Insight in cultural change during organizational transformation: a case study
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 23 June 2021
Issue publication date: 20 September 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this case study is to gain insight into how a cultural change process develops as a result of organizational transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study employs an ethnographic and longitudinal research design. The transformation period of the organization is described by means of desk research and interviews with the management. Simultaneously, the cultural change process is described following four organizational mindset analyses.
Findings
This paper supports the theoretical assumption that culture changes as a reaction to transformation. However, in this case study, culture is also proven to be proactive, in that it emerged a year before the actual transformation was carried out. It is believed that the announcement of the new transformation caused a shift in the organizational mindset, enabling its members to deal with a situation of high uncertainty and stress. Whether the cultural change process in reaction to the transformation will evolve into a new sustainable cultural equilibrium could not yet be determined.
Originality/value
This study has contributed to comprehending the relationship between transformation and the process of cultural change. Cultural change is not solely a reaction to transformation. It can also be proactive in that it emerges before the transformation is carried out. That makes cultural change both proactive and reactive in relation to transformation, an insight that, as such, has not yet been discussed in the cultural theory.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper has been commissioned and funded by the secretary of Nieuw-West. The analysis of the mindset was part of a more extensive case study, lasting from 2011 to 2014, in which the organizational development was monitored.
The research was designed and conducted by the researcher. The role of Nieuw-West was limited to approving the suggested research question. During the research period, the results of each measurement were presented to Nieuw-West employees that were interested in the research. The secretary has approved using the data for research and publication purposes. Nieuw-West was not involved in writing nor submitting this paper.
Citation
Smit, W. (2021), "Insight in cultural change during organizational transformation: a case study", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 1047-1062. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-08-2020-0255
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited