Are you in the mood for a virtual Fika? - A single-case study on Jönköping International Business School - Jönköping University
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Are you in the mood for a virtual
Fika?
A single-case study on Jönköping International
Business School
MASTER THESIS WITHIN: Business Administration
NUMBER OF CREDITS: 30 ECTS
PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Digital Business
AUTHOR: Felicia Schützler & Oscar Reis
TUTOR: Marta Caccamo
JÖNKÖPING May 2021Acknowledgements
This thesis would not have been possible without the proper guidance, support, and
participation from certain individuals who we think deserve appreciation for their work.
We want to express sincere gratitude to our tutor Marta Caccamo, who has worked with
us during these months to ensure a pleasant thesis experience. Your valuable insights
and time have contributed to our study throughout the entire process. Also, we would
like to express appreciation to our seminar group and peers who have, along the
process, provided guidance and support.
Our thesis would not be complete without our participants. Therefore, an immense
appreciation and thank you goes out to our anonymous participants for their welcoming
attitude, humility, and patience.
____________________ ____________________
Felicia Schützler Oscar Reis
May 24th 2021, JönköpingMaster thesis in Business Administration Title: Are you in the mood for a virtual Fika? Authors: Felicia Schützler & Oscar Reis Tutor: Marta Caccamo Date: 2021-05-24 Key Terms: Organizational Culture, Culture, Remote Work, COVID-19, Virtual Work, Emotional Capital, Digital Fatigue, Relationships, Hallway Culture, Social Informal Interactions Abstract Background – Digitalization has enabled multiple opportunities, where one opportunity is working remotely. Remote work is a concept used to describe working conditions performed outside of the traditional office walls. It has been used for many years to enable flexibility in terms of work, and thus allow workers to do their job while, for example, travelling or caring for their sick child. COVID-19 virus impacted the world in many different ways. Organizations faced forced lockdown as a recommendation, and the employees had to shift their daily routine to working primarily from home. The shift to remote work meant a decrease in physical, social interactions and less networking amongst employees. Organizational culture is a concept used to describe the fundamental values, artifacts, and internal language of an organization and one key pillar in organizational culture is the people and the social interactions within a workplace. The shift to remote work has thus created multiple gaps in research, where there is a need to understand the impact on organizations and their organizational culture. Purpose – This thesis aims to understand the impact on organizational culture as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and shift to remote work. Method – Empirical data was collected from a single-case interview study with
employees from Jönköping International Business School. The interviewees have experienced the shift from office to remote work from home the past year, and hence contributed with valuable insights that were then used to understand the impact on the organizations’ culture. The data was analyzed using the Gioia method and hence allowed for categorization of the data. Findings – The findings of this thesis showed that the employees experienced a digital and virtual fatigue from working virtually and remotely at home. The fatigue is based on not being able to catch smaller breaks which are engraved in the foundational culture at Jönköping International Business School, in combination with an unclear communication strategy. Furthermore, with the removal of physical presence and interactions in the employee’s daily activities, the internal relationships within Jönköping International Business School has started to fade away, and the attitude on nurturing them has also been impacted. Many attempts by the organization have been made to keep together the employees and the culture, although what is evident in the findings is that by duplicating all activities from the physical office activities to the virtual world, the experience does not give the same response virtually. In fact, it can be even more damaging to the attitude of the organization and the internal network.
Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................... 1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Formulation .................................................................................... 3 1.3 Purpose & Research Question........................................................................ 5 1.4 Delimitations ................................................................................................. 5 2. Frame of Reference .................................................................. 7 2.1 Literature Collection ...................................................................................... 7 2.2 Organizational Culture .................................................................................. 8 2.2.1 Organizational Culture and Leadership ...................................................... 9 2.2.2. Organizational Culture and Emotional Capital ....................................... 10 2.2.3 Organizational Culture and Remote Work ............................................... 12 2.4 COVID-19 and Remote Work ...................................................................... 16 3. Methodology ............................................................................ 18 3.1 Research Philosophy.................................................................................... 18 3.2 Research Purpose ........................................................................................ 19 3.3 Research Approach ..................................................................................... 20 3.4 Research Strategy ........................................................................................ 21 3.4.1 Context of COVID-19 ................................................................................ 21 3.5 Method ........................................................................................................ 22 3.5.1 Primary Data ............................................................................................ 22 3.5.2 Case Study ................................................................................................ 22 3.5.3 Sample Selection ...................................................................................... 24 3.5.4 Semi-structured Interviews ...................................................................... 25 3.5.5 Participants .............................................................................................. 26 3.5.6 Data Analysis ............................................................................................ 27 3.6 Data Quality ................................................................................................ 28 3.6.1 Credibility ................................................................................................. 28 3.6.2 Transferability .......................................................................................... 28 3.6.3 Dependability ........................................................................................... 29 3.6.4 Confirmability .......................................................................................... 29
