Values-Based Behavioral Frameworks as Contributors to Organizational Culture in Higher Education: A Literature Review

Authors

• David J. Park DO, Belmont UniversityFollow

Streaming Media

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Colleges and universities almost universally publish statements of institutional values, yet a gap often persists between those stated values and the regularly observed behaviors. This review examines how that gap relates to culture in higher education institutions and specifically explores how translating values into observable behaviors contributes to organizational culture. This literature review used a structured, criteria-guided approach to source identification, selecting sources against three constructs: 1) institutional adoption of values-based behavioral frameworks, 2) organizational culture in higher-education settings, and 3) the perceptions through which organizational members perceive culture. The resulting corpus of 40 sources spans organizational culture scholarship, virtue and character formation, research in academic medicine, quality-culture assessment, positive psychology, and the study of institutional trust. Three key findings consistently emerge across the literature. First, members infer culture primarily from enacted behavior rather than from written statements. Second, leadership behavior is the strongest documented predictor of culture perceptions. Third, observed alignment or contradiction between stated values and behavior is itself registered as culture. The evidence supports this relationship directionally and consistently but does not establish it through controlled, multi-institution study designs. Associations are documented in qualitative and correlational work, with one randomized study demonstrating individual-level proof of concept. The review highlights behavior as a critical, controllable driver of culture and underscores the need for a controlled longitudinal study in this field.

This project was an output for The Belmont Formation Scholars Cohort for Character Research and Writing, which received generous support funding from The Kern Family Foundation.

I gratefully acknowledge peer review feedback on this project, and I am accountable for writing of this product without generative AI and in alignment with the aspirations of Belmont’s AI policy and the Psalm 8 AI Taskforce as of this date.

Recommended Citation

Park, D. (August, 2026). Values-based behavioral frameworks as contributors to organizational culture in higher education: A literature review. White paper produced for The Belmont Formation Scholar Cohort for Character Research and Writing.