"Clarifying Organizational Culture: Conceptual Clarifications, Extensions, and Research Directions"

Interest in organizational culture burgeoned in the 1980s with claims heralding organizational culture as a driver of organizational effectiveness. In response to the exuberance, three different research streams emerged to investigate the importance of organizational culture: culture content, culture strength, and strategic fit. Each stream of research has contributed much needed insight into organizational culture, but conceptual clarification and theoretical extensions are needed to integrate our knowledge and delineate directions for future research. The purpose of this panel symposium is to engage in an interactive discussion about how to mitigate the obstacles and capitalize on the opportunities that exist within culture content, culture strength, and strategic fit research. By addressing these three instrumental aspects of organizational culture, this symposium takes a multifaceted approach to highlight conceptual clarifications, theoretical extensions, and future research directions for organizational culture research.