M.

Bogdanowicz, Organizational Culture as a Source… 53

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AS A SOURCE OF

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE – CASE STUDY OF A
TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY IN POLAND

Maryla Bogdanowicz*

Abstract
Background. Research on organizational culture has received significant attention recently.
However, a limited number of studies examine the alignment of organizational culture with
the strategic goals of the company and its impact on effectiveness..
Research aims. The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of organizational culture on
the company competitiveness. The article describes a process of planned cultural changes
conducted from November 2012 to February 2014, and its results in such areas, as
innovation, efficiency, quality, the company identity and external image.
Method. The theoretical framework is supported by a case study of one of the biggest
telecommunication companies in Poland. The author's observation is supported by informal
interviews and company data analysis (Competing Values Framework, Employees
commitment to change survey, Customer satisfaction survey, internal reports, etc.)
Key findings. The case study shows that organizational culture aligned with a strategy is
the inner strength of the organization, significantly improving its competitiveness. One of the
most important elements in the process of change is the correct diagnosis of the difference
between the current and the desired cultural characteristics. In this case, the important
cultural gaps covered such areas, as the company structure, procedures and internal and
external communication.

Keywords: Competitive advantage, Organizational culture, Competing Values Framework.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Today, competitive pressure is intensified and it is becoming harder not

only to achieve market leadership, but also to remain on the market. New
products, services, and competitors are emerging with tremendous speed.
Therefore, today, more than ever before, it is important to understand the
sources of competitive advantage and disadvantage. Some of the scholars
(Porter, 1980; Barney, 1995) argue that the company success is determined
by the existence of certain well-defined external conditions. These
conditions include high barriers to market entry, non-substitutable
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products, a large market share, suppliers and buyers with low bargaining
power, rivalry among competitors, and unique products or services.
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A substantial amount of research supports the importance of these factors.

However, what is remarkable is that the most successful U.S. firms - the
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top five performers in the last two decades of the twentieth century
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*
Maryla Bogdanowicz, PhD candidate, Kozminski University, Poland.
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 54 International Journal of Contemporary Management, 13(3), 53–66 2014

(Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods, Circuit City, Plenum

Publishing, among others) did not benefit from any of these factors, the
so-called prerequisites for success. It seems that external conditions,
defined by Porter may no longer be perceived as the exclusive
prerequisites for success. Having in mind external conditions, companies
should rather explore the power that resides in a valuable organizational
culture that supports strategic objectives. In fact, it is difficult to name
a single highly successful company, one that is a recognized leader in its
field, that does not have a distinctive, identifiable organizational culture.
This culture is sometimes created by the founder of the firm (e.g. Disney
or Microsoft), sometimes developed by the management team who decide
to improve the company’s performance in a systematic way (e.g., G.E or
McDonalds). But, almost all successful companies have developed
something special that supersedes corporate strategy, market presence, or
technological advantage. They have found the power that resides in
developing and managing a unique organizational culture.
The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of organizational
culture on the company competitiveness. The theoretical framework is
supported by a case study of one of the biggest telecommunication
companies in Poland. The article describes the process of planned cultural
changes conducted from November 2012 to February 2014, and the results of
these changes in such areas, as innovation, efficiency, quality and customer
responsiveness, as well as the company identity and external image.
According to Porter (1985), a competitive advantage exists when the
firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors, but at a lower cost
(cost advantage), or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing
products (differentiation advantage). Porter`s theory is questioned by some
academics, (Kim & Mauborgne, 1991) especially for lack of flexibility and
its limitations. Stevenson (2009) defines competitive advantage as a firm's
effectiveness in using organizational resources to satisfy customers
demands when compared to competitors. Barney (2008) distinguishes
between two types of competitive advantage: temporary and sustainable.
Competitive advantage typically results in high profits, but these profits
attract competition, and competition limits the duration of competitive
advantage in most cases, thus most competitive advantages are temporary.
Some competitive advantages are sustainable if competitors are unable to
imitate the source of advantage (Barney, 2008). Therefore, in order to
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develop a sustainable competitive advantage, a company must have

superior resources and capabilities. There are four attributes of
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sustainable competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Collis & Montgomery,

1995; Conner & Prahalad, 1996): valuable resources, rare resources, non-
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imitable resources, and non-substitutability of resources. If the company

does not have superior resources and capabilities, the competitors can
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 M. Bogdanowicz, Organizational Culture as a Source… 55

easily replicate what the company has been doing and any advantage
would quickly disappear. Resources and capabilities form distinctive
competencies, that enable innovation, efficiency, quality and customer
responsiveness, all of which can be leveraged to create cost advantage or
differentiation advantage. Competencies that reside in the culture of the
firm help sustain competitive advantage, therefore, the phenomenon of
firm's culture and its social complexity plays an important role in defining
competitive advantage and the survival of many firms (King & Zeithaml,
2001). Organizational culture should be regarded as a set of meanings,
created within the organization, but influenced by broader social and
historical processes. Organizational members use these meanings – norms,
roles, plans, ideals and ideas – to make sense of the flow of actions and
events they experience (Robbins & Judge, 2007). Culture represents “how
things are around here,” (Martin, 2002, p. 3) or the prevailing ideology that
people carry inside their heads. Culture affects the way organization
members think, feel, and behave. Gerry Johnson (1988) defines
organizational culture as a web consisted of 6 components: soft (Symbols,
Stories and Myths, Rituals and Routines), and hard (Control Systems,
Power Relationships and Organizational Structures). Johnson underlines
that the soft components are the “glue” that holds the hard components
together and decides the uniqueness of the culture. The web tries to make
sense of the myriad of internal structures and processes that arise from,
and continuously reinforce an organization’s view of itself. The web
influences individual members self-perception, as well as their internal
organization and external environment. The constituent parts of this web
are unique to each organization.

Types of organizational cultures

Cameron & Quinn (1999) distinguished 4 types of organizational culture:
clan, adhocracy, market and hierarchy. The clan culture is characterized by
a friendly place to work where people share a lot of themselves. It is like an
extended family with best friends at work. Leaders are thought of as
mentors, coaches, and, perhaps, even as parent figures. The organization is
held together by loyalty, tradition, and collaboration. The commitment is
high. The organization emphasizes the long-term benefits of individual
development with high cohesion and morale being important. Success is
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defined in terms of internal climate and concern for people. The

organization places a premium on teamwork, participation, and consensus.
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The adhocracy culture is characterized as a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and

creative workplace. Effective leadership is visionary, innovative, and risk-
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oriented. The glue that holds the organization together is a commitment to

experimentation and innovation. The emphasis is on being at the leading
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edge of new knowledge, products, and/or services. Readiness for change

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 56 International Journal of Contemporary Management, 13(3), 53–66 2014

and meeting new challenges are important. The organization’s long term
emphasis is on rapid growth and acquiring new resources. Success means
producing unique and original products and services. A market culture is
a results-oriented workplace. Leaders are hard driving producers,
directors, and competitors. They are tough and demanding. The glue that
holds the organization together is an emphasis on winning. The long-term
concern is on competitive actions and achieving stretch goals and targets.
Success is defined in terms of market share and penetration. Outpacing
the competition, escalating share price, and market leadership dominate
the success criteria. The hierarchy culture is characterized as a formalized
and structured place to work. Procedures and well-defined processes
govern what people do. Effective leaders are good coordinators, organizers,
and efficiency experts. Maintaining a smooth-running organization is
important. The long-term concerns of the organization are stability,
predictability, and efficiency. Formal rules and policies hold the organization
together.

