Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Corporate culture

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 25
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The interface between ethical leadership and food safety culture in Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Management, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-05-20) Newport-Smith, Wendy
    Measuring, evaluating and improving food safety culture is a priority for Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses. This is driven by the desire to produce food of the highest quality that safeguards consumers, protects the reputation of New Zealand Inc., and meets the requirements of international standards and regulations. This is the first in-depth qualitative investigation into food safety culture and ethical leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses, including some of this country’s largest food exporters. Using a mixed methods approach this research has provided unique, contemporary understanding and insights, while simultaneously providing a novel contribution to the body of knowledge. Two research workstreams were used; the first a quantitative workstream involving a voluntary survey of manufacturing and distribution employees in New Zealand’s largest food business; a dataset of responses to food safety and ethical leadership questions from 1181 individuals. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) applied to Lickert-scale variables, combined with multivariable modelling, this research found a positive relationship between food safety culture and ethical leadership and evidence for differences in responses according to several respondee characteristics. These included associations between PCA coordinates that captured variation in individual responses to food safety and ethical leadership questions, and the supplementary variables: role (e.g. staff or supervisor), site and gender. Ethical leadership has been shown to improve effectiveness, performance and safety at an organisational and individual level. Therefore strategies to improve ethicality across Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses in order to improve food safety culture and ensure safer food outcomes are suggested: consultatively developing organisational values which are well communicated and lived; ensuring ethical considerations when hiring staff; ethical considerations when setting expectations, and in training and mentoring staff and managing performance processes including the use of consequences; and modelling good behaviour, making fair decisions, ensuring open, clear communication and giving employees a voice. While largely positive, the quantitative strand did reveal a level of dissatisfaction with both ethical leadership and food safety culture, suggesting room for improvement. Further research is needed to better understand management’s, supervisors’ and workers’ perspectives on both aspects. The second workstream involved one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 32 founders, owners and senior food safety and quality personnel from 31 Aotearoa New Zealand food companies with thematic data analysis resulting in five key themes: Values; Responsible Stewardship of Natural Resources; Māori Worldview; Ecosystem Pressures and Leadership. The issues identified to be important to Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses include: individual, managerial and organisational values; leadership and management commitment in influencing organisational, food safety and ethical climate and culture; inter-generational value-creation, sustainable practice and acting as kaitiakitanga meaning guardianship or protection. This research has also provided insight into the drivers for and primary challenges related to food safety for Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses. This research has contributed to an up-to-date understanding of the characteristics of ethical leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand, who, according to this study, are humble, honest, respect indigenous Māori values, and are not corrupt. They have a degree of relatedness, care about our natural environment, have a strong sense of identity or place, are collaborative, are fair, and are accountable. Our size, Indigenous Māori worldview, and our geographical isolation contribute to the unique interpretation and application of these leadership characteristics in Aotearoa New Zealand. Several limitations are acknowledged, not the least of which was the context for this research which began at the outset of the global pandemic, with both positive and negative consequences. The use of one, albeit large food business in the quantitative workstream is noted, as is the focus of the participants in the qualitative workstream. Broadening this research to all hierarchical levels in several food businesses would be of benefit, and this is one of a number of research recommendations for the future. The positive correlation between ethical leadership and food safety culture found in this research suggests that maintaining and improving the ethicality of leaders within Aotearoa New Zealand food businesses may positively influence food safety culture and therefore, the production of safer food.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Reprint of: Corporate culture and carbon emission performance
    (Elsevier Ltd on behalf of the British Accounting and Finance Association, 2025-02-12) Hasan MM; Bhuiyan MBU; Taylor G
