Organizational culture is a fundamental element of any organization, shaping its identity, influencing employee efficiency, and determining its ability to adapt to a changing business environment.
Definition and Essence of Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is a complex concept with numerous interpretations in academic literature. In its simplest form, it is defined as “a set of values, beliefs, assumptions, and norms that guide actions and mindset within an organization.” Schein, one of the most prominent researchers on this topic, describes organizational culture as “a pattern of basic assumptions that a group has discovered, invented, or developed while coping with internal and external challenges.”
Far from being merely an abstract concept, organizational culture plays a real role in business operations. According to researchers at MIT Sloan, culture significantly impacts how employees collaborate and adapt to new challenges. Polish literature describes it as “social norms and value systems that stimulate employees, an organizational climate, management style, shared meanings and symbols, cognitive schemas, and behavioral expectations.”
Crucially, organizational culture bridges the gap between formal regulations and the actual functioning of a company, forming a set of “unwritten, often subconsciously followed rules.” This informal nature makes it both difficult to define and deliberately shape, while also being fundamental to an organization’s success.
The Importance of Organizational Culture for Business Performance
Research clearly shows a strong connection between organizational culture and business results. A well-defined culture translates into tangible financial benefits, improving employee motivation, which in turn enhances work quality, goal achievement, and retention rates.
Organizational culture is especially relevant in the context of modern challenges, such as remote and hybrid work and evolving employee expectations. Gartner’s research found that 76% of hybrid workers and 66% of remote workers believe their company’s culture positively impacts their work, compared to just 52% of on-site employees. This suggests that a strong organizational culture can be cultivated even in decentralized environments.
As Polish researcher Jarek Guc notes, “Managing THROUGH organizational culture simplifies, facilitates, and structures processes. The primary effect of managing through culture is a reduced need for management itself.” A mature, intentionally shaped organizational culture thus acts as a self-regulating mechanism, reducing the necessity for direct oversight and control.
Key Dimensions and Elements of Organizational Culture
Recent studies identify several crucial dimensions of organizational culture, particularly relevant in modern work environments. Research on hybrid workplaces highlights three fundamental dimensions: empathy, autonomy, and trust. These factors become especially significant in decentralized work settings where direct supervision is limited.
Edgar Schein’s widely recognized organizational culture model states that culture is built upon “basic assumptions” that guide behaviors and decisions within an organization. These deeply ingrained assumptions are so internalized by members that they operate within them unconsciously.
Research on Perceived Organizational Support (POS) indicates that organizational support and trust significantly impact employee engagement. Employees who feel supported by their organization are more likely to contribute to its success.
The organizational culture typology developed by Cameron and Quinn, widely used in research, categorizes cultures into four main types: clan culture, adhocracy culture, market culture, and hierarchy culture. Studies suggest a correlation between different project management approaches and dominant organizational culture types—traditional project management aligns with hierarchical cultures, while Agile methodologies are more prevalent in clan cultures.
Strategies for Shaping Organizational Culture
Shaping organizational culture requires a deliberate and systematic approach from leadership. Research highlights several effective strategies:
The Role of Leadership in Shaping Culture
Leaders play a crucial role in organizational culture by “ensuring that everyone is aligned with the organization’s mission, purpose, and vision.” Contemporary MIT Sloan research points to a paradigm shift in leadership: “Top leaders are flipping hierarchy upside down – their role is not to be the smartest people in the room with all the answers but to design environments where as many people as possible can contribute.”
The concept of “distributed leadership” is gaining traction as a collaborative and autonomy-driven management style, where leadership responsibilities are shared across formal and informal leaders throughout the organization. This approach is particularly effective in the context of new work models and employees’ growing expectations for autonomy and empowerment.
Skill-Based Approach to Cultural Change
MIT Sloan research suggests the effectiveness of a “skill-based approach to cultural change” by “rapidly linking newly acquired soft skills to business outcomes.” This strategy involves applying new skills to real business problems, allowing employees to immediately experience the benefits of cultural transformation.
In one MIT Sloan case study, teams that learned and applied new skills to real strategic challenges created momentum for cultural change. Employees in SEB, a financial services company, reported that the strategies they learned helped them overcome critical strategic challenges they had struggled with for years.
Building Connections in a Distributed Work Environment
Gartner’s research emphasizes that operationalizing culture requires ensuring employees feel connected to it, regardless of whether they work remotely or on-site. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the physical workplace that drives cultural engagement but rather how employees interact and collaborate.
Leaders must be intentional about activating organizational culture—not by instructing employees on behaviors but by demonstrating them through consistent actions. In distributed work environments, this requires special attention and systematic efforts.
Transparency and Trust
Harvard Business Review underscores the importance of transparency: “Lean into transparency. Tell them what you know. When you are honest with employees, it builds trust.” In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, honest and open communication is the foundation of a healthy organizational culture.
Research on employee reactions to planned cultural changes indicates multiple paths to positive responses (such as “comparison,” “exoneration,” and “toleration”) as opposed to negative ones (such as “disappointment” and “disassociation”). Understanding these response patterns can help leaders manage cultural transformation more effectively.
Challenges and Barriers in Shaping Organizational Culture
Despite its significance, many companies struggle to shape their culture deliberately. Gartner research shows that before the pandemic, 70% of HR leaders believed they had the right culture to drive business results, but only 30% felt their desired culture was reflected in reality. This indicates a significant gap between aspirations and the actual organizational culture.
Another challenge is adapting culture to evolving business conditions. MIT Sloan research highlights that COVID-19 disrupted traditional work structures, expanding geographic possibilities for remote work while redefining expectations regarding work hours and flexibility. In this new era, leaders at all levels must define an organizational culture that aligns with emerging realities.
Conclusions and Recommendations
A review of research on organizational culture leads to several key conclusions and recommendations for business practice:
- Organizational culture is a fundamental factor influencing business performance and adaptability. A strong, positive culture translates into measurable business benefits, including increased motivation, engagement, and employee retention.
- Effectively shaping organizational culture requires a deliberate and systematic approach, with leaders serving as architects and ambassadors of culture. The modern leadership model shifts from “command and control” to “environmental architect,” fostering autonomy, engagement, and innovation.
- In the context of new work models, dimensions such as empathy, autonomy, and trust become particularly important. Organizations that successfully cultivate these values can maintain strong cultural ties even in distributed environments.
- A skill-based approach to cultural change—where employees immediately apply newly acquired skills to real business problems—can be an effective strategy for overcoming resistance to change.
- Transparency, honest communication, and authentic leadership are essential for building trust, which serves as the foundation of a healthy organizational culture.
- Organizational culture is not static; it evolves with the organization and its environment. Continuous attention, nurturing, and adaptation to changing business and social conditions are necessary.
- Organizations that treat culture as a strategic asset and invest in shaping it intentionally can gain a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic business environment.
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