Employee acculturation in tight vs. loose organizational cultures

Organizational Acculturation is a process through which new and existing employees may adapt and internalize the organizational culture. It is proposed that acculturation is impacted by the interaction between the individual and the environment. A questionnaire was compiled to measure how the Need for Organizational Identification - NOID (individual-level variable) and the perception of Tightness vs Looseness of the Organizational Culture (situational-level variable) may affect employees’ Organizational Acculturation. The study did not find person x environment interaction, but the main effects were found. These main effects showed, individuals with high NOID are more likely to exhibit an Integration and individuals in a loose organizational culture are more likely to exhibit a Separation strategy of Organizational Acculturation. The study contributes to existing body of literature by, highlighting the contextual differences between acculturation on societal and organizational levels, and by synthesizing organizational literature to propose an alternative approach to Organizational Acculturation.