Hero Culture and Silo Mentality: a Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37886/ruo.2023.001Keywords:
hero culture, silo mentality, cross-collaboration, organizational culture, leadershipAbstract
Research Question (RQ): Is there a correlation between hero culture and silo mentality? Which are the potential dysfunctionalities that arise from this "hero-silos" paradigm?
Purpose: We conducted a systematic review of scientific literature in order to gain sights into the "hero-silos" paradigm.
Method: A systematic review of scientific literature was conducted in the following academic search engines: Google Scholar, Scopus, JSTOR, Springer Nature, ScienceDirect, SAGE, Wiley Online Library, Web of Science, and Base (Open Access), as well as Google, ResearchGate.
Results: We detected some emerging patterns that shed light on the correlation between hero culture and silo mentality. We stress that this correlation must be further investigated, as well as conceptualizing the term “hero” in a proper way.
Organization: The research sheds light on how the dynamic hero-silo resembles an iceberg, giving managers tools to make the problem visible and to examine the issue in organizational culture from another perspective.
Society: The findings evidence that the hero-silo mentality is an unconscious phenomenon influencing the work environment negatively. The visibility of this problem helps to increase productivity as well as to elevate the engagement/motivation of the employees.
Originality: The originality of the research is reflected on the initially detected potential correlation among hero culture and silo mentality, as well as dysfunctionalities that arise from this linkage, which have to be furtherly researched.
Limitations / further research: We found a limitation in open access to published academic literature, that could enrich the research. The divergence in the definition of “hero” has been also limitation for conducting research. We suggest further quantitative research on the correlation of hero culture and silo mentality in organizations.
References
Alves, João, & Meneses, R. (2018). Silo mentality in healthcare services, 65–79.
Anthes, C. (2019). Institutional Roadblocks to Human Rights Mainstreaming in the FAO: A Tale of Silo Culture in the United Nations System. Springer Nature.
Barmyer, C., Sachseneder, C. (2013). From silo mentality to 'angularity' of the departments. The contribution of departmental cultures to diversity in companies. Paper presented at the European Academy of Management 2013, Istanbul, Turkey.
Carayannis, E. G. (Ur.). (2020). Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Springer International Publishing.
Cilliers, F., Greyvenstein, H. (2012). The impact of silo mentality on team identity: An organisational case study. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 38.
Caseiro, J., Meneses, R. (2019). Is Silo Mentality Relevant in Healthcare? The Healthcare Professional’s View. Strategica conference Romania 2019, 636-642. Retrieved from: https://strategica-conference.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/68.pdf.
Clatworthy, S. D. (2019). The experience-centric organization: How to win through customer experience. O’Reilly Media.
Coutts, M. (2017). Stepping Away from the Silos. Elsevier. Retrieved from: https://www.scribd.com/read/330784486/Stepping-Away-from-the-Silos-Strategic-Collaboration-in-Digitisation#__search-menu_316513.
de Chernatony, L. (2010). From Brand Vision to Brand Evaluation. The Importance of Organisational Culture on Brands. V From Brand Vision to Brand Evaluation (p. 157–191). Elsevier.
de Zulueta P.C. (2015). Developing compassionate leadership in health care: an integrative review. J Healthc Leadersh, 18(8), 1-10.
Denison, D. R. (1990). Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness. Wiley.
Dudau, A., Fischbacher-Smith, D., McAllister, L. (2016). The unsung heroes of welfare collaboration: Complexities around individuals’ contribution to effective inter-agency working in LSCBs. Public Management Review, 18(10), 1536–1558.
Ford, J., Harding, N., & Learmonth, M. (2008). Gendering leadership. Leadership as identity: Constructions and deconstructions. Springer.
Graham, J. R., Grennan, J. A., Harvey, C. R., Rajgopal, S. (2023). Corporate culture: The interview evidence. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance.
Horth, D. M., & Vehar, J. (2012). Becoming a leader who fosters innovation. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership. Retrieved from: http://dfcoaching.com/articles/BecomingLeaderFostersInnovation.pdf.
Mangan, C., Lawrence-Pietroni, C. (2019). More Rave Than Waltz—Why the Complexity of Public Service Means the End for Hero Leadership. V H. Dickinson, C. Needham, C. Mangan, & H. Sullivan (Ur.), Reimagining the Future Public Service Workforce (p. 81–92). Springer Singapore.
Rummler, G. A., Brache, A. P. (2013). Improving performance: How to manage the white space on the organization chart. Jossey-Bass.
Sonenshein, S. (2010). We're all heroes now. Harvard Business Review, 88(6), 7-8.
Steinberg, R. A. (b. d.). Implementing Itsm: From Silos to Services: Transforming the It Organization to an It Service Management Valued Partner. Retrieved from: https://www.scribd.com/book/387816830/Implementing-Itsm-From-Silos-to-Services-Transforming-the-It-Organization-to-an-It-Service-Management-Valued-Partner.
Stone, F. (2004). Deconstructing silos and supporting collaboration. Employment Relations Today, 31(1), 11-18.
Szabla, D. B., & Teece, D. J. (Ur.). (2021). The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers. Springer International Publishing.
Tett, G. (2016). The Silo Effect: The Peril of Expertise and the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers. Simon & Schuster.