3.7 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................ 30 4. Empirical Findings ................................................................. 33 4.1 Theme Statements Descriptions .................................................................. 34 4.2 Presentation of Empirical Findings ............................................................. 35 4.2.1 Change in communication strategy .......................................................... 35 4.2.2 Working from Home ................................................................................ 38 4.2.3 Impact on Network and Relationships ..................................................... 39 4.2.4 The New Developed Virtual Culture ......................................................... 42 4.2.5 Management and Virtual Leadership ....................................................... 44 5. Analysis ..................................................................................... 46 5.1 Communication and Culture ....................................................................... 46 5.2 Maintaining a Balance and Remote Work ................................................... 49 5.3 Relationships and Remote Work ................................................................. 50 5.4 Leadership and Virtual Management .......................................................... 53 5.5 Virtual Culture............................................................................................. 54 5.6 Summary of Analysis ................................................................................... 56 6. Discussion ................................................................................ 59 6.1 Managerial Implications .............................................................................. 59 6.2 Limitations .................................................................................................. 60 6.3 Contributions to Literature and theoretical implications ............................ 61 6.4 Future Research .......................................................................................... 62 7. Conclusion ................................................................................ 64 8. References ............................................................................... 66
FIGURES Figure 1. Coding tree of findings .......................................................................... 34 Figure 2. Summarized Analysis: Old culture to the new culture ........................ 58 TABLES Table 1. Overview of participants ......................................................................... 26 APPENDIX APPENDIX A: Interview Questions ......................................................................71 APPENDIX B: Literature Table ........................................................................... 73
Definition List Organizational Culture: The shared values, beliefs, ideas, and practices that are shared by the members of an organization. Organizational culture contains three layers: the observable dimension, espoused values, and underlying assumptions. Emotional Capital: Emotion-based knowledge and management skills, retrieved through face-to-face interactions, which build internal trust. Face-Time: Being observed by others at work, and be physically present while socializing. Remote Work: Work performed outside the traditional physical workplace of an organization. Virtual Work: Work performed through online working platforms. Informal Interactions: Social encounters within or outside the physical workplace claimed to have a networking purpose rather than a business-planned meeting. Fika break: A Swedish collective term for grabbing a coffee, meant for human company and socializing. It comes naturally to the everyday Swede working for an organization based in Sweden.
1. Introduction
The introduction will present a background of the rapid switch to remote and virtual work
as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the global footprint it has left on society
as well as organizations and management. Furthermore, the introduction will present an
overview of social interaction and its value and importance for the organizational
culture. Lastly, a problem formulation together with the research gap and research
question is presented.
1.1 Background
Today, there are endless innovations causing society to be in rapid change on an everyday
basis (Makri & Scandura, 2010; Anning-Dorson, 2018). However, the primary change
which is still bringing curiosity to many scholars, researchers, and managers, is the
growth and development of digitalization opportunities (Kotter, 2014). The development
has created opportunities such as remote work and flexible working conditions (Nijssen
& Borgh, 2017; Leonardi, 2020; Levin & Kurtzberg, 2020; Lee, Lampel & Shapira,
2020). As many researchers and organizations have pointed out, the opportunities which
have arisen with the digital world are endless and they are growing every day, which
makes digitalization both an opportunity and a challenge for companies (Van Caenghem
& Fujii, 2016). In particular, digitalization has enabled flexibility such as flexible hours,
flexible positions, and comfortability. Companies from various sizes, industries, and
countries have supported this type of workforce for many years, and today it is becoming
a standard for the entire global business world to offer to their employees when possible
(Cao, 2020).
“There have been epidemics before, but perhaps this is the first pandemic where
millions of organizations, large and small, in scores of countries, have suspended
normal operations” (Lee, Lampel, & Shapira, 2020).
In 2019 an event shocked the entire world: the COVID-19 virus outbreak (Lee, Lampel,
& Shapira, 2020; Patil & Banodkar, 2020). The COVID-19 virus has left a footprint on
many industries (Patil & Banodkar, 2020). The strict regulations, lockdowns, and
quarantines have been proven to be challenging tasks for many organizations that have
needed to make swift changes in the way people were working. The change was done by
1replacing most physical presence or communication in the traditional office with having
a virtual remote workforce (Nijssen & Borgh, 2017; Leonardi, 2020; Levin & Kurtzberg,
2020; Lee, Lampel & Shapira, 2021). Remote work is defined as work performed outside
the traditional physical workplace of an organization (Olson, 1983), which is
conveniently performed with various digital technologies (Leonardi, 2020). The remote
working environment meant that the physical interactions and informal gatherings such
as physical meetings had been replaced with virtual interactions such as Zoom and
Microsoft team calls, which also proved to be an obstacle and challenge since it was
difficult to support and stay connected, along with the employees (Spicer, 2020).
Previous research has shown that the impact of virtual and remote work can be both
positive and negative for organizations. For example, according to Chan, Beckman, and
Lawrence (2007), virtual workplaces can positively affect outcomes on companies as
virtual workplaces have lower operating costs and facilitate communication to other parts
of the world. However, Kraut, Fussel, Brennan, and Siegel (2002) emphasize having
virtual teams and point out that a lack of informal interactions is harmful to organizational
performance. The negative effects of removing physical interactions are also reflected on
by Chan, Beckman, and Lawrence (2007), Nijssen and Borgh (2017); Cristea and
Leonardi (2019), where the authors state that the impact of removing face-to-face
communication, an open and flexible work environment, and water-cooler moments,
harms organizational wellness.
