Impact of organizational culture on employee psychological safety perception: The pivotal role of trust in top management across 18 societies

Ratan J.S. Dheer, Jane Terpstra-Tong, Len Treviño, David Ralston, Nikos Bozionelos (), Brian Tjemkes, Luis Sigala Paparella, Marian Crowley-Henry, Calvin Burns, Fabian Froese, Gabrielle Poeschl, Oswaldo Morales, Erna Szabo, Pingping Fu, Narasimhan Srinivasan, Mario Molteni, Arif Butt, Oliver Furrer, Fidel León Darder, Maria Kangasniemi-Haapala, Ajantha Dharmasiri and Ruth Alas
Additional contact information
Ratan J.S. Dheer: Eastern Michigan University
Jane Terpstra-Tong: Monash university
Len Treviño: FAU - Florida Atlantic University [Boca Raton]
Nikos Bozionelos: EM - EMLyon Business School
Brian Tjemkes: VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [Amsterdam]
Luis Sigala Paparella: UCLA - Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado [Venezuela]
Marian Crowley-Henry: Maynooth University - National University of Ireland Maynooth
Calvin Burns: University of Greenwich
Fabian Froese: University of Göttingen
Gabrielle Poeschl: Universidade do Porto = University of Porto
Oswaldo Morales: ESAN - Universidad ESAN
Erna Szabo: JKU - University of Linz - Johannes Kepler Universität Linz
Pingping Fu: University of Nottingham Ningbo [China]
Narasimhan Srinivasan: UCONN - University of Connecticut [Storrs]
Mario Molteni: Unicatt - Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore = Catholic University of the Sacred Heart [Roma]
Arif Butt: LUMS - Lahore University of Management Sciences
Oliver Furrer: UNIFR - Université de Fribourg = University of Fribourg
Fidel León Darder: UV - Universitat de València = University of Valencia = Universidade de Valencia
Maria Kangasniemi-Haapala: South Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Finland, Mikkeli) - XAMK
Ajantha Dharmasiri: University of Sri Jayewardenepura

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Abstract: We assess the impact of organizational culture on employees' psychological safety using data from 2451 employees across 18 societies. Our multi-level structural equation models reveal that organizations that emphasize a clan culture foster significantly higher psychological safety than those that emphasize a hierarchy culture, and trust in top management mediates the effect of organizational culture on psychological safety. Additionally, macro-environmental factors, specifically a society's cultural context and governance quality, moderate the effect of trust in top management, explaining variance in psychological safety globally. Our findings make a novel contribution to the literature on psychological safety, international management, and organizational behavior. We outline vital implications for managers and provide directions for future research.

Keywords: Cultural Anthropology; Human Resources; International Management; Organizational Theory and Behavior; Cross Cultural Studies; Multi-level structural equation modeling; Societal culture; Organizational culture; Trust in top management; Psychological safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02-01
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Published in International Business Review, 2026, 35 (1), pp.102523. ⟨10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102523⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05624827

DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102523

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