The Relationship Between Satisfaction and Conventional and Alternative Characteristics of Organizations

ABSTRACT

In this quantitative study, through Multiple Correspondence Analysis, we explored the existence of a statistically significant association between conventional and alternative organizational characteristics and the attribution of satisfaction or dissatisfaction at work. The study had 172 respondents participating in an online survey. The results indicate that all characteristics of conventional organizations, to a greater or lesser extent, were associated with the perception of dissatisfaction, whereas characteristics of alternative organizations, in the same way, were associated with satisfaction. Four dimensions of comparison between conventional and alternative organizational modes stood out in terms of contribution and relevance, namely: i) technical orientation (efficiency versus conviviality); ii) economic orientation (growth versus sufficiency); iii) commercial orientation (market versus community); and iv) inter-organizational orientation competition vers(us cooperation). The results, specifically, show that the technical orientation toward productive efficiency, as well as the commercial orientation toward the market, is, at a strong level, associated with dissatisfaction, while the cooperative inter-organizational orientation is strongly associated with satisfaction. The investigation sheds light on a better understanding of organizational modes that oppose the dominant conventional logic.

Keywords:
Satisfaction in work organizations; Conventional and alternative characteristics of organizations