The Role of Value Congruity in Intraorganizational Power

Abstract

To understand better the differences in power between subunits, this paper examines the relationship between perceived departmental power and the extent to which departments appear to share important organizational values with top management. Critical contingency perspectives on intraorganizational power are used as a catalyst for exploring similarity of organizational values as an additional determinant of power. Interview and survey data from a quick-service restaurant chain and a robotics company are used to provide support for the role of perceived similarity in values for determining power. Perceived value congruity between department members and top managers, examined from the perspectives of both groups, was found to account for unique variance in departmental power when controlling for the effects of critical contingencies. An objective measure of the similarity of values between department members and top managers, however, was unrelated to departmental power.