The effect of university organizational culture on organizational silence and faculty–student interaction

Abstract

Colleges/universities outside the Seoul metropolitan area (hereafter “non-Seoul universities”) are in a crisis of existence due to a decline in the school-aged population in South Korea. Most non-Seoul universities are making efforts to implement self-rescue measures for survival. This study examines the relationships among different types of organizational culture (innovative, collective, rational, and hierarchical), organizational silence (acquiescent, prosocial, and defensive), and faculty–student interaction as perceived by non-Seoul university professors to provide useful implications for effective human resource management plans for the professors, who are responsible for entrance examinations and education at non-Seoul universities in crisis. An online survey was employed to collect data from professors at private community colleges/universities outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Responses from 421 professors were used for data analysis. Results are as follows. First, when professors perceived innovative and collective cultures, their defensive silence decreased while prosocial silence increased. Second, when rational culture was perceived, defensive silence increased while prosocial silence decreased. Third, acquiescent silence increased while prosocial silence decreased when hierarchical culture was perceived. Fourth, faculty–student interaction was enhanced when innovative and collective cultures were prevalent. Finally, prosocial silence had a positive effect on faculty–student interaction. The findings imply that if university managers change policy to encourage professors to perceive the university culture as innovative and collective, prosocial silence, which is positive from the organization’s perspective, will increase, facilitating interactions between professors and students.