Measuring Organizational Culture using Competing Values

Framework
This framework was developed in the early 1980s as a result of studies of
organizational effectiveness (Quinn & Rohrbaugh, 1981), followed by
studies of culture, leadership, structure, and information processing
(Cameron, 1986; Cameron & Quinn, 1999). The framework consists of two
dimensions. The first dimension differentiates a focus on flexibility,
discretion, and dynamism from a focus on stability, order, and control.
The second dimension differentiates a focus on internal orientation,
integration, and unity from a focus on external orientation, differentiation,
and rivalry. The organization`s cultural overall profile and dominant
characteristics can be identified through Organizational Cultural
Assessment Instrument (OCAI), where each type of culture is defined by
six key dimensions (Table 1).
Cameron and Quinn (1999) gathered a great deal of evidence that
individuals can accurately describe the cultures of their organizations
according to the Competing Values Framework. In the OCAI, organization
members are provided with a set of scenarios that describe certain
fundamental cultural aspects of organizations. Individuals rate their own
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organization’s similarity to those scenarios by dividing 100 points among

four different scenarios, each descriptive of a quadrant in the competing
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values framework through six key dimensions described in Table 1. In

combination these content dimensions reflect fundamental cultural values
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and implicit assumptions about the way the organization functions. The list
of dimensions has proven to provide an adequate picture of the type of
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culture that exists in an organization (Cameron & Quinn, 1999). Moreover,

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 M. Bogdanowicz, Organizational Culture as a Source… 57

the resulting culture profiles are predictive of multiple performance factors

such as organizational effectiveness (Cameron & Freeman, 1991), and
quality of life in organizations (Quinn & Spreitzer, 1991). Cultural
imbalance, specifically an overemphasis on hierarchical quadrant, tends to
be associated with lower life quality. Hartnell, Ou & Kinicki (2011) applied
Competing values framework to study the relationship between 3
culture types and 3 major indices of organizational effectiveness (employee
attitudes, operational performance i.e., innovation and product and service
quality, and financial performance). Results based on data from 84
empirical studies with 94 independent samples indicate that clan,
adhocracy, and market cultures are positively associated with the
effectiveness criteria.

Table 1. Key Dimensions of the Organizational Cultural Assessment

Instrument (OCAI)
Clan Adhocracy Market Hierarchy
Dominant Organization like Dynamic Product Formalized,
characteristic a family where organization, risk oriented structured
people share a lot taking and organization. organization
of themselves entrepreneurial Task oriented driven by
approach employees procedures

Organizational Mentor, Entrepreneurs, Hard-drivers, Coordinators,

Leaders facilitators, or innovators, or producers, or organizers, or
parental figures risk takers competitors efficiency
experts
Management Teamwork, Individual risk- Hard-driving Careful
of consensus and taking, competitiveness, monitoring of
Employees participation innovation, goal performance,
flexibility, and directedness, longevity in
uniqueness and position, and
achievement predictability
Organizational Loyalty and Orientation Emphasis on Formal rules
Glue mutual trust toward production and and policies
innovation and goal
development accomplishment
Strategic Human Acquiring new Competitive Permanence
Emphasis development, resources and actions and and stability
high trust, meeting new achievement
openness and challenges
participation
Criteria for Development of Having the most Market Efficiency (low
Success human resources, unique or the penetration and costs, smooth
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teamwork, and newest products market share scheduling)

concern for
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people
Source: Cameron & Quinn (1999).
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Organizations are most effective when the cultural profile is aligned

with the strategic goals. Therefore, the correct diagnosis of the potential
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 58 International Journal of Contemporary Management, 13(3), 53–66 2014

difference between the current and desired cultural characteristics, values,

and employee behaviours that are needed to achieve the strategic
objectives is one of the most important element in the process of planned
changes. Changing the culture is not an easy task. However, once it has
been identified that culture change is a desired objective, members of an
organization can plan and implement a set of activities that help moving
an organization’s culture from the current state to the preferred future
state. In the case study presented below, the important cultural gaps
covered such areas, as: company structure, procedures and processes,
internal and external communication.

