Organizational culture and the adoption of anti-smoking initiatives at small to very small workplaces: An organizational level analysis

Christine M Kava; Edith A Parker; Barbara Baquero; Susan J Curry; Paul A Gilbert; Michael Sauder; Daniel K Sewell

doi:10.18332/tpc/100403

Organizational culture and the adoption of anti-smoking initiatives at small to very small workplaces: An organizational level analysis

Tob Prev Cessat. 2018 Dec 19:4:39. doi: 10.18332/tpc/100403. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Christine M Kava¹, Edith A Parker¹, Barbara Baquero¹, Susan J Curry², Paul A Gilbert¹, Michael Sauder³, Daniel K Sewell⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa, United States.
² Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa, United States.
³ Department of Sociology, University of Iowa, Iowa, United States.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa, United States.

Abstract

Introduction: Many workplaces have adopted anti-smoking initiatives to reduce smoking behavior, but small workplaces are less likely to adopt these initiatives. One factor that could influence adoption is organizational culture, defined as the values and assumptions shared by members of an organization. The aim of this study was to examine the types of organizational culture associated with smoking policy strength and adoption of smoking cessation activities at small (20-99 employees) and very small (<20 employees) workplaces. Two study hypotheses were made: An increase in clan culture (characterized by participation in decision-making and human resources development) will be associated with an increase in smoking policy strength (H1) and higher odds of having cessation activities in the workplace (H2).

Methods: Between June and October 2017, executives and employees coming from small and very small workplaces participated in separate surveys. Executives answered questions about their workplace's anti-smoking initiatives, while employees completed a 12-item questionnaire about organizational culture. We aggregated employee data to perform linear and logistic regression at the organizational level.

Results: Organizational culture was not significantly associated with smoking policy strength, therefore H1 was not supported. Counter to H2, an increase in clan culture was associated with lower odds of offering smoking cessation activities (OR=0.06; 95% CI: 0.01-0.58).

Conclusions: We did not find support for the hypothesized relationships. External factors and additional cultural characteristics may explain study findings. Continued research on culture and ways to improve tobacco control within smaller workplaces is needed.

Keywords: organizational culture; small workplaces; smoking; tobacco control.