A descriptive typology for organizational values

A study identifying organizational values in emerging companies revealed values that clearly differed in their nature and purpose. A theoretical framework for describing these differences was developed drawing on the distinction made by Dees and Starr (1992) between 'ethical' and 'psychological' values, interpreted as continuum rather than dichotomous choice. Applying this framework to 96 values identified at 14 companies revealed widely differing interpretations of values between companies, simply illustrated as a graphical “profile”. Basic statistical analysis of numeric representations of values orientations suggested that espoused values were more likely to be ethical in orientation whereas implicit values were more likely to be psychological in orientation.