middle, and lower management, can’t influence lives and work of employees. Unclear, vague and poorly communicated statements can even spread dissatisfaction and cynicism among employees. It’s important to remember that we didn’t find a null connection between limited integration of organizational values, mission, and vision only in normative documents and organizational outcomes. The connection proved to be even slightly negative, especially in areas that can be linked with dissatisfaction and cynicism: in higher absenteeism and lack of organizational commitment.
Our research showed that notes about organizational values, mission, and vision are more often present in documents which are mainly intended for external stakeholders and audience than in internal organizational communications. Therefore we see an important potential for rising of slovene organizations competitiveness and success in enhanced internal communications. Moreover, such enhanced communication of organizational values, mission, and vision can prevent from dispersion of the knowledge of these elements of organizational identity with rising distance from the center of the organization, which can lead to troubles with regards to the feeling of connectedness with the organization among employees and towards feelings of alienation.
If we presume that organizations that report better indicators of financial and non-financial outcomes, are more successful in dealing with the economic crisis, than organizations that report poorer results, part of these differences might be contributed by lack of explicitelly stated, clearly communicated, deeply internalized, and into processes integrated organizational values, mission, and vision. If we link this finding with data about connectedness between the existence of clearly stated organizational values, mission, and vision with objective indicators of organizational outcomes, this assumption can be even more valid and can mean one of important bases for successful dealing with the economic crisis.
Recommendations which were formed during our research can be important guidelines in one of the fields that can contribute to successfulness and competitiveness of slovene organizations and economy.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2010,
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2010,
2011
complete report on dLib.si
