Organizational Character

Organizational character refers to the collective judgments made by stakeholders regarding an organization’s goals, values, and preferences. Stakeholder groups make such judgments based on observations of the organization’s actions to date, as well as expectations of what the organization is likely to do in similar situations in the future, based on past behaviors. In other words, organizational character reflects guiding principles and values, as well as day-to-day operations and the actions of employees on behalf of the organization. This entry examines organizational character from three perspectives: (1) the evolution of the concept itself, (2) the key dimensions that exemplify organizational character, and (3) the impact of organizational character on organizational behavior and performance.