METHOD

The case study method, applied in this research, presents a process of

cultural changes initiated by the assessment of the cultural profile of XYZ.
Based on the findings of Competing Values Framework, the management
introduced a set of activities aimed to align the cultural profile to the
strategic goals of a company.

The organizational context

XYZ is a telecommunication company, with 20 years of experience in the
Polish market. The company was established in 2004 by a merger of two
telecommunications operators with over 10 years in the business. Both
companies specialized in services for demanding, strategic industries. The
synergistic effect of the merger expanded the company's portfolio,
increased its technological potential and enabled a wider use of the
employees' know-how and skills. Despite its network capacity and long
presence on the market, XYZ was not able to compete with the aggressive
competitors emerging on the market. In the period of four years (2008-
2011), both the number of large and medium size customers significantly
decreased (respectively by 28% and 50%). Monthly fees (income after
deducting non-recurring charges) fell drastically. In 2008, when the costs
exceeded revenues, the company introduced a radical cost – cutting
policy. Customer satisfaction surveys, conducted in 2009, 2010, and 2011,
among XYZ major customers, showed the following results: (1) Significant
decrease in number of customers willing to recommend XYZ as a reliable
-

business partner and increased percentage of customer who would not

recommend the company; (2) Only one in ten customers believes that
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XYZ has a big advantage over its competitors; (3) 46% of customers are
ready, at any moment, to use the services of another operator.
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 M. Bogdanowicz, Organizational Culture as a Source… 59

RESULTS

The Process of Change

During a workshop, Top Managers of XYZ were asked to assess the
organizational culture according to the Competing Values Framework.
Managers were divided into 2 groups, each consisting of 13 members.
The two groups worked in separate rooms and did not communicate with
each other. A set of scenarios that describe fundamental cultural aspects
of organization was provided for the managers in order to enable precise
identification of “how things are” in XYZ. The managers were instructed
to divide 100 points among four different scenarios, each descriptive of
a quadrant in the Competing Values Framework through six dimensions
(see Table 1). Next, the managers were asked to draw a desired
organizational culture, which, in their opinion would help the company to
“move forward”. The results, where A represents Clan culture, B –
Adhocracy, C – Hierarchy and D – Market culture, are presented in Figure
1 (first group on the left, second group on the right).

Figure 1 Figure 2

Existing culture Desired culture

Figure1. Research results

Source: Own elaboration.
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The similar results achieved by the two groups and the group
discussions both confirmed that the organization is driven by the
-

hierarchy. Policies and procedures are strictly defined. Employees are

expected to follow the rules and regulations. Creative ideas and solutions
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are not appreciated. Individuals are responsible for providing sub-tasks of

the process, and information regarding “big picture” is limited. The flow of
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 60 International Journal of Contemporary Management, 13(3), 53–66 2014

information is one-sided - top - down, with limited or no opportunity for

open communication and interaction. The cooperation between the
departments is insufficient. Managers are expected to perform
administrative duties, and control their staff members. All decisions are
made by the CEO, without any participation of the management or the
employees.
The technological changes and consolidation process on the market,
intensified in 2011/2012, resulted in high price pressure, increased
competition and tendency to replace fixed connection lines by mobile
traffic. The profound market analysis indicated that the most important
factors of competitive advantage are: outstanding customer relations,
innovative products and flexibility in addressing the client's needs. It
became clear that without a strategy change (significant investments in the
technology, new products development and launch) and changes in the
cultural profile, XYZ would not survive on the market. Therefore, XYZ
introduced a set of activities to put the process of a culture change in
motion, in accordance with the work of several authors describing
successful change interventions aimed at organizational culture change
(e.g., Denison, 1989; Lewin, 1945; Kotter, 1996; Mento, Jones & Dirndorfer,
2002). These activities are briefly described below.

