The impact of organizational culture on knowledge workers' job satisfaction

Purpose – The objective of the research project is twofold: first, to test a framework of relationship between satisfaction of knowledge workers and organizational culture, developed in a previous theoretical study, within a specific industry, specifically, the pharmaceutical one; second, to investigate which of the constructs that constitute such a framework are the most important in the above mentioned industry. The reason for choosing this context is related to two essential factors: first of all, because of its importance at a national and international level (Italy is the third nation in Europe, after Germany and France, and fifth at a world level in terms of number of employees, as well as its productivity (Rapporto Blossom Associati-Assobiotech, 2008). Second, due to the importance of R&D activities within this industry: the pharmaceutical industry is recognised to be high knowledge workers intensity (Volocom, 2005). In fact, R&D units’ employees may be classified as knowledge workers. Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives, we adopted a multiple case study based research. Specifically, the model developed in the previous work by Bigliardi et al. (2009) was tested on five companies, operating in the pharmaceutical industry, along with as many exploratory case studies (Yin, 1984). The case studies had the primary aim of validating the model developed, by providing empirical evidence of “theoretical assumptions” (Creswell, 1994). They were carried out with a series of semi-structured interviews, with all the knowledge workers operating in the in R&D business functions of each company, over a two months period during May and June 2009. Interviews lasted between one and two hours, and were taped and transcribed. A primary research question was formulated to the human resources manager to explore the structure and characteristics of the company. Then, we proposed to each researcher the model in order to validate its contents: specifically, we asked them to state their agreement with the items proposed in the model on a five-point scale. Originality/value – This study investigates the relationships between the organizational culture on the knowledge workers’ satisfaction within the pharmaceutical industry. The main result of the research is the validation of the research framework by knowledge workers operating in the pharmaceutical industry. As a result of the case studies, it emerged that a bureaucratic organizational culture has a negative influence on knowledge workers’ job satisfaction, while innovative or supportive organizational culture have a positive impact. Specifically, the supportive culture revealed to be the most effective one. Moreover, the study allows to understand which aspects of their job satisfaction are more influenced by the organizational culture. Since only few studies have investigated this link, in general and within the specific industry in particular, the paper adds elements of discussion to the debate about the evaluation of the impact of organizational culture on job satisfaction of knowledge workers. We recognize, however, a limitation referred to the research methodology adopted, which grounds on a limited sample of case studies. Practical implications – The results of the present study may have a number of implications for managers operating in the pharmaceutical industry. First of all, they may indicate to managers which are the essential features of an organizational culture that positively influence job satisfaction, and in particular to introduce in the industries where R&D is the key activity (like the pharmaceutical one), carrier ladders and forms of participation for the knowledge workers. Moreover, the results from the study may help managers in detecting the things to be improved in the organization in order to improve the job satisfaction of their knowledge workers.