The interplay of cultural rigidity, vertical communication, and perceived severity of decline: An empirical affirmation from the public sector

An organisation’s performance; whether growth or decline is impacted by its incumbent culture. When this culture inclines towards rigidity, it becomes arduous to achieve performance goals. Communication is touted to be the ‘meta-mechanism’ for initiation, alteration and sustainability of culture in organisations, and is exigent in its performance. The study attempts to understand the abating effect of cultural rigidity on perceived severity of decline and more importantly assess the intervening role of vertical communication in the relationship. A survey was conducted among 281 top and middle level managers of four state owned enterprises in Kerala, India, facing performance decline. Requisite analysis reveals that vertical communication has a compelling role in determining the strength of relationship between cultural rigidity and perceived severity of decline. Managerial implications point to how vertical communication can be managed to influence cultural rigidity, and thereby cause changes in the perception about performance of an organisation.