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The Changing Influence of Societal Culture on Job Satisfaction across Europe

Pacheco, Gail; van der Westhuizen, De Wet; Ghobadian, Abby; Webber, Don J.; O'Regan, Nicholas

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Authors

Gail Pacheco

De Wet van der Westhuizen



Abstract

© 2016 British Academy of Management This paper contributes to the growing multidisciplinary body of literature on subjective well-being by investigating the longitudinal stability and impact of societal cultural values (SCVs) – as opposed to the more common organizational values – on job satisfaction. It is assumed that SCVs evolve slowly; hence, their impact on job satisfaction is likely to remain stable over time. False adherence to this assumption could cause misalignment between organizational policies/practices and expectations formed by societal culture, decreasing job satisfaction and adversely affecting productivity, competiveness and prosperity. Four waves of the European Values Study are used to examine whether SCVs have evolved and their impacts on job satisfaction over a relatively short time: 1981–2008. SCVs are parameterized through reference to traditional vs secular-rational, and survival vs self-expression value continuums. Results indicate that the strength of many SCVs has declined, the impacts of traditional societal values on job satisfaction have remained fairly constant, and the impacts of survival societal values on job satisfaction have declined substantially over this sample period. These reductions in SCVs amplify the importance of accounting for such changes when designing new or adjusting existing policies/practices to enhance job satisfaction and stimulate improvements in productivity, competitiveness and prosperity.

Citation

Pacheco, G., van der Westhuizen, D. W., Ghobadian, A., Webber, D. J., & O'Regan, N. (2016). The Changing Influence of Societal Culture on Job Satisfaction across Europe. British Journal of Management, 27(3), 606-627. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12150

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 5, 2015
Online Publication Date Feb 11, 2016
Publication Date Jul 1, 2016
Deposit Date Nov 11, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal British Journal of Management
Print ISSN 1045-3172
Electronic ISSN 1467-8551
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 27
Issue 3
Pages 606-627
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12150
Keywords job satisfaction, culture
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/922137
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12150
Additional Information Additional Information : This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Pacheco, G., van der Westhuizen, D. W., Ghobadia, A., Webber, D. J. and O'Regan, N. (2016) The changing influence of societal culture on job satisfaction across Europe. British Journal of Management, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12150. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

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