Two-Sided Cultural Fit: The Differing Behavioral Consequences of Cultural Congruence Based on Values Versus Perceptions

How do people establish and maintain cultural fit with an organization? Prior research has offered two perspectives that have heretofore been conceptually disconnected. One focuses on personal values, whereas another emphasizes perceptions of the cultural code. We develop a theoretical account that integrates these approaches by linking them to distinct mechanisms and behavioral consequences of cultural fit. We propose that value congruence—the match between one’s values and those that prevail in an organization—relates to the mechanism of group attachment and shapes behavior when one periodically steps back from day-to-day interactions, assesses one’s identification with an organization, and determines whether to stay or voluntarily depart. In contrast, we argue that perceptual congruence—the degree to which one implicitly understands an organization’s prevailing values and norms—relates to the mechanism of interpersonal coordination and influences behavior when one engages in routine peer interactions. Accordingly, we theorize that these two forms of cultural fit relate to distinct behaviors, voluntary exit and linguistic conformity with peers, respectively. Drawing on email and survey data from a midsized technology firm, we find support for our theory and discuss the implications of our findings for research on person-culture fit, dual-process models of culture and cognition, and the pairing of surveys with digital trace data.

Funding: This work was supported by the Berkeley Culture Center, the Cortese Distinguished Chair in Management, the Grether Chair of Business Administration and Public Policy.