Misaligned Values in Software Engineering Organizations

TL;DR

This study investigates how value misalignment between groups within software organizations impacts performance, revealing that aligned values correlate with higher effectiveness, satisfaction, trust, and fewer conflicts.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence linking value misalignment to organizational performance in software companies, highlighting the importance of value alignment.

Findings

Aligned companies are more effective and satisfied.

Value misalignment correlates with conflicts and lower trust.

Empirical data supports interventions for organizational improvement.

Abstract

The values of software organizations are crucial for achieving high performance; in particular, agile development approaches emphasize their importance. Researchers have thus far often assumed that a specific set of values, compatible with the development methodologies, must be adopted homogeneously throughout the company. It is not clear, however, to what extent such assumptions are accurate. Preliminary findings have highlighted the misalignment of values between groups as a source of problems when engineers discuss their challenges. Therefore, in this study, we examine how discrepancies in values between groups affect software companies' performance. To meet our objectives, we chose a mixed method research design. First, we collected qualitative data by interviewing fourteen (\textit{N} = 14) employees working in four different organizations and processed it using thematic analysis. We then surveyed seven organizations (\textit{N} = 184). Our analysis indicated that value misalignment between groups is related to organizational performance. The aligned companies were more effective, more satisfied, had higher trust, and fewer conflicts. Our efforts provide encouraging findings in a critical software engineering research area. They can help to explain why some companies are more efficient than others and, thus, point the way to interventions to address organizational challenges.