The cross-level effects of culture and climate in human service teams

Abstract

This two-level study of child welfare and juvenile justice case management teams addresses construct, measurement, and composition issues that plague multilevel research on organizational culture and climate. Very few empirical studies have examined both culture and climate simultaneously, and none have provided evidence that culture and climate are distinct or similar constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), within-group consistency analysis (r wg), between-group differences (ICC and eta-squared), and hierarchical linear models (HLM) analysis provide evidence that climate and culture are separate constructs that vary by organizational unit, and are related to work attitudes, perceptions, and behavior. Findings link team-level culture and climate to individual-level job satisfaction and commitment, perceptions of service quality, and turnover. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.