Swedish, Polish or Swolish? Cultural perceptions from a Swedish start-up expanding into Poland: A qualitative case-study examining cultural differences in a Swedish firm with a Polish office

Abstract: Through a qualitative case study this thesis aims to answer how cultural differences are managed and interpreted in a tech start-up operating in two countries, Sweden and Poland. The case study examines the company Astros (fictitious name) and is based on 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews. The study takes on an interpretivist view and an abductive approach where empirics and theory are adapted and tuned as the study proceeds. A theoretical framework built on three theories related to organizational culture and social constructivism is used: Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Schein's cultural levels, and Weick's sensemaking. Our findings indicate that there is a strong sensegiving and sensemaking process involved in expanding a company abroad, and that the process of building a common culture is complicated by factors of inertia among employees, specified as national culture differences, lack of interaction as a result of geographical and hierarchical split, and professional background. While the results of the study are specific to the case company, the authors hope that the results can provide insight into organizational culture practice and be studied further on a larger scale.