According to Cristea and Leonardi (2019), the organizational culture is partly built on
face-time, which is considered face-to-face interactions and being physically present.
They define face-time as “being observed by others at work.” Being observed and
physically present at the workplace increases positive outcomes, creativity, and the sense
of feeling encouraged to perform better (Cristea & Leonardi, 2019).
In previous literature, much focus has been on optimizing the ultimate workplace design
to encourage creativity (Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). However, in academia, a
commonly used term is emotional capital, which is a value created by face-to-face
interactions within the workplace and is one factor that connects employees and thus helps
establish an organizational culture. Although emotional capital can only be created
2through minor interactions within the physical workplace, through both formal and
informal events, and is necessary for creativity and innovation gain, mainly for the sense
of feeling committed (Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). Furthermore, when the
employees are exposed to primarily remote and digital work, this emotional capital and
face-to-face time no longer exist, but there is still some emotional capital (Chan,
Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007; Cristea & Leonardi, 2019). Furthermore, what has been
commonly displayed in academia regarding social interaction and emotional capital is the
impact on the organizational culture and the importance of fewer interactions within the
physical workplace. More specifically, the fewer interactions, both verbal and non-verbal,
plays a much bigger role in organizational culture and wellbeing than what is believed.
There are many ways an organization is vulnerable during the pandemic which the world
is facing today, and one major hit is the organizational culture which is unique to every
company. With the remote and virtual workforce, there are many aspects of an
employee’s everyday life, which are removed, creating a potential impact on the
organizational culture (Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007; Nijssen & Borgh, 2017;
Cristea & Leonardi, 2019).
1.2 Problem Formulation
As stated in the background (1.1), the COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to
change how they were operating their businesses drastically. This rapid change and shift
of behavior led to the removal of the everyday physical interaction we as humans had in
our workplace, such as the “Fika breaks” and “water-cooler chats” (Spicer, 2020; Koley
& Dhole, 2021; Liebowitz, 2021). Previous research has shown the importance of having
physical interaction in the workplace, both formal and informal interactions (Fayard &
Weeks, 2011; Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007; Nijssen & Borgh, 2017). Physical
interactions have been proven beneficial for organizations as these interactions have a
positive effect on organizational innovation and cooperation (Fayard & Weeks, 2007;
Cristea & Leonardi, 2019).
Even though virtual interactions are necessary in times of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kraut, Fussel, Brennan, and Siegel (2002) emphasize the issue of having virtual teams
3and point out that a lack of informal interactions harms organizational performance. In
addition, since virtual and remote work is inevitable due to the pandemic (Nijssen &
Borgh, 2017; Leonardi, 2020; Levin & Kurtzberg, 2020; Lee, Lampel, & Shapira, 2021),
this topic is of interest and highly relevant. Furthermore, as research has linked the lack
of social interactions as both direct and indirect impact on organizational culture (Chan,
Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007), it is crucial to study digital technologies, remote work,
and lack of informal interactions.
Previous literature covers many aspects of the importance of emotional capital and social
interactions, both formal and informal (Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007; Fayard &
Weeks, 2011). It also covers the understanding of how managers can bolster trust and a
sense of connectivity in the virtual workplace (Levin & Kurtzberg, 2020). However, there
is limited research covering the impact that COVID-19 and the rapid switch to remote
work from the physical workspace, has had on organizational culture, as well as the
internal relationships among the organization. It is also considered that face time at the
physical office is one factor of well-being and increased performance (Cristea &
Leonardi, 2019). Hence there is a gap in researching the impact of not offering physical
presence at the workplace due to the global pandemic. Also, most previous research has
been on virtual teams in different IT projects and thus analyzing the impact, while today,
every department and sector has been involved.
COVID-19 has been and still is a journey. However, for this particular situation, COVID-
19 has provided us with an opportunity to advance our knowledge about organizational
culture and remote work. Spicer (2020) also concluded his research that there is a need to
understand how companies can transfer an integrated organizational culture into the
digital atmosphere due to COVID-19. The research includes the importance of formal and
informal social interactions. This thesis aims to understand the significant impact of
removing the physical workplace, and to master the digital workplace, meanwhile
maintaining the organizational culture. In Sweden, the hallway culture has a significant
value in the social norms of an organization (Henrekson & Jakobsson, 2012), and hence
COVID-19 has been problematic due to the forced remote and virtual work.
41.3 Purpose & Research Question
Taking the previous research and the different factors that play a role in internal
organizational communication and culture into account, this thesis will emphasize the
impact on professional relationships and organizational cultures considering COVID-19
and remote work. By observing the impact of removing the physical workplace, informal
interactions, and the traditional hallway culture, this thesis will inquire how companies
have acted as a defense of not losing their established culture while also investigating
how this shift has impacted the internal organizational relationships. In Sweden, informal
social interactions, such as “Fika breaks,” play an immense role in the organizational
culture. Therefore, this thesis aims to fulfill the research gap of understanding the impact
on organizational culture when removing the physical communication due to a global
pandemic. The purpose is to address the given research question through a single case
study at Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) to neutrally and adequately
contribute with insights related to the topic. Hence, this thesis aims to answer the
following research question and sub-question:
Research Question:
How has the shift to remote work during COVID-19 impacted organizational culture?
