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Compliance culture: A conceptual framework

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Lisa Interligi
Lisa Interligi*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Psychiatry & Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Caulfield East VIC, Australia
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Abstract

Regulatory reforms and changing community expectations about organizational behaviour have increased the emphasis on the role of culture in organizational compliance. This conceptual paper proposes a framework that captures the complexities of the relationship between compliance and culture by drawing from two theories relevant to organizational culture: Neo-Institutional Theory and the Competing Values Model. By integrating elements of these theories, three core dimensions of compliance culture are identified: legitimacy, permeability and control. These core dimensions provide for a pluralist approach to theorising around compliance culture. In addition to its theoretical contribution, the paper concludes that there may be practical utility in linking organizational compliance outcomes with performance on the three core dimensions. It is also suggested that compliance culture profiles using these dimensions may be used to predict how organisations might need to respond to regulatory reforms.

Keywords

culturecomplianceregulationriskethics
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , May 2010 , pp. 235 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2010

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