Building-up coalition for change

The intention of the Board of Directors was to engage all employees in the
change process. Opening up communication channels and involving
everyone (employees, managers, and external consultants) in the process
of strategy formulation became an urgent issue. Some employees
voluntarily joined the process, some boycotted it, others observed
passively. A significant number (25%) of staff has been recruited from the
market to strengthen the competencies available in the company as well
as to increase the number of employees representing a “can-do” attitude.

Communicating Vision, Mission, Strategy and Values

A New Mission, Vision and Strategy was officially announced to the
employees during the kick-off meeting. It was stated that “the main
objective of New XYZ is to support customers in the process of building
their identity in the digital environment by providing a secure
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infrastructural platform.” Human capital has been recognized as the main

source of a long-term competitive advantage of the company. Therefore,
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knowledge, skills of the employees, as well as their passion for exploring

new opportunities should become a driving force for the implementation
-

of technological change in the companies and institutions cooperating with

XYZ. The existing values: quality, security and responsibility, have been
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 M. Bogdanowicz, Organizational Culture as a Source… 61

complimented by the new ones: mutual trust, teamwork, innovation and

engagement. This change requires an entrepreneurial approach and
cooperation among the staff. The employees are expected to broaden the
scope of activities and undertake efforts to develop skills and competencies.
Therefore, XYZ will concentrate on building the company culture which
rewards risk taking and creativity. Such attitudes are critically important in
the company which intends to invent and introduce the new products to
the market. The management team and all the employees are expected
to make a big effort to create a friendly work atmosphere, where people
share a lot of themselves. The company should operate like a family with
best friends at work. Leaders are expected to play a role of mentors and
coaches. The aim is to create an organization held together by loyalty,
tradition, and collaboration, with highly committed employees.

Active Participation in Changes of Processes and Structures

According to Glew et al. (1995:402), “the essence of participation is
a conscious and intended effort by individuals at a higher level in an
organization to provide a visible extra role or role-expanding opportunities
for individuals or groups at a lower level in the organization to have
a greater voice in one or more areas of organizational performance”. One of
the company goals was to transform from a hierarchical, silo organization,
into a flexible, process – based organization, able to react quickly, and to
efficiently identify business opportunities on the market. To achieve this
target, XYZ invited Top Managers to work in the Project teams aimed
to identify the major organizational barriers and to propose solutions to
eliminate the existing barriers. It was a busy time for the organization, filled
with meetings, discussions, and exchange of ideas. As a result, the number
of procedures existing in XYZ has been decreased by 30% and the
remaining 70% has been simplified.

Open Communications
New communication channels have been established to facilitate open
communication and exchange of information between the Board members
and the employees: (a) regular meetings, called “breakfast with the Board”,
during which the official part (presentation of financial results) is followed
by the Questions and Answers session; (b) box available for the employees
-

to leave the questions and opinions to the Board; (c) open door policy; (d)
new interactive Intranet; (e) mailing system managed by the Communication
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department to announce important information to all the employees; (f)

company newsletter, co-edited by the employees; (g) individual meetings
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with the Board Members, called “Morning coffee”; (h) anonymous surveys
and questionnaires among the staff.
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 62 International Journal of Contemporary Management, 13(3), 53–66 2014

Rituals and Symbols

A change in rituals and symbols is of the most important initiative that
accompanies culture change. Symbols are visual representations of the
new state, so identifying symbols that signify a new future is an important
part of culture change. Symbols help organization members visualize
something different, provide a new interpretation of the organization, and
provide a rallying point for people supportive of the change. In this case,
a new logo was designed and officially announced during a party for the
employees and customers. The employees were asked to visualize the
company culture by drawing pictures that afterwards were placed on the
walls in the office building. Moreover, employees photos with the personal
explanation of the company values were posted on the walls in the
reception area.