Sub-question:
What suggestions are there to nurture the office relationships in the virtual world?
1.4 Delimitations
This thesis has primarily focused on participants within the chosen case study for the
single case study JIBS. The reason for this is due to the limited resources and time.
Furthermore, with the nature of this thesis, a single case study is a powerful method to
conclude a relatively subjective topic, such as organizational culture. Hence, this thesis is
delimited to one specific organization, and the findings should also be treated
accordingly. However, understanding the transport of organizational culture to the virtual
and remote workplace is necessary for broader research and could therefore be researched
further in the future.
5Furthermore, this thesis is delimited to focus on the shift of physical office work to remote
work. There are also various ways and perspectives one could take on this type of
research. In addition, organizational culture is a broad topic with many definitions and
many pillars. This thesis is delimited to focus on informal interactions and the meaning
of emotional capital, which makes organizational culture and virtual and remote work a
broad and open topic for future research.
62. Frame of Reference
This section of the thesis presents an overview of existing research conducted by
researchers throughout the years. It covers topics of organizational culture,
organizational culture and leadership, organizational culture and relationship, virtual
working environment, emotional capital, and emotional capital in virtual teams.
2.1 Literature Collection
In order to gather suitable and relevant literature on the research topic regarding COVID-
19, remote and virtual work, and culture, literature has not been restrained to a specific
year due to their relevance and impact on the subject specifically regarding COVID-19
and virtual working. Furthermore, older literature from 1980s was used as guidance for
the foundation of organizational culture and was then completed with articles published
in more resent year to provide a broader but also modern touch to the thesis due to the
context of COVID-19 and remote work.
In order to assure a strong quality of the articles and literature, an analysis of the ranking
of the journal has been implemented through the Academic Journal Guide (2018). To
maintain high quality, a rank of 3 and above indicates a substantial reference from the
journals and that the articles within the journals are well-executed (Chartered Association
of Business Schools, 2018; EditorResources, 2021). Therefore, the selected articles for
the literature review required a high score or high relevance to be reviewed. Hence the
articles vary between 1 and 4, with the majority being a score of 4 or 4*. In order to
identify the research gap, the procedure of literature collection started with broad searches
on various databases such as WebOfScience, JIBS Library, and Google Scholar, of
various terms. The initial searches were *organizational culture*, *virtual teams*,
*virtual culture*, *culture*, *remote work*, and different combinations of the different
identified results. Due to the situation of the topic and the main reason for this thesis (the
COVID-19 pandemic), there has not been a substantial amount of research regarding the
virus concerning business administration and management. Therefore, the literature
collection process initially covered articles that were published in 2019 and forward. One
article, in particular, came to use for the identification of the gap, the article written by
Spicer (2020), “Organizational Culture and COVID-19”, which proposed a list of gaps
7and topics which has arisen with the virtual and remote shift of digital communication in
today’s global working environment.
2.2 Organizational Culture
In general, organizational culture is difficult to interpret and define due to its many
components and different academic definitions (Gregory, Harris, Armenakis, & Shook,
2009; Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2010; Watkins, 2013; Martinez, Beaulieu, Gibbons,
Pronovost & Wang, 2015). However, a shared definition of organizational culture can be
described as the shared values, beliefs, ideas, and practices that are shared by the members
of an organization (Gregory et al, 2009; Büschgens, Bausch, & Balkin, 2013; Spicer,
2020). Organizational culture is commonly used when describing the depth of an
organization, and according to Linnenluecke and Griffiths (2010), organizational culture
contains three layers: the observable dimension, espoused values, and underlying
assumptions. The visual dimension is physically visible for the eyes, such as structure,
processes, and behaviors. Espoused values are intangible shared values that create the
vision and mission of an organization, such as strategies, goals, and shared philosophies.
Finally, the underlying assumptions are unconscious shared beliefs that grow the longer
one has integrated with the organization, such as unconscious beliefs, internal languages,
and perceptions which form the final and ultimate source of values in order to act
(Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2010).
Organizational culture is commonly researched alongside innovation, performance, and
business development since organizational culture has been one of the main factors for
implementing innovation or other suggestions has either succeeded or failed
(Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2010; Watkins, 2013). According to Watkins (2013), the
organizational culture is considered the glue that integrates the organization’s members
and is, therefore, crucial for a healthy working environment. Culture can also be
expressed through different signs and symbols, such as office spaces and decors (Elsbach
& Bechky, 2007; Spicer, 2020). Elsbach and Bechky (2007) state that how office spaces
are designed can tell much about an organization’s culture. For example, depending on if
a company has open workspaces access to common areas compared to a closed office
environment can express how the organization values social interactions (Elsbach &
Bechky, 2007). However, design thinking has an immense impact on the organizational
culture and can contribute to creativity, innovation, and connection (Elsbach & Stigliani,
82018). Nevertheless, organizational culture impacts multiple areas and functions because
it shapes social interactions and patterns within the organization affecting employee
attitudes and behaviors (Heaphy & Dutton, 2008).
