The Relationship between Organisational Culture and Individual Behaviour in Saudi Arabia

294 Pages·2017·5.35 MB·English

by  Meshal Aldhobaib

The Relationship between Organisational Culture and
Individual Behaviour in Saudi Arabia
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By
Meshal Abdulaziz Aldhobaib

Submitted to in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree
of doctor of philosophy of Cardiff University
Management, Employment and Organisation Section
Cardiff Business School
Cardiff University
August 2017
Declaration
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Dedication
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In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

This Thesis is Dedicated to
my Loving Parents
Abdulaziz & Norah
and
my Loving Grandparents
Suliman & Sarah

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Abstract
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Although the concepts of organisational culture (OC) and individual behaviour (IB) have
attracted considerable interests from both academics and practitioners, there are few studies
that examine the relationship between them directly (which were conducted under person-
culture fit research (see Chatman and O’Reilly, 2016)). While these few existing studies have
made an overall contribution to the culture-behaviour relationship, they have critical
limitations and gaps in knowledge. Specifically, they primarily adopt functional and
quantitative approaches for examining the relationship between the two concepts, and
consequently, they neglect alternative non-functional perspectives of OC (opposition and
ambiguity) and their relationship with IB. Also, most of these studies were conducted in
organisations from countries that have strict separation between religion and state (e.g. the UK
and USA), with very few studies located in countries where people at work actively engage in
religious and social practices, particularly Saudi Arabia.
This study explores the relationship between OC and IB through an ethnographic case study
in a single Saudi Arabian organisation that operates in a vital industry, i.e. financial industry.
It adopts a three-perspective theoretical framework (see Martin, 1992), to explore the
relationship between OC and IB in a country that is renowned to be highly attached to ancient
social norms and religious traditions. The findings of the study lead to the development of a
range of insights into the integrated, differentiated, and fragmented nature of OC and how
organisational members interact (i.e. perceive and behave) with such cultural components. The
empirical evidence suggests that examining the interaction between OC elements (values,
believes, and underlying assumptions) and individual traits, including psychology/ social (e.g.
values and beliefs), social category (e.g. age and gender), and other subjective characteristics
(e.g. education and work experience) is important to understand the relationship between OC
and IB. Accordingly, this study develops a conceptual analysis that explains the relationship
between OC and IB and considers the dynamic and multidimensional aspects of the two
concepts. It also offers contributions to knowledge on organisational literature in general, and
Saudi literature in particular, by revealing alternative contingencies that affect the behaviour
of organisations and individuals.

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Acknowledgements
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I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my supervisory panel, Prof. Emmanuel
Ogbonna and Prof. Deborah Foster, for their support, the priceless knowledge that they shared,
and their encouragement throughout the PhD. I would like to express a special appreciation
for Prof. Ogbonna for his firm belief in me in completing this thesis, and his patience and
strength during the difficult times that I faced during the PhD journey. I am truly grateful for
that.
Many thanks to the staff at Cardiff University College of Arts, Humanities, and Social
Sciences, and also the staff at the International Student Support, who helped make the PhD in
Cardiff a very agreeable process. A special thanks to Cardiff Business School, particularly the
PhD. administration officers, Elsie Phillips and Laine Clayton, who have always shown
willingness to help with any issue I faced.
I thank my university colleagues and friends, especially Saleh Alreshoodi, Theresa Chika-
James, Anna Galazka, Richard Thomas and many more – you have been such an incredible
part of my journey. Your truthful words, advice, and brilliant work have been inspirational for
me.
I would also like also to acknowledge the extraordinary participants who offered their precious
time and honesty, and shared their knowledge to hopefully make this PhD a valuable
contribution.
I appreciate the assistance of the library staff for their help in locating the critical sources used
in this research.
I thank the King Abdullah Scholarships Programme for the generosity of their funding, and
the staff at the Saudi Cultural Bureau in London for their assistance during the PhD.
To Prof. Yaw Debrah, thank-you for all your honest advice and guidance, I hope to reciprocate
your kindness one day.
A massive thank-you to my wife Munirah, who has been a constant source of support, care,
and encouragement, particularly during the frustrating and difficult times. I would like you to
know that you made this happen by understanding, believing, sacrificing, and tolerating.
I express my gratitude to my family for their emotional and financial support while doing this
thesis, which might not have been carried out without this encouragement. To my brothers,
Mohammed, Mishari, Nawaf, Faisal, Thamir, and my dear sister Dalal, I am indebted to your
sincere kindness.

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Overview ........................................................................................................................ 1
Rational for this study ..................................................................................................... 1
The research method, design, scope, and analysis ........................................................... 3
The importance of the study ............................................................................................ 4
The thesis outline ............................................................................................................ 5
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 7
The evolution of organisational culture as a research area ............................................... 7
Organisational culture definition ..................................................................................... 9
Overlapping concepts within the concept of organisational culture ................................ 12
Organisational culture and climate .......................................................................... 12
Culture and power ................................................................................................... 14
Culture in organisations: culture paradigms................................................................... 17
Culture as a critical variable: functionalism and structural functionalism perspectives .
.............................................................................................................................. 18
Culture as a root metaphor: the non-functional perspective ...................................... 20
Postmodernist views of culture ................................................................................ 21
Approaches to studying culture in organisations............................................................ 22
Qualitative versus quantitative approaches to culture .................................................... 27
Structuration as a means of studying organisational culture ........................................... 30
The three-perspective framework .................................................................................. 32
Integration perspective ............................................................................................ 32
Differentiation perspective ...................................................................................... 35
Fragmentation perspective ...................................................................................... 38
Concluding remarks .................................................................................................... 43
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 45

