Examining the impact of organizational culture on trust and career satisfaction in the UAE public sector. A competing values perspective
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2017-0038 |
| Date | 01 October 2018 |
| Pages | 1036-1053 |
| Published date | 01 October 2018 |
| Author | Fauzia Jabeen,Adrienne A. Isakovic |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
Examining the impact of
organizational culture on trust
and career satisfaction in the
UAE public sector
A competing values perspective
Fauzia Jabeen
College of Business, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates, and
Adrienne A. Isakovic
College of Professional Studies,
Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of organizational culture on trust in top
management and career satisfaction. The concept of culture was split into four types: “clan,”“adhocracy,”
“hierarchy”and “market.”
Design/methodology/approach –A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 128
mid-level managers in ten public sector organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The questionnaire
included demographic questions and three established scales to measure culture type, trust in top
management and career satisfaction. Correlation and regression analysis were used to examine relationships
between variables.
Findings –Respondents from “clan”and “adhocracy”-type organizations tended to have more trust in top
managers than those from other culture types. Respondents from “clan”-type organizations also had greater
career satisfaction. Only a clan-type organizational culture significantly predicted career satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications –The study is based on a small number of mid-level managers
working in ten public sector organizations. This limits the generalizability of the results. Future studies
should examine both public and private sector organizations operating in various industries across the UAE,
to increase the generalizability of the findings. The study results will assist organizational policy makers who
wish to transform their organizational culture to one that will increase the career satisfaction of managerial
staff and their trust in senior managers.
Originality/value –The study contributes to the literature on organizational culture, particularly on the
relationship between trust and career satisfaction in the public sector in the UAE.
Keywords United Arab Emirates, Trust, Career satisfaction, Organizational culture,
Competing Values Framework
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an emerging Arab economy that has tried to adopt
western developmental techniques in many areas (Anadol et al., 2015), and public sector
organizations play a crucial role in its overall economic development (United Arab Emirates
Ministry of Economy, 2015). The public sector in the UAE has undergone extensive changes
(Suliman and Al Kathairi, 2012), and is under pressure to compete (Turkyilmaz et al., 2011) with
its global counterparts. Public sector organizations are therefore keen to adopt novel human
resource management practices to influence employee relations (Turkyilmaz et al., 2011) and
Employee Relations
Vol. 40 No. 6, 2018
pp. 1036-1053
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-02-2017-0038
Received 20 February 2017
Revised 7 August 2017
15 March 2018
Accepted 26 April 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
The authors are grateful to Melissa Leffler, freelance language editor, for help proofreading and editing
a draft of this manuscript.
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ER
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organizational culture, because of the effect of these on individual thoughts, feelings and
interactions (Saeed and Hassan, 2000), overall performance (Uzkurt et al., 2013) and long-term
viability (Ooi and Arumugam, 2006).
Two important factors that are influenced by organizational culture are trust in the
organization or top management (Issa and Haddad, 2008) and career satisfaction (Joo and
Ready, 2012). There is, for example, a growing body of literature on the alignment of career
satisfaction with organizational culture (Alvesson, 2001; Tinsley, 2000), suggesting that the
association is stronger for employees with higher career satisfaction (Fleisher et al., 2014).
Suliman and Al-Junaibi (2010) suggested that it is important to create an organizational climate
that leads to greater satisfaction and lower turnover. Understanding both trust and career
satisfaction is therefore important for organizations seeking to develop a highly motivating and
commitment-oriented work environment (Gattiker and Larwood, 1988; Martins et al., 2002).
Many of the previous studies (Hogan and Coote, 2014) on organizational culture have
been carried out in the private sector. Scholars, however, have reported a number of
differences between public and private sector managers (Mujtaba et al., 2011), and it has
been widely assumed that public and private sector organizations operate differently
(do Monte, 2017). Despite the increasing similarities between the environments of the two,
there are several fundamental differences at operational and cultural levels (Schraeder et al.,
2005). It is widely understood that public sector executives work in quite defined situations
(Lindquist and Marcy, 2016). Previous studies have suggested that public sector managers
are less likely to exhibit positive work attitudes than their private sector peers (Chen, 2011).
This could limit the applicability of private sector findings to public sector organizations.
Cultural issues may influence managerial styles in both public and private sectors, and
this can also limit the generalizability of studies. In the UAE, for example, public sector
managers differ from their private sector counterparts in their leadership and paternalistic
decision-making style, and their motivation and career satisfaction (AlMazrouei and Pech,
2015). In Oman, managers tend to be directive and authoritarian (Al-Lamky, 2007).
Employees expect managers to lead, and are uncomfortable if decision making is devolved
(Common, 2011). In Denmark, managers in the public sector use more participative
leadership, and private sector managers more directive leadership (Hansen and Villadsen,
2010). Andersen (2010) found that public sector managers had a more change-oriented
leadership style, and private sector managers a more relationship-oriented leadership style.
There are therefore a number of differences between managers in private and public sector
organizations, and these differences also vary by country and nationality.
In the last decade, several researchers have studied organizational behavior in the public
sector in the UAE. For instance, Ibrahim and Al Falasi (2014) reported that there is a
significant relationship between loyalty and engagement. Abdulla et al. (2011) found that
intrinsic and extrinsic factors can be sources of job satisfaction. Suliman and Al Harethi
(2013) suggested that organizational climate and its components can significantly predict
work performance. Suliman and Al Kathairi (2012) found that organizational justice is
positively linked to affective and continuance commitment and job performance. Zeffane
et al. (2008) showed significant differences between men and women on aspects of job
satisfaction and performance.
There have therefore been a number of studies on human resources aspects of the UAE
public sector. Very few studies, however, have examined organizational culture (Al-Khalifa
and Aspinwall, 2001; Al Mehrzi and Singh, 2016; Al Murawwi et al., 2014;
Chidambaranathan and Regha, 2016; Martin and Desmond, 2013; Ralston et al., 2012),
and none of these have tested the relationships between organizational culture type, trust in
management and career satisfaction. This study attempts to fill this gap. The findings will
provide insights for policy makers and employers in the UAE, and help them to formulate
effective policies and support programs to develop the desired organizational culture.
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Impact of
organizational
culture
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