2.2.1 Organizational Culture and Leadership
There are many aspects of organizational culture literature, and one aspect is that
organizational culture has been cited as one of the main reasons for organizational change
failures (Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2010). As many fundamental pillars create an
organizational culture, the correct techniques and tools to implement change are not
always enough when the culture does not allow for change (Linnenluecke & Griffiths,
2010). According to Gregory et al. (2009), organizational culture results from five types
of cultural values: group culture, development culture, rational culture, hierarchical
culture, and balanced culture. First, the group culture covers collective decision-making,
cohesiveness amongst the group, and group dynamics. The management supports this
with the help of empowerment. Second, the development culture refers to the changes
and adaptations the organization is facing, which is supported by the management through
entrepreneurial spirits and venture ideas internally. Third, rational culture is where the
value of growth, productivity, and goal attainment plays a role. Fourth, hierarchical
culture emphasizes the internal processes and growth within the organization, and the
guidelines within the organizational environment. Last, the balanced culture is an ultimate
selection of characteristics within each stated culture and creates a harmony between the
overall culture (Gregory et al., 2009).
In Ogbonna and Harris’s (1998) article it becomes clear that there are some disagreements
among scholars about whether leaders of an organization can influence the overall
organizational culture or not. Krapfl and Kruja (2015) state that leaders have a
considerable impact on how culture is shaped as the organizational culture tends to reflect
the leader’s characteristics. Bass and Avolio (1993) also agree that organizational culture
and leadership are influenced by each other. However, they state that just as the leader
can influence the organizational culture, it can also influence the leader. To add to the
importance of leaders and organizational culture, Howard-Grenville (2020) states that a
leader plays an essential part in shaping culture and reminding the organization of what
culture is in place. With the increase of remote work, the reminding of culture has become
9even more critical for leaders as the organization culture is not as visible when working
from home as when working in the office. Giving attention to the desired culture, leaders
have a bigger chance of avoiding the culture developing in an unwanted direction
(Howard-Grenville, 2020). In a study conducted by Sull, Sull, and Bersin (2020), the
authors pointed out the importance of proper leadership when transitioning towards a
more remote work environment. In their study, the authors found that by providing
emotional support and maintaining frequent, transparent, and consistent communication,
leaders can better help their colleagues cope with remote work.
2.2.2. Organizational Culture and Emotional Capital
Furthermore, it has been studied that one specific element has an immense impact on
organizational culture and how it can be understood deeper, and that is the value of social
interactions and sociology (Ouchi & Wilkins, 1985; Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007).
More specifically, it is said that the impact is broad and direct, meaning that social
interactions influence many aspects of an organization and its intuitions (Ouchi &
Wilkins, 1985). Previous research has shown that positive social interaction can benefit
the actual physical health of an individual and make them more engaged for the work
ahead (Heaphy & Dutton, 2008). Moreover, it has also been discovered that many factors
influence the degree to which social interactions are encouraged and allowed in an
organization, with for example the workplace design and physical office layout (Chan,
Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). It is stated by Elsbach and Bechky (2007) that office
design is a systematic way to connect different departments and workgroups within an
organization through, for example, collaboration.
Nevertheless, it has also been shown that increasing the opportunities for informal
interactions in the workplace positively impacts organizational performance and
outcomes. More specifically, informal interactions are claimed to be the key for
management work (Fayard & Weeks, 2007). Informal interactions are unplanned events
within a workplace between two or more people, such as the water cooler or at the
photocopier (Fayard & Weeks, 2007).
Informal interactions have been proven to be linked to a well-functioning organizational
culture (Ouchi & Wilkins, 1985; Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). More specifically,
informal interactions contribute to the wellbeing of employees through something called
10emotional capital. Emotional capital is defined as emotion-based knowledge and
management skills, retrieved through face-to-face interactions, which build internal trust
(Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). Although, emotional capital could also be
explained as to how the employees sense and perceive the company and its operations
(Cardon, Huang, & Power, 2019). For this thesis, Chan, Beckman, and Lawrence (2019)
define the most suitable. The value of emotional capital weights establishing trust and
building relationships within the organization (Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007;
Nijssen & Borgh, 2017), hence it is essential to establish a solid organizational culture
(Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). Emotional capital has been significant in the world
of academia for a couple of decades and is increasing its importance considering the
digital and virtual world we live in today (Nijssen & Borgh, 2017). Research claims that
emotional capital is the foundation for a solid trust and healthy, creative corporate
environment and cannot be built without direct physical face-to-face interactions (Chan,
Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). However, according to Cristea and Leonardi (2019), it is
not the interaction that matters, but rather the face time. Face time is explained as physical
appearance and physical presence spent at the office while being observed by others,
leading to increased creativity and increased work performance (Cristea & Leonardi,
2019). Increased work performance and well-being could also be achieved through
multiple office designs and workplace designs (Elsbach & Bechky, 2007). It is claimed
that when an employee spends time at the physical office, he or she feels recognized and
becomes part of the internal network through the simplicity of networking with people
from different departments during informal scenarios such as the lunchroom, Fika, or
water cooler moments (Elsbach & Bechky, 2007). By viewing the different points made
by academia, research also points out the results of non-present emotional capital (Chan,
Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). It claims to be a crucial part of building trust through face-
to-face interactions, and if face-to-face interactions are not available, this type of trust
cannot be built (Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007).