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Person-environment fit .................................................................................................. 47
Multiple conceptualisations of person-environment fit .................................................. 49
Supplementary fit .................................................................................................... 50
Complementary fit .................................................................................................. 53
Measurements of person-environment fit ...................................................................... 54
Subjective fit ........................................................................................................... 55
Objective fit ............................................................................................................ 55
Perceived fit ............................................................................................................ 58
Different forms of person-environment fit ..................................................................... 60
Person-organisation fit ............................................................................................ 62
Person-group fit ...................................................................................................... 63
Research gaps and research rationale ............................................................................ 66
Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 75
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 76
Saudi Arabia: an overview ............................................................................................ 77
Geographical features.............................................................................................. 77
Social features ......................................................................................................... 78
Political features ..................................................................................................... 80
Economic features ................................................................................................... 81
Saudi Arabia culture in organisational literature ............................................................ 82
Arab world and Saudi Arabian culture: the assumption of homogeneity .................. 82
Review of Saudi Arabian culture and organisational work ....................................... 87
The religion of Islam ............................................................................................... 88
Arabic ethnicity and language ................................................................................. 89
Common cultural values.......................................................................................... 91
Why Saudi Arabia? ....................................................................................................... 97
Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 99
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 100
Research problems and objectives ............................................................................... 101
The importance of research ......................................................................................... 104
Research methodologies (qualitative vs. quantitative) ................................................. 107

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Research strategy and design ...................................................................................... 111
Data collection techniques .......................................................................................... 114
Interview ............................................................................................................... 116
Observation ........................................................................................................... 120
Document analysis ................................................................................................ 123
Data analysis............................................................................................................... 124
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 128
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 129
Saudi organisation: an overview ................................................................................. 129
Organisational culture from an integration perspective ................................................ 132
‘Staff care’ ............................................................................................................ 132
Fostering teamwork............................................................................................... 139
Encouraging best work practices ........................................................................... 142
Facilitating equality............................................................................................... 145
The relationship between the integration culture perspective and individual characteristics
................................................................................................................................... 148
Employee motives ................................................................................................. 149
Work experience ................................................................................................... 153
Similar demographics (language, faith, and nationality) ........................................ 155
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 157
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 159
Analysing the relationship between organisational culture and individual behaviour from
a differentiation perspective: an overview ......................................................................... 159
Organisational culture from a differentiation perspective ............................................ 160
Lack of concern for ‘staff care’ ............................................................................. 160
Impediments to teamwork ..................................................................................... 164
Challenging claims of equality .............................................................................. 169
The relationship between the differentiation culture perspective and individual
characteristics ................................................................................................................... 173
Lack of work experience ....................................................................................... 173
Gender issues ........................................................................................................ 177

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Level of dependency and self-confidence issues .................................................... 182
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 187
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 188
Analysing the relationship between organisational culture and individual behaviour from
a fragmentation perspective: an overview ......................................................................... 188
Organisational culture from a fragmentation perspective ............................................. 189
Confliction of ‘staff care’ policy ........................................................................... 189
Concerns of teamwork .......................................................................................... 193
Best work practices? ............................................................................................. 197
Facilitating equality? ............................................................................................. 201
The relationship between the fragmentation perspective and individual characteristics 205
Different demography background ........................................................................ 205
Feminist ................................................................................................................ 209
Different personal interests.................................................................................... 212
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 218
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 219
Theoretical approach and aims .................................................................................... 219
The study contributions ............................................................................................... 222
The three-perspective framework of organisational culture .................................... 222
The organisational culture and individual behaviour relations from the three-
perspective framework ................................................................................................... 227
Context contributions ............................................................................................ 238
Methodological and practical contributions ........................................................... 241
Limitations, challenges, and future researchers ........................................................... 243
Appendix 2: Information consent form ......................................................................... 278
Appendix 3: Ethical approval ........................................................................................ 279

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List of Tables
Table 2-1: Examples of different definitions of culture ....................................................... 10
Table 2-2: Contrasting OC and organisational climate research perspectives . ..................... 13
Table 2-3: Summary of integration perspective main points ................................................ 34
Table 2-4: Summary of differentiation perspective main points .......................................... 38
Table 2-5: Summary of fragmentation perspective main points .......................................... 40
Table 2-6: A summary of the three-culture perspective’s key issues . .................................. 41
Table 4-1: The four critiques addressed to Hofstede’s model ............................................. 86
Table 5-1: The distribution of the interviews. .................................................................... 118
Table 5-2: Summary of documents collected..................................................................... 124
Table 5-3: Example of the profile that summarises key employee/interview information. . 126
Table 6-1: Career ladder of SO. ........................................................................................ 131
List of Figure
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Figure 2-1: Levels of culture ............................................................................................... 24
Figure 2-2: The dynamics of organisational culture ............................................................ 26
Figure 5-1: An imaginary diagram simplifies the level analysis of person-culture fit and
person-group fit researches. ...................................................................................... 103
Figure 5-3: The second stage of data collection. ................................................................ 116
Figure 9-1: Conceptualising the relationship between organisational culture and individual
behaviour. ................................................................................................................. 220
Figure 9-2: Analysis of the relationship between organisational culture and individual
behaviour from an integration perspective. ................................................................ 228
Figure 9-3: Analysis of the relationship between organisational culture and individual
behaviour from a differentiation perspective. ............................................................ 228
Figure 9-4: Analysis of the relationship between organisational culture and individual
behaviour from a fragmentation perspective. ............................................................. 228

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