An analysis of the relationship between organization culture and performance: case study of a Chinese university

Abstract

This study explored the relationships between university organizational culture and contextual performance in a Chinese university, with commitment as a mediating variable. The findings revealed that organizational culture had a significant impact on commitment of employees. At the same time, commitment impacted contextual performance positively. We contribute to the current literature by contradicting many past studies on the impact of organizational culture on performance. We found that organization culture had no significant impact on performance. This could be due to the unique nature of Chinese universities as top leadership is appointed by the central government. Based on the Competing Values Framework, most Chinese universities lie on a continuum between clan and hierarchy organization culture where the structure is highly formalized with precise and reinforced rule yet emphasizing the values of teamwork and family orientation. The study also suggested adopting different governance structures to meet the rising demands for greater autonomy from academics and administrators and shifting the organizational cultures towards the right half of the Competing Values Framework towards an adhocracy and market culture. The data collected in this study was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method with AMOS. The descriptive analysis of the research data was performed using SPSS.