Furthermore, many factors are claiming to be essential for the well-being of employees
at the physical office: office design, workplace structure, and office flexibility (Elsbach
& Bechky, 2007). Arguments are that architecture and design are emphasizing certain
aspects that foster creativity and a healthy work environment, such as layout, department
11placements, and lunchrooms (Elsbach & Bechky, 2007). However, it has been shown that
there are intangible factors that play a more prominent role in integrating employees into
a workplace, which is the importance of formal and informal socialization activities
(Nijssen & Borgh, 2017). More specifically, it is shown that informal interactions are
fundamental for interlocking culture characteristics and bonding internally at the office,
hence feeling more connected to work. Informal interactions have also been shown to
increase work performance (Nijssen & Borgh, 2017; Cristea & Leonardi, 2019).
Moreover, informal interactions are defined as social encounters within or outside the
physical workplace claimed to have a networking purpose rather than a business-planned
meeting (Nijssen & Borgh, 2017).
Today, digital platforms are increasing along with the technological development that
society goes through, but primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced
remote and virtual work to take place (Koley & Dhole, 2020; Leonardi, 2020). Results of
this have been a decreased degree of emotional capital when an organization has
implemented digital communication, virtual work, and platforms as key communication
(Cardon, Huang, & Power, 2019), and therefore experienced a negative impact on the
organizational culture (Cardon, Huang, & Power, 2019). As mentioned earlier,
organizational culture is a set of beliefs and ideas generated at the physical workplace
shared by the organization (Gregory, Harris, Armenakis, & Shook, 2009; Büschgens,
Bausch, & Balkin, 2013; Spicer, 2020). One of the aspects which are considered to be
part of the foundation of a sustainable organizational culture is informal interaction and
facetime, also known in the collective term as emotional capital (Chan, Beckman, &
Lawrence, 2007; Nijssen & Borgh, 2017; Cristea & Leonardi, 2019).
2.2.3 Organizational Culture and Remote Work
The definition of what remote work stands for is explained by Olson (1983) as the work
which is taking place outside of the traditional physical workplace. An organization’s
culture can sometimes be hard to identify and can also be something that is taken for
granted because it is hidden in day-to-day activities. Not until people step out of that
culture does it become noticeable, for example, when working from home, leaving, or
changing one organization for one other (Howard-Grenville, 2020).
12As mentioned earlier, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many companies advising their
employees to work remotely for long periods to stop the spread of the virus (Howard-
Grenville, 2020). However, the shift of going towards a more virtual working
environment happened before COVID-19 as well. In fact, many organizations today have
organizations referred to as a hybrid organization that combines virtual and physical
organization (Asatiani, Hämäläinen, Penttinen, & Rossi, 2020). Sull, Sull, and Bersin
(2020) state that remote work is here to stay and that it will bring both opportunities and
challenges for organizations.
Some of the problematic sides of remote work are related to organizational culture,
working from another place rather than the office, and nurturing the relationships as one
combined culture. Asatiani, Hämäläinen, Penttinen, and Rossi (2020) states that
organizations with a high level of remote work have more diverse cultures, which can
negatively affect essential aspects such as communication. The impact on communication
related to remote work was also stated in Olson's (1983) study. According to Olson (1983)
managers communicate less with their employees when they work remotely and the
communication between colleagues is more task-focused than the face-to-face
conversation taking place at the office. Fayard, Weeks, and Khan (2021) also made a
similar statement in their article. Fayard, Weeks, and Khan (2021) also continued by
stating a survey conducted by Microsoft on their employees related to remote work. The
survey showed that the number of shorter meetings had increased because more meetings
were needed to solve tasks as the opportunity to stop by someone's office had disappeared
(Fayard, Weeks, & Khan, 2021). This way of communicating can be seen as problematic
because as stated earlier, informal conversations and physical meetings positively impact
collaboration and organization performance and well-being (Ouchi & Wilkins, 1985;
Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007; Fayard & Weeks, 2007). However, there are also
some positives related to remote work. For example, Sull, Sull, and Bersin (2020) state
that people now have greater flexibility over their schedule by working from home,
meaning that people have more options for family time. Having a home office has also
led to less commuting to and from the office, which is positive in saving money. However,
as people have gained more flexibility over their schedule at the same time, Sull, Sull,
and Bersin (2020) state that employees felt the need to be available all hours of the day,
which blurred the line between personal and professional life.
