Power, Interaction, Position, and the Generation of Cultural Agreement in Organizations

Abstract

Cultural agreement in organizations can be considered from integration, differentiation, or fragmentation perspectives (Martin, 1992). Underlying these perspectives are differing assumptions about the effects of power, interaction, and position on cultural viewpoints in organizations. This study examines these assumptions by content analyzing the stories organizational members tell about their organization. Differences in formal power, informal influence, and organizational position all led to differences in stories that signified different cultural viewpoints. At the group level, informal interaction between groups did not lead to cultural agreement. However, groups that occupied similar positions or roles created through interaction in the network of influence did share similar cultural viewpoints. The results suggest that the effects predicted from the integration, differentiation, and fragmentation perspectives are likely to be jointly present in organizations. They also suggest that an understanding of formal and informal position in organizations can enhance appreciation of the subtleties of cultural understanding.