Control Through Freedom – A Qualitative Case Study of a Non-Managerial Organization

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of normative control by analyzing how culture is perceived and maintained, in an organization which is defined as non-managerial. The empirical part of this study was conducted through an interpretive, abductive and qualitative research method. The empirical data is collected through a case study of the IT-consultancy firm Brightside and involves eleven semi-structured interviews and a document analysis of Brightside’s official, and the organizational members’ private, social media channels. Through our analysis we found that there are four key themes of the culture perceived by the organizational members, namely: community, open, supportive, and high achieving. We also identified five enablers for the identified culture to be maintained: social activities, preaching, participative decision-making, internal network, and recruiting. Lastly, we found four tensions in what the enablers result in, which are: inclusion vs exclusion, individualism vs collectivism, guiding vs steering, and lastly “be yourself” vs “be a Brightsider”. Through these tensions we also identified normative control.