Research Note: A Longitudinal Study of the Stability of Interpretative Schemes, Organizational Structure, and their Contextual Correlates

This article reports the results of a longitudinal investigation of how interpretative schemes of organizational members change through time, and whether any contextual factors are related to this change. In an exploratory study of two bureaux of an American state highway department, which are different in terms of work demands, interpersonal interactions, and subordinate-superior relations, multidimensional scaling methodology is utilized to detect any changes in the perception of interpersonal interaction, which is assumed to represent the interpretative schemes of organization members. Results show that during a period of five years neither the perception of interpersonal interaction nor the contextual variables changed to a considerable degree. The only change which occurred is related to the surface articulation of interpersonal interaction, which is directly influenced by the day-to-day activities of the members.