Cultural determinants of customer- and learning-oriented value systems and their joint effects on firm performance

The authors examine the effects of firm-level reflections of two societal-culture factors, collectivism and power distance, as well as organizational cultural strength, on the development of customer- and learning-oriented value systems in organizations. The joint effects of customer and learning orientations on components of firm performance are also investigated. The main theses of the study are that a customer- and learning-oriented organizational value system is more likely to develop and improve firm performance when (1) complemented by appropriate societal-culture factors and (2) supported by a “strong” organizational culture. The results obtained from a sample of manufacturing firms in Turkey generally support the study theses. The study uses multiple informants from each firm and measures cultural factors and performance assessments from the viewpoints of different informants, thus achieving a greater level of measure specificity while at the same time eliminating same-source bias. Implications of the study findings for managers and researchers are discussed.