Friendly Atmosphere and Cooperation

A new office design (open space in some areas), spacious kitchens and
one of the conference rooms redesigned to a “Creativity room”, where
traditional conference table and chairs have been replaced with colourful,
soft sofas, are some of examples of changes implemented in order to
create a friendly, comfortable space where the employees can meet,
exchange opinions and discuss both private and business issues.

Education and support

Human capital has been recognized as the company's main source of
a long-term competitive advantage. This approach requires identification
of competency gaps and constant development of knowledge and skills. In
order to meet this challenge, a new function – Human Resources Business
Partner (HRBP) has been appointed in the organization. HRBPs, in
cooperation with the managers and selected staff members, designed
a Competencies Model, Individual Competencies Profiles and implemented
tools to assess the competencies among the staff. As a result, an extensive
training program, combined with motivational meetings with market
leaders, has been proposed to the managers and sales force. Some of the
managers have been offered coaching and mentoring programs. Top
talents have been identified and given the opportunity to participate in the
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individual development plans. Moreover, a Management by Objective tool

has been implemented to support the process of cascading strategic
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objectives down to the organization.

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 M. Bogdanowicz, Organizational Culture as a Source… 63

Creativity and Innovation

With the aim to develop new products and improve customer relationships,
XYZ needed to wake-up the creativity of its staff. In the hierarchy culture,
employees were expected to follow the rules and procedures. Employees
felt uncomfortable and unsafe with the new expectations to experiment and
take risks. Since organizational culture is best communicated through stories
(Martin, 1992; Martin, et al., 1983), a number of stories have been created to
illustrate desired behaviours. Employees have been encouraged to draw
cartoons that visualized “old work style” and the “new work style”. These
stories not only helped clarify the expected behaviours, but also made
individuals less anxious about moving into an unknown future.

Small Wins Celebration

The rule of thumb regarding small wins is to find something easy to change,
change it, and publicize it. Then, find a second thing easy to change, change
it, and publicize it. Small achievements create momentum in the desired
direction, inhibit resistance--since people seldom resist incremental changes-
-and create a snowball effect so that additional supporters get on board.
When individuals see that something is changing, even if it is small in
scope, a sense of progress and advancement is created, and that sense helps
build support for larger and more fundamental changes. In this case small
changes included the introduction of flexible working hours, regular staff
meetings, simplification of procedures, office redesign and Christmas tree
decoration by the employees. Every change initiative was communicated
and rewarded. Every new sales contract was celebrated and sales staff were
recognized for outstanding efforts. The management enhanced employees
engagement by organizing competitions and announcing best individual and
team achievements.

Monitoring the process of change

The activities described above initiated change in organizational structures,
processes, values, communication, and leadership style, none of which by
itself ensures that culture change will occur, but combined, they created
a great deal of momentum toward fundamental culture change in the
organization. A survey and focus groups conducted one year after the
-

changes had been initiated, showed the results summarized in Table 2.

Table 2. Employees commitment to change survey - Selected results

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Researched area Employees behaviour

Engagement to change 66% of the employees declare support for the changes and think
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that the company goes in the right direction

Friendly atmosphere 75% of the employees feel encouraged to meet people and share
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and cooperation ideas in a less formal atmosphere

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 64 International Journal of Contemporary Management, 13(3), 53–66 2014

Internal communication 78% of the employees know and understand the strategic goals
4/5 of the employees think that the management supports an open
communication
71% of the employees understand how their individual
performance supports the organization's goals
Structures and 85% of the employees state that thanks to simplified procedures
procedures and new internal regulations decisions are made faster and the
work flow is more efficient
Creativity and 77% of the employees engage themselves in the activities that
innovation exceed their scope of responsibility
80% of the employees feel encouraged to do things in a different
way
Education and support 75% of the employees feel supported by the managers
63% of the employees are pleased with the training and personal
development opportunities provided by the company
Source: own elaboration.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Organizational culture makes a foundation for desired behaviours,

