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Mellan få regler och stark kultur: En kvalitativ studie om kultur och identitet i en kunskapsintensiv organisation utan explicit formalia

Andersson, Klara LU ; Hesslevik, Julia LU and Linder, Sophie LU (2025) FEKH49 20251
Department of Business Administration
Abstract (Swedish)
Examensarbetets titel: Mellan få regler och stark kultur: en kvalitativ studie om kultur och identitet i en kunskapsintensiv organisation utan explicit formalia.
Seminariedatum: 3 juni, 2025.
Kurs: FEKH49, Examensarbete i organisation på kandidatnivå, 15 högskolepoäng.
Författare: Klara Andersson, Julia Hesslevik & Sophie Linder.
Handledare: Stefan Sveningsson.
Fem nyckelord: Kultur, Språk, Identitet, Styrning, Kunskapsintensiva Organisationer.
Forskningsfråga: Hur uppstår och upprätthålls föreställningar om organisationskultur och medarbetarideal inom kunskapsintensiva organisationer utan explicit formalia?
Syfte: Syftet med studien är att nyansera och öka förståelsen för hur föreställningar om organisationskultur och... (More)
Examensarbetets titel: Mellan få regler och stark kultur: en kvalitativ studie om kultur och identitet i en kunskapsintensiv organisation utan explicit formalia.
Seminariedatum: 3 juni, 2025.
Kurs: FEKH49, Examensarbete i organisation på kandidatnivå, 15 högskolepoäng.
Författare: Klara Andersson, Julia Hesslevik & Sophie Linder.
Handledare: Stefan Sveningsson.
Fem nyckelord: Kultur, Språk, Identitet, Styrning, Kunskapsintensiva Organisationer.
Forskningsfråga: Hur uppstår och upprätthålls föreställningar om organisationskultur och medarbetarideal inom kunskapsintensiva organisationer utan explicit formalia?
Syfte: Syftet med studien är att nyansera och öka förståelsen för hur föreställningar om organisationskultur och medarbetarideal konstitueras och reproduceras inom kunskapsintensiva organisationer som karakteriseras av frånvaron av explicit formalia.
Metod: Studien har ett socialkonstruktionistiskt perspektiv och en abduktiv ansats. Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ studie, baserad på semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda i en kunskapsintensiv organisation.
Teoretiska perspektiv: Litteraturavsnittet behandlar tidigare forskning avseende kunskapsintensiva organisationer, organisationskultur och identitet samt styrning som riktar sig mot organisationsmedlemmars normer, tankar och värderingar.
Resultat: Resultatet av den empiriska analysen besvarar frågeställningen. Resultatet visar att organisationens ideala självbild till stor del stämmer överens med medarbetarnas beteenden. Vidare identifieras olika insocialiseringsprocesser som bidrar till att upprätthålla den ideala självbilden.
Slutsats: Resultatet av studien visar att även i frånvaro av explicit formalia sker styrning genom mjuka, normbaserade mekanismer som formar individer i linje med organisationens ideal. Därmed fördjupas förståelsen för normativ kontroll i kunskapsintensiva organisationer och begreppet kompletteras med insikter om hur personlighet och kultur samverkar som styrmedel. (Less)
Abstract
Title: Between few rules and strong culture: a qualitative study on culture and identity in a knowledge-intensive organization without explicit formalities.
Seminar date: 3rd of June, 2025.
Course: FEKH49, Degree Project Undergraduate Level, Business Administration, Undergraduate level, 15 ECTS.
Authors: Klara Andersson, Julia Hesslevik & Sophie Linder.
Advisor: Stefan Sveningsson.
Keywords: Culture, Language, Identity, Control, Knowledge-intensive Organizations.
Research question: How are perceptions of organizational culture and employee ideals created and maintained within knowledge-intensive organizations without explicit formalities?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to nuance and increase the understanding of how... (More)
Title: Between few rules and strong culture: a qualitative study on culture and identity in a knowledge-intensive organization without explicit formalities.
Seminar date: 3rd of June, 2025.
Course: FEKH49, Degree Project Undergraduate Level, Business Administration, Undergraduate level, 15 ECTS.
Authors: Klara Andersson, Julia Hesslevik & Sophie Linder.
Advisor: Stefan Sveningsson.
Keywords: Culture, Language, Identity, Control, Knowledge-intensive Organizations.
Research question: How are perceptions of organizational culture and employee ideals created and maintained within knowledge-intensive organizations without explicit formalities?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to nuance and increase the understanding of how perceptions of organizational culture and employee ideals are constituted and reproduced within knowledge-intensive organizations that are characterized by the absence of explicit formalities.
Methodology: The study has a social constructionist perspective and an abductive approach. We have conducted a qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews with employees in a knowledge-intensive organization.
Theoretical perspectives: The literature section discusses previous research regarding knowledge-intensive organizations, organizational culture and identity, and control that targets organizational members’ norms, thoughts and values.
Result: The results of the empirical analysis answers the research question. The results show that the organization’s ideal self-image is largely consistent with the employees’ behaviors. Furthermore, various socialization processes are identified that contribute to maintaining the ideal self-image.
Conclusions: The results of the study show that even in the absence of explicit formalities, control occurs through soft, norm-based mechanisms that shape individuals in line with the organization’s ideals. This deepens the understanding of normative control in knowledge-intensive organizations and complements the concept with insights into how personality and culture interacts as control tools. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Andersson, Klara LU ; Hesslevik, Julia LU and Linder, Sophie LU
supervisor
organization
course
FEKH49 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Kultur, Språk, Identitet, Styrning, Kunskapsintensiva Organisationer
language
Swedish
id
9205805
date added to LUP
2025-06-26 13:29:11
date last changed
2025-06-26 13:29:11
@misc{9205805,
  abstract     = {{Title: Between few rules and strong culture: a qualitative study on culture and identity in a knowledge-intensive organization without explicit formalities.
Seminar date: 3rd of June, 2025.
Course: FEKH49, Degree Project Undergraduate Level, Business Administration, Undergraduate level, 15 ECTS. 
Authors: Klara Andersson, Julia Hesslevik & Sophie Linder.
Advisor: Stefan Sveningsson.
Keywords: Culture, Language, Identity, Control, Knowledge-intensive Organizations.
Research question: How are perceptions of organizational culture and employee ideals created and maintained within knowledge-intensive organizations without explicit formalities?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to nuance and increase the understanding of how perceptions of organizational culture and employee ideals are constituted and reproduced within knowledge-intensive organizations that are characterized by the absence of explicit formalities.
Methodology: The study has a social constructionist perspective and an abductive approach. We have conducted a qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews with employees in a knowledge-intensive organization. 
Theoretical perspectives: The literature section discusses previous research regarding knowledge-intensive organizations, organizational culture and identity, and control that targets organizational members’ norms, thoughts and values. 
Result: The results of the empirical analysis answers the research question. The results show that the organization’s ideal self-image is largely consistent with the employees’ behaviors. Furthermore, various socialization processes are identified that contribute to maintaining the ideal self-image.
Conclusions: The results of the study show that even in the absence of explicit formalities, control occurs through soft, norm-based mechanisms that shape individuals in line with the organization’s ideals. This deepens the understanding of normative control in knowledge-intensive organizations and complements the concept with insights into how personality and culture interacts as control tools.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Klara and Hesslevik, Julia and Linder, Sophie}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Mellan få regler och stark kultur: En kvalitativ studie om kultur och identitet i en kunskapsintensiv organisation utan explicit formalia}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}