A Case Study on Creating and Sustaining Organizational Culture in a Startup Company

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the artifacts, norms, values, and underlying assumptions within the organizational culture of a startup athletic apparel company. Utilizing Edgar Schein’s organizational culture framework, a case study was performed to examine the processes, strategies, and values used by company founders and leaders to create and sustain an organizational culture. Podcast interviews were used to collect data from company founders and departmental leaders. Document analysis of website data allowed the researcher to examine company structures and processes. A survey of employees in non-leadership positions provided data organizational culture data from those participants within the organization. Survey responses yielded a 50% response rate with 40 participants. The podcasts provided data from two co-founders and 12 departmental leaders. Results found the theoretical framework from previous organizational culture research was evident in a startup company’s culture framework. However, the case study revealed elements of organizational culture within the startup company utilized a horizontal flow between artifacts, norms, values, and assumptions versus a vertical, top-down flow of those elements. The organizational culture of the startup company centered around themes of transparency and communication with a consistent focus and application of each of the levels of the framework working as one. The focus on organizational culture from company founders and leaders was people focused. Results determined the people-focused approach was consistent with the survey responses from employees in non-leadership positions.