Institutional culture and staff performance: A case study of the banking industry in South Africa

Although research in the past focused on the direct association between organizational culture and staff performance, the effect of any mediating variable was not fully investigated. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effect of innovation and communication as mediating variables in the association between institutional culture and staff performance. A quantitative methodology was used to collect data through a survey using an on-line Likert-scale questionnaire. Simple random sampling was used to select 19 employees from two commercial banks in South Africa, which included senior executives, managers, supervisors, administrative staff and cashiers. Since these banks were very similar in size, 10 respondents were selected from Bank A and 9 from Bank B according to the above selection criteria. Both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted to address the aim of the study. The findings confirmed that communication and innovation facilitated the relationship between institutional culture and employee performance, which was mediated by innovation and communication. Thus, the leadership of the banks should strategically and effectively employ communication tools to ensure that the institution remains innovative. Furthermore, an innovative culture should be nurtured, which encourages and invites participation by staff.