    Using a large sample of U.S. firms from 2002 to 2020, we investigate the relationship between corporate culture and the extent of carbon emissions. We provide evidence that the quantum of carbon emissions is negatively associated with corporate cultural attributes manifested by integrity, teamwork, innovation, and respect. These results hold after controlling for potential endogeneity issues using several identification techniques. We also document that the negative culture–emissions relationship is magnified in firms with weak corporate governance and in those operating in environmentally sensitive industries. Additionally, this relationship is less salient in the presence of social capital. Finally, we demonstrate that in firms with a stronger culture, elevated carbon emissions result in a lower firm value. Our findings may be of interest to environmental regulators and management in their pursuit of firm-level carbon emission targets.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Corporate culture and carbon emission performance
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2024-11) Hasan MM; Bhuiyan MBU; Taylor G
    Using a large sample of U.S. firms from 2002 to 2020, we investigate the relationship between corporate culture and the extent of carbon emissions. We provide evidence that the quantum of carbon emissions is negatively associated with corporate cultural attributes manifested by integrity, teamwork, innovation, and respect. These results hold after controlling for potential endogeneity issues using several identification techniques. We also document that the negative culture–emissions relationship is magnified in firms with weak corporate governance and in those operating in environmentally sensitive industries. Additionally, this relationship is less salient in the presence of social capital. Finally, we demonstrate that in firms with a stronger culture, elevated carbon emissions result in a lower firm value. Our findings may be of interest to environmental regulators and management in their pursuit of firm-level carbon emission targets.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Democracy, freedom, and school : realigning power in Aotearoa New Zealand's secondary schools : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023-10-30) Smith, Kylie
    This comprehensive study explores positive impacts of democratic systems enacted within secondary schools on students. Responses to democratic practices within schools (including collective decision-making, deliberative discussion, diverse ways of being, and freedom of movement and expression) are examined and analysed. Additionally, the hidden curriculum created by structures and processes inherent in democratic participation is critically reflected on, including consideration of how democratic processes relate to individual and collective well-being within the school environment. The study adopts a qualitative grounded theory research methodology to comprehend the outcomes of learning within democratic settings. Participants, including alumni and staff from two different democratic school environments, share their perspectives through semi-structured one-on-one interviews and question-and-answer emails. Data collection and analysis were conducted concurrently, and the data analysed using constant comparative analysis. Democratic building blocks, based on a foundation of respect for the student as a whole human, emerged from the data. Organising school structures around democratic ideals, reflective of indigenous models of democracy, and aligned with Lundy’s model of space, voice, influence, and audience aimed at implementing Article 12 of the UNCRC, is seen to cultivate a learning environment where diversity is embraced and respected. Effective communication skills are honed through authentic and meaningful deliberative dialogue, enabling students to value diverse perspectives. Alumni valued the challenge of navigating agency in a safe supportive learning environment and felt empowered to contribute and participate towards a strong collective school community. Implications from the research underscore the potential of democratic systems to create more equitable educational environments, enhancing well-being by aligning the hidden curriculum with critical and culturally sustainable pedagogies. The study highlights the importance of continual dialogue and reflection and advocates for active integration of democratic principles within schools to facilitate challenges to oppressive structures. It further stresses the need for adults to approach schooling from an epistemology of trust in and support for the student, enabling genuine equitable dialogue and fostering a sense of dignity, significance, and belonging among students. Ultimately, the research offers tangible examples of schools where student-defined well-being is prioritized and provides a forward-thinking approach based on democratic principles to empower students.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The mediating role of organisational culture in the relationship between region-based firm ownership type (RBFOT) and manufacturing performance : a test on the apparel industry in Sri Lanka : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Gunasekera, Marlon
