Contingency Theory and Culture: A Study of Matched English and the Indian Manufacturing Firms

This paper reports on some of the findings of a cross-national study of organizational structure and management style conducted in England and India which, among other things, examines the validity of the model advocated by the proponents of the contingency perspective. The model, although it gains considerable support from some of the findings, is found to be inadequate in many respects. Differences are found between firms in the two societies and in relationships among variables that are not explicable by the conventional contingency model, but are consistent with differences in socio-economic conditions and with employees' cultural traits. The English and Indian cultures are contrasted.