Do Not Neglect the Power of Symbols on Employee Performance: An Empirical Evidence From Turkey

Abstract

Symbols, which are considered as a reflection of an organization’s culture, also provide clues about an organization’s character and value system. The positioning of symbols in the business world and academic studies thus remains an important issue. This study, which measures the effects of organizational symbolism on organizational commitment and firm performance, carries out a scale development study to evaluate the concept of symbolism. For this analysis, a questionnaire was provided to 727 family-owned business employees. In the scale development section, the organizational symbolism was divided into three dimensions, where it was observed that structural and administrative symbolism, along with outward symbolism, affect organizational commitment and firm performance, although narrative and discursive symbolism do not affect organizational commitment and firm performance. The findings are partially consistent with the current literature. In the “Discussion” section, suggestions are given to academicians and administrators.