Abstract
The purpose of the study was to understand the role of leaders in planned organisational culture
change, specifically whether leaders can purposefully transform culture in a multinational
organisation, and how a single culture can be deployed across multiple countries.
This longitudinal hybrid moderate autoethnography followed a qualitative case study research design
with a constructivist research philosophy. The objectives were to explore, describe, and understand
the lived experiences of purposeful culture transformation of a white Afrikaans-speaking, woman
Human Resources (HR) manager in a Swedish multinational organisation, to contribute towards
expanding knowledge and theoretical understanding within the context of organisational culture
change, and the role of leadership; and to offer an enabling framework of purposeful organisational
culture change, including culture transformation strategies across multiple nationalities and cultures.
Data were collected through participant and indirect participant observation, from written and video
material, and co-constructed interviews with four participants. Following Anderson’s analytical
autoethnographical approach, a fusion thematic analysis method employing data analysis software
was used to deductively identify, organise, compare, and describe themes according to categories
constructed from Schein’s Organisational Culture Model.
The main findings are that leaders can purposefully change the organisational culture; however,
leaders’ approaches to leading and changing culture differ. Leaders need to define culture before
embarking on culture transformation, and methodically plan, observe, and adapt the culture through
a detailed strategy. Culture transformation can be achieved by changing leadership behaviours to
including all employees as leaders. Purpose is a strong enabler of culture transformation. Barriers
to culture change can be overcome if all employees are engaged in and believe that culture matters.
An organisational culture change is a significant undertaking, and requires persistent, focussed
effort. It cannot be forced. National and subcultures, as well as the size of the organisation, impact
attempts at culture change. Middle management can filter the change message. Despite changes in
leadership and change efforts, certain cultural assets remain constant. Leadership, culture,
organisation, strategy, performance, values, behaviours, and purpose are interconnected. Culture
change is not a linear, sequential process, but should be iterative and reiterative.
The study makes a theoretical contribution to the literature on planned organisational culture change
and leadership, specifically the interconnectedness of leadership, culture, organisation, strategy,
performance, values, behaviours, and the purpose of the change. The findings resulted in a
reiterative framework for leaders navigating culture change.
The study makes a methodological contribution to the theory of organisational culture and culture
change. The emic research perspective aids researchers in understanding how to introduce culture
change. Employing autoethnography combined with thematic analysis using software offers a
postmodernist qualitative research approach to the range of methodological approaches and
designs in the field of organisational culture change. The use of an art-based reporting style adds to
the use of arts in organisational research. The study contributes knowledge on how researchers are
personally affected by conducting research in their own organisations, and contributes ethical
considerations with regard to case studies and the concept of an ‘indirect participant’.
The research’s practical contribution is considerations and guidelines contained in a framework for
leaders to use in implementing organisational culture change, highlighting enablers of change,
together with potential obstacles and how these could be mitigated.
The study was limited to leaders and culture transformation in a single multinational organisation,
limiting the applicability of the findings to other contexts. In addition, few interviews were conducted.
The framework derived from the research could be used in practice by leaders to transform
organisational culture. Various recommendations for the case study organisation and organisations
in general are presented, together with opportunities for future research.