13The lack of physical interaction related to remote work also impacts how culture is
communicated throughout the organization, since one way in which culture is acquired is
through physical interactions with other colleagues. The lack of physical interactions
becomes especially problematic for new employees who have not been around for a long
time and lack physical interactions (Ogbonna & Harris, 1998). A similar statement was
made by Fayard, Weeks, and Khan (2021) as they stated that an office is a place where
new employees can learn how things are done around the office. An explanation to this
is that when people have face-to-face physical interactions, it is easier to pick up
underlying assumptions, moods and build better relationships (Asatiani, Hämäläinen,
Penttinen, & Rossi, 2020; Fayard, Weeks, & Khan, 2021). In addition, scientists have
also shown that human cognition and our ability to process new information are affected
by which environmental signals were picked up. Fayard, Weeks, and Khan (2021) explain
that our brain's way of interpreting signals can be affected by a lack of physical interaction
as it can contribute to more misunderstandings and misinterpretations. As stated before,
physical interactions are also critical if organizations want to build emotional capital,
which is an essential factor in building trust (Myrsirlaki & Paraskeva, 2020). Myrsirlaki
and Paraskeva (2020) also state that emotional capital can also be referred to as emotional
intelligence which they define as the ability to perceive and express emotion and
understand emotion and emotional knowledge, and promote intellectual growth. The
problematic side of emotional capital is that it cannot be retrieved unless face-to-face
physical interactions have taken place (Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). Therefore,
it is still unidentified whether or not the emotional factor can be retrieved through virtual
teams and maintain the social and informal value the same way as in the physical office
(Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007; Mysirlaki & Paraskeva, 2020). Even though
Myrislaki and Paraskeva (2020) stated that it is hard to generate emotional capital in a
virtual environment, they also stated are several factors that can determine the degree to
which emotions can be retrieved through virtual teams; leadership style, gender, and
experience within the organization, to mention a few.
One way in which organizations can try to keep up their culture is by emphasizing
informal interactions because it is proven to be linked to a well-functioning organizational
culture (Ouchi & Wilkins, 1985; Chan, Beckman, & Lawrence, 2007). However, the
14problematic side of informal interactions is that they can be hard to implement in a virtual
setting (Fayard & Weeks, 2011). Fayard and Weeks (2011) stated that one mistake
organizations make to nurture informal interaction in a virtual setting is to replicate the
same common areas that existed in the physical office in the virtual world, for example,
coffee rooms or lounge areas. According to Fayard and Weeks (2011), these virtual rooms
do not do the intended job of getting employees to interact with each other. Instead, the
employees see them as rather stupid and annoying. In order to get informal interactions
to occur in the virtual setting, managers should think creatively about how they can create
virtual environments where employees can interact, have a feeling of privacy, and feel
that they are allowed to interact with colleagues by the management, this is referred by
Fayard and Weeks (2011) as providing proximity, privacy, and permission. Even though
socializing online can be challenging to get right, it is essential to get in right as its benefits
can lead to better relationships between colleagues, and it can even replicate the office
social experience (Li, Chang, & Chiou, 2017). One other approach that can be used to
build these virtual connections and build trust in virtual settings is using social network
platforms like Facebook or WhatsApp. According to Fayard and Weeks (2011), social
platforms are an essential component in creating successful virtual teams as they provide
a common ground and informal environment for the employees, which has been shown
as necessary when establishing personal relationships and trust.
Going back to what has been previously stated, tackling these new challenges related to
remote work is hard for organizations, and trying to adjust culture to a new environment
will require that organization experimentation to see what works (Spicer, 2020). Spicer
(2020) also states that it is essential to let employees of the organization be part of the
cultural transition and use their previous practices and beliefs to come with a new culture
more fitting for this new environment, and once these new practices have been found it
is essential to make them part of everyday organization life (Howard-Grenville, 2020;
Spicer, 2020).
The transformation of going physical to remote work has led to an increase in digital tools
such as emails and video calls to enable virtual communication (Spicer, 2020). However,
digital communication does not come without its flaws. For example, in Bohns (2017)
the author looked at the effectiveness of emails when getting strangers to acquiesce to a
15request. Their study showed that people were 34 times more likely to agree to conduct a
survey when asked face-to-face than to over an email. However, the study also showed
that the people were confident that their emails would be as effective as face-to-face
requests (Bohns, 2017). Furthermore, a study conducted by Kushlev and Dunn (2015)
showed that people who check their emails less frequently during a day had lower stress
levels compared to those who checked it more frequently. With the reduction in stress
levels, Kushlev and Dunn (2015) stated that this could positively affect people's well-
being and mental state.
2.4 COVID-19 and Remote Work
Some of the changes organizations have faced resulting from COVD-19 are remote work,
digital communication, and digital trust (Leonardi, 2020). Furthermore, some of the fewer
changes, also known as hallway rituals, have been forced to go underground and attempt
to exist digitally due to the remote work (Leonardi, 2020; Spicer, 2020). The shift from
office hours to working remotely came quickly and was necessary for everyone who
physically had the opportunity and resources to do so. For example, Google plans to work
remotely until summer 2021 (Leonardi, 2020). This also includes all kinds of companies,
large corporations, and universities (Leonardi, 2020; Spicer, 2020). As a result of working
remotely, research has found first-order and second-order effects on the organizations and
employees, which can mark the organizations for years (Leonardi, 2020). Among these
effects, three primary effects are claimed to shape the work environment: high amount of
digital exhaust, employees become data representations, and AI is using those
representations to predict employee behavior (Leonardi, 2020). With remote work, there
has been an increased need for trust and that the work is done through particular digital
tools to which the employees have shifted their work. According to Leonardi (2020), the
collection of meta-data through multiple digital platforms is called digital exhaust and is
a way to track logs of employee behavior. According to Spicer (2020), there are several
ways to observe how and if organizational cultures have changed as an effect of COVID-
19. For this thesis, the main focus will lay on the suggestion by Spicer (2020) of
transferring the corporate hallway culture into the digital atmosphere as a result of
COVID-19.
