Linking Corporate Culture Values and Organizational Agility: An Empirical Analysis within the Automotive Industry

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the link of corporate values with respect to the concept of organizational agility. The motivation has been one of discovery within corporations from the automotive industry, dealing in uncertain and turbulent environments. The paper offers an overview of literature on agility frameworks, comparing overlapping areas of corporate values from the 10 largest premium automotive manufacturers. Survey data from over 186 respondents provide quantitative validity to establish understanding of how organizational agility is translated into values and behaviors. A conceptual framework for synthesizing the relationships is proposed based on the case studies’ empirical findings. As a result, organizations can benefit from its development in two ways: (1) it helps measuring the agility†values fit with an integrative perspective, and (2) it provides valuable insights into critical elements of their organizational culture. Moreover, a wide range of values under theoretical and practical situations is proposed. This study will enable executives, especially from the automotive industry, to identify suitable characteristics that would simultaneously improve an organization’s agile performance by considering aspects of corporate culture. Consequently, this study is more industry†specific and less inclusive.