    In today’s globalised context, manufacturing firms belonging to various regions of the world expand their businesses beyond borders and gradually become international, multinational, and global companies investing in various countries and regions of the world. Most of these firms establish foreign affiliates and compete with the local (domestic) firms in host countries. In this context, international and cross-cultural operations management studies have high theoretical and practical value in understanding how management practices, systems, techniques, and norms account for the manufacturing performance differences between foreign and local firms. Understanding and explaining the reasons for differences in the manufacturing performance of local and foreign-owned firms is an underexplored research area, especially in the developing regions of the world. This study adopts a cross-cultural operations management perspective and hypothesises that differences in organisational culture traits (related management practice orientations) of firms belonging to different regions of the world account for manufacturing performance differences. The study examines the relationship between Region-Based Firm Ownership Type (RBFOT) and manufacturing performance, and the mediating role of the organisational culture (an important influence on manufacturing practices) in this relationship. The study was based in Sri Lanka (South Asia) with the apparel industry as the context, and local firms are compared with foreign firms from two other regions: Western and East Asian. Semi-structured interviews were used to clarify the research context and to understand how foreign-owned firms set up, operate and establish organisational cultures in Sri Lanka. The subsequent quantitative study covered 93 firms with data aggregated to the firm level to test the mediation model. To test the model, ANOVA and parallel multiple mediation analysis using regression-based SPSS PROCESS macro were adopted. The findings revealed that organisational culture (measured using Denison’s culture traits and related management practice orientations) is a significant mediator in explaining the difference in the manufacturing performance of RBFOTs. Moreover, significant differences in culture traits and related management practice orientations were evident between Western, East Asian, and South Asian firms generating different levels of manufacturing performance. Other contributions include developing a new scale to measure the manufacturing performance of apparel firms and validating Denison’s Organisational Culture Survey (DOCS) in Sri Lanka. Overall, the study contributes to the theory and practice of international and cross-cultural operations management in general and apparel industrial management in particular.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Corporate approaches to human sustainability : workforce wellbeing in large Japanese companies : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Kobayashi, Kazunori
    Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have become widely researched fields. In recent years, there has been a growing social concern about issues affecting workforce wellbeing and human sustainability. However, little is known about how companies resolve these issues. In particular, there is a dearth of empirical research in these fields examining how companies address workforce wellbeing and human sustainability issues under increasing social pressures. To fill this knowledge gap, this exploratory study examines how large Japanese companies address these issues. It is positioned within a social constructionism/interpretivism paradigm and employs qualitative research methodology, drawing upon interviews with managers from 31 companies, as well as their stakeholders and informants. The study begins by examining workforce wellbeing and human sustainability initiatives promoted by large Japanese companies. It identifies four interconnected areas addressed as integral parts of CSR practices: gender equality, flexibility at work, regulating overwork, and productivity improvement. However, while companies promote initiatives under increasing social pressures, they find it difficult to incorporate the initiatives into CSR strategy due to emerging dilemmas. Next, the study explores the business-society interface in which companies face these dilemmas. It identifies nine factors which constrain the implementation of human sustainability initiatives. The evidence indicates that these factors constitute the underlying system of responsibilities that characterises the existing workstyle, leading to externalised overwork and gendered roles in Japanese society. Finally, the study examines how some companies implement human sustainability initiatives as part of their business strategies, even within these constraints. The evidence shows that these companies seek to proactively align core business practices with human sustainability initiatives, in order to enhance business performance over the long run. The findings also suggest that companies seek to proactively engage with key stakeholders to work through existing stakeholders’ expectations. Overall, the outcomes of this thesis elucidate a conceptual framework of the corporate approaches to workforce wellbeing and human sustainability, incorporating the roles of key stakeholders. This may assist scholars and practitioners to address issues affecting workforce wellbeing and human sustainability more effectively within a given social context. Hence, the contributions of this study are both theoretical and empirical.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The role of religiosity in ethical decision-making : a study on Islam and the Malaysian workplace : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Sulaiman, Rahizah Binti
    In light of the ongoing debate on the relationship between religiosity and ethical decision-making, this thesis seeks to investigate this relationship in the Malaysian workforce environment. This investigation focuses on the Islamic religion, and considers how religiosity affects the articulation and feelings of frontline employees in ways that lead to ethical decisions. To this end, five factors were tested empirically to determine their mediation of the relationship between religiosity and ethical decision-making. These factors were: perceived importance of the ethical issue, moral judgment, ego strength, intention, and conscience. A quantitative research study was undertaken to test eleven hypotheses developed in the thesis. With 160 responses, the initial analysis was an exploratory factor analysis, which was conducted to see how the measures might group into constructs. This analysis was followed by a confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the previous analysis, and to reduce items in the scale, as well as to test validity and reliability of the scales. The final scales were subsequently used for hypotheses-testing using hierarchical regression analysis. The control variables in this study were perceived ethical environment and social desirability responding bias. The findings of this thesis indicated positive relationships between religiosity and perceived importance of ethical issues, moral judgment, intention, and conscience. However, among these, only conscience mediates the relationship between religiosity and ethical decision-making. The thesis gives insights to the perspective of the Islamic religion, especially for Muslims in Malaysia, while contributing to the ongoing discussion in the literature on the relationship between religiosity and ethical decision-making. The highlight in the conscience results inspires employers to hold educational talks to empower employees in terms of Islamic knowledge, on how to navigate the challenging working place. Additionally, there are benefits in using elements such as posters and calls to prayer to remind employees of religious values. The research serves as a good basis for new investigations to explore other personal attributes that mediate the relationship between religiosity and ethical decision-making. Analysing this relationship can assist employers in developing ethical human resources in the organisation. These efforts will not only benefit the organisations, but will contribute to the betterment of society as a whole.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Safety climate and the influence of leadership : a study of safety climate and the influence leadership training has on employee perceptions of health and safety : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Studies in Human Resource Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Brooks, Christopher David
    The aim of this study is to understand the influence leadership has upon safety in the workplace as seen through the eyes of its employees. This research was undertaken in the Island City of Singapore and associated with a business owned by a Multi-National Corporation, (MNC), operating locally. The research was carried out as a reflection of the organisations safety climate, through a professionally available questionnaire mechanism. While research and theory contend that safety culture is enduring and possibly more difficult to assess, it is recognised that safety climate is measureable and is considered to be a reflection of safety culture. Theory also contends safety climate as being a snap shot of the organisations ‘mood’ at a single point in time and therefore has a short shelf life. It is also recognised that the background to this study is done acknowledging the continued debate surrounding the understanding and definitions associated with the concepts organisational culture & climate, safety culture & climate. Leadership theory and research points out the importance of leadership on employee behaviour and motivation. The organisations’ senior leadership underwent intervention training provided by the author based upon leadership theory of a transformational style and workplace best practice. A Safety Climate questionnaire was provided to the participating employees of the MNC business and was repeated following a three-month interval. The study was quantitative, longitudinal and comparative in nature. The participating employees forming a control group and an intervention group. Following the leadership training the Senior Leadership was associated only with the employee intervention group. Safety climate analysis was undertaken with the findings being a result of questionnaire responses. Prior to the research it was expected that the results of the research would provide useful future guidance for organisations and their leadership. The author believed that the study would help organisational leadership better understand and make full use of the influence they have. This knowledge would in turn provide leadership the requisite emphasis to improve workplace safety and employee’s perception through the influence leadership holds. The study’s hypothesis was that a discernible difference should be noted between the ensuing assessments due to improved leadership and the understanding of the influence it holds. The improved leadership influence will be reflected in employee’s perception of management and workplace safety as captured in the safety climate questionnaire. It was believed that this research should help provide the organisation greater understanding of both an organisations safety climate, and leadership culture. Through this research the organisation should also recognise the role leadership influence plays and that the utilisation of safety climate assessment can be a useful and predictive tool. That its use can play a part in the organisations endeavour to reduce workplace injuries and help reduce the associated escalating financial cost to both employees and the organisation of such injuries and loss. The outcome from the study found a positive correlation to the research question and hypothesis with the safety climate results indicating a positive improvement for the intervention group associated with the leadership influence, as a direct consequence of the intervention training. The safety climate measurement improved significantly for the surveyed dimension of Management Commitment and the other management specific areas. The Safety Climate Index improvement for the dimension of Management Commitment alone increased by 41.03% and an overall increase of 16.95% across all of the nine survey dimensions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    An exploratory study of mechanisms to transfer and embed a value-based culture : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Business Studies in Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Wallace, Andrew Mark
