A symbols-and-meaning approach to the organizational cultures of banks in the United States, Japan, and Taiwan

Under the assumption that organizational culture is highly associated with national culture, this study examines the cultures of an American, a Japanese, and a Taiwanese bank, as well as an American bank operating in Taiwan. Adopting the symbols-and-meaning perspective, this study analyzes their organizational cultures by examining the relationships among representative symbols that constitute the culture of the organizations. Galileo theory is used to display and assess the organizational cultures. The results of the four samples confirm that the banks have different cultures due to the impact of their national cultures. Although the Taiwanese and the American bank operating in Taiwan do not differ significantly in their cultures, they have distinct perceptions of the concept of the United States.