Corporate values from a personal perspective

Abstract

Purpose The paper aims to analyse organisational values from a personal perspective. The purpose was to explore how employees learn about corporate values and how they relate to these values. The motivation has been one of discovery of current practices in businesses, with a strong focus on corporate values and their effects on employees. Design/methodology/approach The authors offer a review of the key definitions and main theoretical frameworks of values. Four case studies provide empirical data to establish some understanding of how values are identified and the extent to which they are translated into behaviours and attitudes in the workplace. The paper combines an overview of literature on values and semi-constructed telephone interviews with 26 interviewees from four organisations about corporate and individual values. Findings Values are positively related to, and central to the concept of the self, and are distinct from norms. Both the literature review and the multiple case studies’ empirical findings suggest that values are worth striving for and successful embedding of them requires a “culture of sharing”. Without the culture of sharing corporate values will not penetrate the organisation or have any meaningful impact on behaviour. Originality/value The paper highlights the importance of considering corporate values from a personal perspective. Organisations wanting to strengthen corporate values need to engage in conversations about values regularly across the organisation. Leaders need to be part of these discussions without dominating or forcefully influencing them.