Effect of Culture and Leadership on Organizational Growth in Real Estate

The real estate industry in 2009 reached its lowest point since 1940. Some of the factors that may have led to the real estate decline from 2005 to 2010 include the U.S. unemployment rate, banking crises, and mortgage defaults. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine if corporate culture and leadership might explain success or failure in real estate organizations over this period. Mayo and Maslow's work on motivation, and Denison's work on culture and leadership theory served as a theoretical background for this study. Links between how culture and company growth affect corporate growth were sought in the research questions. Economic growth data from the real estate industry (N = 269), survey data from industry leaders (N = 24), and interviews from a smaller group of leaders within the industry (N =5) were analyzed. Participants were surveyed using the Denison Culture Survey to test correlations between culture and company performance. Leaders at the highest growth company were administered the Denison Leadership Survey to test correlations between leadership and company growth. According to study results, leadership is a likely differentiator between positive and negative growth. Pearson product moment correlations revealed a statistically significant relationship between the leadership indicator of mission, and growth, r = .23, p = .039. Business growth is dependent upon well-defined culture, reflected in the leadership, goals, objectives, and mission. This study can lead to positive social change by offering structure for company growth during economic downturn. If companies can learn to increase growth during economic downturns, growth may lead to fewer layoffs and wage cuts for employees, leading to a less stressful working environment and a healthier and more fulfilling personal life for the individual employee.