Adversity, Organizational Culture and Executive Turnover in a Brazilian Manufacturer

Abstract

This paper studies the responses of a traditional Brazilian firm to recession and increasing foreign competition as expressed in its subcultural dynamics. A strong association was found between involuntary turnover in the top management team and affiliation with certain clusters of subcultural and even personal values. Although many of the effects found are expressive of themes in the literature on organizational adaptation to adversity, results also suggest unexpected challenges and extensions to current thinking.