The (Bounded) Role of Stated-Lived Value Congruence and Authenticity in Employee Evaluations of Organizations

Abstract

A growing body of research documents that audiences reward organizations perceived to be authentic with positive evaluations. In the current work, we adopt a mixed-methods approach—using data collected from Glassdoor.com and two experiments—to establish that perceptions of authenticity are elicited by perceived congruence between an organization’s stated values (i.e., the values it claims to hold) and its lived values (i.e., values members perceive as embodied by the organization), which in turn lead to more positive organizational evaluations. We then explore the conditions under which audiences are less likely to respond favorably to organizational authenticity, finding that the positive effects of stated-lived value congruence on evaluations are attenuated when audiences have a lower preference for stated values. Although scholars have often explored whether and how organizations can successfully make themselves appear authentic to reap rewards, our findings suggest that the perceived authenticity that results from stated-lived value congruence may not prove fruitful unless the audience holds a higher preference for an organization’s stated values. History: This paper has been accepted for the Organization Science Special Issue on Experiments in Organizational Theory. Funding: This research was supported by the Interdisciplinary Research Award from the Management and Organizations Department at the Kellogg School of Management and by the Michael-Lee Chin Institute for Corporate Citizenship Research Grant from the Rotman School of Management. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.1578 .