company identity and external image. In the context of strategic choice, in
an industry where it is important to innovate new products and quickly
respond to the customer needs, a firm’s culture can be “valuable” if it
rewards collaboration, flexibility, risk taking and creativity. Although it is
too early to quantify the results of the efforts undertaken by XYZ,
significant progress has been made: (a) the employees have a much
clearer understanding of the business strategy; (b) the employees
understand how their daily job leads to the attainment of the company
goals, (c) the employees feel involved in decision making processes, (d)
more decisions are being made at the lower level of the organization and
much closer to the customers` needs, (e) the employees share opinions
and propose innovative solutions, (f) the employees are more willing to
cooperate, (g) the employees and the managers have a feeling that they
“play on the same team”, (h) the employees share their positive feelings
about the change with the family, friends and customers. Moreover,
visitors to the company offices noted an air of enthusiasm among the
employees as they openly discussed the changes in their work
environment and habits. As the employee values and behaviour change
over time, XYZ’s culture will evolve further. The expected qualitative
-

benefits include significant behavioural changes that will foster greater

employee engagement, enhanced pride and commitment to the
-

organization and increased morale of the staff. The expected quantitative

benefits include increased customer satisfaction, improved revenues, and
-

enhanced profitability. In 2013, for the first time since 2008, XYZ has
launched new products on the market and acquired new customers.
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 M. Bogdanowicz, Organizational Culture as a Source… 65

XYZ is an example of a company that needs to be innovative and

responsive in order to survive and therefore attempts to develop
behavioural norms that encourage creativity and collaboration. The
technological skills, coupled with the expected behavioural norms, will
enable the company to respond to the new business opportunities. In
other words, the change process initiated in 2012 has moved the company
towards a cultural profile that represents valuable assets.

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KULTURA ORGANIZACYJNA JAKO ŹRÓDŁO

PRZEWAGI KONKURENCYJNEJ – STUDIUM
PRZYPADKU FIRMY TELEKOMUNIKACYJNEJ
W POLSCE

Abstrakt
T³o badañ. Badanie kultury organizacyjnej znajduje siê obecnie w centrum uwagi.
Natomiast ograniczona liczba opracowañ analizuje zbie¿noœæ kultury organizacyjnej ze
strategicznymi celami firmy oraz jej wp³yw na skutecznoœæ dzia³añ.
Cel badañ. Celem tej pracy jest analiza wp³ywu kultury organizacyjnej na konkurencyjnoœæ
firmy. Artyku³ opisuje proces planowanych zmian kulturowych przeprowadzonych od
listopada 2012 roku do lutego 2014 roku i jego wyniki w takich obszarach jak innowacja,
wydajnoœæ, jakoœæ, rozpoznawalnoœæ firmy i wizerunek zewnêtrzny.
Metodyka. Struktura teoretyczna jest wsparta przez stadium przypadku jednej
z najwiêkszych spó³ek telekomunikacyjnych w Polsce. Obserwacje autora s¹ uzupe³nione
przez nieformalne wywiady i analizê danych firmowych (struktura wartoœci konkuruj¹cych,
zaanga¿owanie pracowników w ankietê zmian, ankieta satysfakcji klientów, raporty
wewnêtrzne, itd.)
Kluczowe wnioski. Studium przypadku pokazuje, ¿e zbie¿na ze strategi¹ kultura
organizacyjna jest wewnêtrzn¹ si³¹ organizacji, znacznie poprawiaj¹c¹ jej konkurencyjnoœæ.
Jednym z najwa¿niejszych elementów procesu zmiany jest poprawna diagnoza ró¿nic
pomiêdzy obecnymi a po¿¹danymi cechami kulturowymi. W tym przypadku wa¿ne luki
kulturowe obejmuj¹ takie obszary jak: struktura firmy, procedury, komunikacja wewnêtrzna
i zewnêtrzna.

S³owa kluczowe: przewaga konkurencyjna, kultura organizacyjna, struktura wartoœci

konkurencyjnych.
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