unfreezeGabriel Lopez

What the research says

Can middle managers change an organization's culture?

The short answer

The studies we mapped suggest managers shape culture but cannot simply reset it. At 11 plants, each successful plant manager actively shaped how employees saw the organization and its values. In one reengineering, supervisors' memories of how things used to be both helped and hindered change. At Philips, the authors conclude, a 1990s transformation took hold only as it revived existing ideas such as quality management. In a telecom culture-change workshop, senior and middle managers negotiated meaning in two very different patterns, set by how they talked to each other. All five studies are rated low or medium strength, and none tests a culture-change method.

Based on 5 studies from the Atlas of the Middle: 0 rated high strength, 1 medium, 4 low. Designs: qualitative case (2), qualitative interviews (1), archival (1), survey (1).

Shaping how people see the organization

Interviews and site visits at 11 plants in nine industries found each successful plant manager actively shaping how employees saw the organization and its values; four central values emerged: people, openness, positivity and community.

Smith et al. (2010) · qualitative interviews · LowEveryday Sensegiving: A Closer Look at Successful Plant ManagersInterviews and site visits at 11 plants in nine industries found each successful plant manager actively shaping how employees saw the organization and its values; four central values emerged: people, openness, positivity and community.

The past doesn't wipe clean

During one organization's reengineering, supervisors' memories of how things used to be both helped and hindered change, which the authors read as a sign that a workplace culture cannot simply be wiped clean and rebuilt. Philips' 1990s transformation took hold only as it revived existing ideas such as quality management, the authors conclude.

McCabe (2010) · qualitative case · LowTaking the long viewDuring one organization's reengineering, supervisors' memories of how things used to be both helped and hindered change, suggesting a workplace culture cannot simply be wiped clean and rebuilt.Karsten et al. (2009) · archival · LowLeadership style and entrepreneurial changePhilips' 1990s transformation took hold only as it revived existing ideas such as quality management, the authors conclude, and its success partly reflected the historical role those ideas had played in the company.

Culture change happens in conversation

In a telecom company's culture-change workshop, senior and middle managers negotiated meaning in two very different patterns, set by how they talked to each other.

Thomas et al. (2011) · qualitative case · MediumManaging Organizational Change: Negotiating Meaning and Power-Resistance RelationsIn a telecom company's culture-change workshop, senior and middle managers negotiated meaning in two very different patterns, set by how they talked to each other, which the authors relate to generative dialogue and to power and resistance.

Culture and leadership line up

In a survey of 356 Chinese employees, different cultures lined up with different leadership, such as supportive leaders in team cultures, with some support for leadership carrying culture's effect on outcomes.

Chong et al. (2018) · survey · LowTwo sides of the same coin? Leadership and organizational cultureIn a survey of 356 Chinese employees, different cultures lined up with different leadership, such as supportive leaders in team cultures and task-focused leaders in detail-oriented ones, with some support for leadership carrying culture's effect on outcomes.

What I take from it

My read is that culture change runs through the managers people see every day, and that it goes better when it builds on what people already value than when it tries to erase it. I would ask managers what from the old way is worth keeping.

This is my reading, Gabriel Lopez's, not a finding of the studies above.

Common questions

Can you change culture by replacing the old one?

One study of a reengineering effort suggests not simply: supervisors' memories of how things used to be both helped and hindered change, and the authors conclude a workplace culture cannot simply be wiped clean and rebuilt.

What role do plant or site managers play in culture?

Interviews and site visits at 11 plants in nine industries found each successful plant manager actively shaping how employees saw the organization and its values, with four central values emerging: people, openness, positivity and community.

Free guideThe 12 core answers in one 15-page PDFWhat the research says about change in the middle, with how strong the evidence is.Get the guide

Every summary on this page was written by Unfrozen from the study's abstract or full text and checked twice by independent AI reviewers. Loop coding is exploratory and AI-assisted, pending human verification. Spot an error? Email info@unfreeze.us and it gets fixed.

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