    This exploratory study seeks to build on the work of theorists who have proposed concepts to enhance organisational culture through a better alignment of values. The study seeks to gain additional support for the exploration of mechanisms to embed value-based cultures. This is achieved by better understanding the origins of goal-orientated values and the types of culture that manifest in small to medium enterprises. As a result of this study a model was developed, which could be implemented in future longitudinal research on the influence of embedding a value-based culture through the use of applied mechanisms. What distinguishes this study from others is the development of a comprehensive model to define, embed, and measure a value-based culture. To gain a deeper understanding of the concepts a multi-method qualitatively driven methodology was implemented to identify core mechanisms to embed value-based cultures. Additional quantitative data was used to enable a deeper, more robust, understanding of the influence the identified mechanisms have on goal-orientated values and the types of culture, which manifest in a small to medium enterprise. The study suggests that founders of small to medium enterprises can define a value-based culture and through the use of six mechanisms, embed a value-based culture that aligns with the organisation’s objectives. Gaining a better understanding of the concepts and mechanisms to embed a value-based culture enabled the development of a pragmatic process and model, which encompasses each of the key mechanisms identified in the literature. The study adds support to the work of theorists who have argued for value-based cultures and the concept of conflicting core values occurring in organisational cultures. The study builds on the work of others by proposing an applied model that draws the key concepts together into a single comprehensive model.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The organisational culture of an Indonesian higher education institution : a qualitatitive case study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Rahmat
    The main objective of this research aims to describe and analyse the current characteristics of organisational culture at the Nusantara College, one of the higher education institutions for Indonesian civil service. The research employed a qualitative case study as its method using three data collection techniques, namely, semi-structured interviews, participant observations and document analysis. This research applied an analytical framework from previous studies in analysing organisational culture in which the analysis focused on the tangible aspects of culture: artefacts, behavioural and verbal manifestations, and intangible aspects of cultural beliefs and values. The findings from this study demonstrated the distinct cultural characteristics of the college culture and discovered main cultural concepts that are generated from the artefacts, behaviour and verbal manifestations, and cultural beliefs and values. Further analysis on the relationships among these cultural concepts revealed that the current organisational culture of the college was characterised as having three cultures that are operating simultaneously. The first was the familial culture that signified the familial values and practices among the members of the college. The culture was demonstrated in the behaviour of treating the colleagues as extended family members where they helped and assisted each other in carrying out their tasks. The second was the scholarly culture, which perpetuated academic values and practices among the members. The idea of pursuing knowledge through research and teaching, facilitating students' learning, and practising honesty, objectivity and integrity were reflected in the academic events and activities of the college. The third was the bureaucratic culture that manifested in the structural values and practices among the members. The culture was represented in the practice of top-down decision-making processes, centralised career promotion, and giving much power and authority for senior managers. The findings of the research also revealed that these three cultures were the result of the interaction with the college's broader cultural setting. It was observed that the familial culture was the influence of the collectivist culture of Indonesian society. The scholarly culture stemmed from the role of the college as an academic institution, whereas the bureaucratic culture was the impact from the working culture of the government institutions. With the three cultures operating at the same time, it was noted that the college members faced working dilemma and conflicts in their operations. The scholarly values and practices, for instance, sometimes contradicted the bureaucratic culture. To overcome the problems, this study suggested the college leaders to provide a clear priority on which culture the members should operate. As the college's vision was to provide high quality teaching, learning and research, it was suggested that the college should prioritise coordinated actions to strengthen scholarly culture among the members.