Organizational Values: The Inside View of Service Productivity

Abstract

In this study, we examined relations between organizational value systems and the productivity of service workers. Research was conducted in 92 service firms to construct an empirical taxonomy of organizational value systems based on the content focus of values, and the resulting taxonomy was used as a framework to examine the relationship between value system types and individual productivity, conceptualized in terms of job-related behaviors, attachment, and affect. Four value system types were identified, and, as predicted, were shown to be differentially associated with all three ingredients of service productivity. These findings indicate the importance of the value system as a marketing and management tool, and underscore the need for services managers to determine the behavioral and psychological responses that define productive performance in their organizations and to diagnose and develop the value systems that will reinforce them.