Getting dressed for success: - Designing organizational cultures in the Chinese context

Abstract: This thesis assesses the organizational culture of Swedish companies in the Chinese market by applying a China-specific model developed by Professor Carl Fey at the Stockholm School of Economics and professor Katherine Xin at the China Europe International Business School. The model is comprised of eight dimensions; mission, societal orientation, flat, feedback, involvement, speed, customer orientation and change. The model includes internal and external factors as well as the forces stability and change. My results are mainly based on qualitative research from 42 interviews with employees at various levels at Atlas Copco, DeLaval, Ericsson and SKF. Quantitative research has also been conducted and the results have been related to Fey’s findings for some 200 companies in China. Furthermore, Fey’s results about what dimensions of the Fey model of organizational culture are most important for enhancing performance for a company in the Chinese context are presented. The dimensions the companies in this thesis are focusing most on is involvement, flat, feedback and customer orientation. Flat and involvement are the dimensions encouraged by management which tend to be most challenging for Chinese employees to adapt to. To better fit the Chinese context the Swedish companies in this study adapt their speed, customer orientation and involvement. According to Fey’s results the most important traits for firms in China to focus on are flat, change, speed, and important but a bit less so, involvement.