The Use of Organizational Culture and Structure to Guide Strategic Behavior: An Information Processing Perspective

Abstract

This article presents a descriptive model explaining the roles and relationships of organizational culture and organizational structure in guiding employee behavior toward strategic objectives. Using an information-processing view, we propose that organizational culture and structure direct the behavior of employees through the reduction of uncertainty and equivocality. Furthermore, we propose that differing levels of both cultural and structural influences are implemented in different organizational types based on the level of skill, originality, and training required of the tasks being performed by members of the organization, and based on the geographical dispersion of the employees themselves. We present the concept of the “cosmopolis,” which is an organization rich in both cultural and structural elements. Implications for both research and managerial practice are discussed.