16Studies have looked at factors affecting the effectiveness of virtual teams and the outcome
of global virtual teams, where the results have been the importance of leadership styles
and familiarity to the organization (Myrislaki & Paraskeva, 2020). What can be seen is
that virtual teams can be efficient and adequately functional when the global distance is
present, and the leadership motivates for this through emotional intelligence and reward
(Myrislaki & Paraskeva, 2020). Although, it is not researched virtual teams in the
conditions of forced virtual work in internal settings and transporting a culture through
virtual and digital communication (Spicer, 2020).
One phrase that has become more relatable in today's digital business world with
increased remote work in our life is “Zoom fatigue.” Zoom fatigue is related to people
becoming more tired by having virtual meetings on online platforms like Zoom instead
of having physical meetings within organizations (Fossilen & Duffy, 2020). Zoom
meetings can be experienced as more draining can be related to several different factors.
Fossilen and Duffy (2020) state that one way to show that we are active in a conversation
on Zoom is by looking directly into the camera all the time compared to in a physical
meeting where you have the option to look at other things while still being perceived as
being active. This form of constant gazing into the camera makes people tired (Fossilen
& Duffy, 2020). The authors continued by also stating that it is harder to stay focused in
virtual meetings which can be problematic because scientists have shown that constantly
switching focus between tasks drains 40% of productivity compared to being focused on
one single task (Fossilen & Duffy, 2020).
173. Methodology
This section presents our methodology, which includes research philosophy, research
purpose, and research approach. Next, this section covers the choice of research design
and method. The method elaborates on the choices of gathering and analyzing the data,
sampling methods, and a presentation of the participants of this thesis. Lastly, we briefly
present four criteria we have used in order to ensure good data quality.
3.1 Research Philosophy
Research philosophy is a concept that aims to explain the fundamental basics of the
examined topic. The philosophy is used as a direction tool and will impact the gathered
data and the interpretation of the data (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2012; Easterby-
Smith, Thorpe, Jackson, & Jaspersen, 2018). Research philosophy is partly also known
as research paradigms that follow human beliefs. Hence, these research paradigms are
under constant development (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
Ontology is the collective philosophical understanding of the nature of existence,
specifically how one might perceive reality. Meanwhile, epistemology refers to different
perceptions and theories about knowledge and explains and elaborates to academics and
researchers on strategies to understand reality (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). Within
ontology, researchers on social scientists have argued about two different perspectives on
how reality is perceived. The two perspectives are referred to as realism and relativism
(Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
Realism implies that reality has one truth and one reality for everyone, meaning that
reality is the same everywhere. This reality is based on given phenomena and is proven
through multiple ways of conducting research, more specifically through mathematical
conclusions where the researchers need to identify research phenomena where the
purpose is to seek the given truth and reality that realism stands for. Relativism, in contrast
to realism, argues that they are not just one single truth but instead multiple different
truths based on the different perspectives of how people observe them (Easterby-Smith et
al., 2018). People create reality, and therefore people’s perceptions of what is real can
differ as a result of different statuses and past experiences (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
18As the purpose of this thesis is to answer “How has the shift to remote work during
COVID-19 impacted organizational culture?” this study is built on a relativistic
perspective as it allows the participants in this thesis to express their viewpoints of reality
which are based on their observations and experiences. Based on the chosen ontology and
the research purpose, the appropriate epistemology for this is social constructionism. As
referred to earlier, epistemology explores knowledge and describes how we know what
we know (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). In similarity to ontology, social scientists also
have conflicting opinions on how knowledge is obtained and verified. The two different
views can be divided into positivism and social constructionism, where positivism is the
view which states that knowledge can be proven by objective methods such as
observations, experiments, and surveys in order to gather a logical sense, rational
assumptions (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). Meanwhile, social constructionism implies
that knowledge and reality are not objective but socially constructed, meaning that
humans create knowledge and reality through their intelligence and experience.
According to Easterby-Smith et al. (2018), a social constructionist approach emphasizes
on providing a rich picture of behaviors of people and groups within, for example, an
organization. With this in mind, social constructionism is an appropriate approach as we
aim to understand people’s own experience of culture and remote work.
3.2 Research Purpose
The purpose of the study allows the research to be classified either as exploratory,
descriptive, or explanatory (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
Exploratory research is most often associated with qualitative research to explore a
phenomenon or gain a deeper understanding of an area with little or no prior research.
Generally, exploratory research begins with observing and examining a lot of the previous
literature within particular areas and then collecting empirical data through, for example,
interviews with given experts of the area to answer a research question one has identified,
for example, through literature. Explorative research allows for flexibility and
adaptability in terms of findings, and the directive of the study might change (Saunders
et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). Descriptive research aims to identify, evaluate,
and gather several perspectives of one specific phenomenon and further conclude
different aspects of one area. In general, the data collection method of descriptive research
aims to quantify the data from the sample through, for example, surveys, which makes it
19quantitative research. The descriptive research aims to go further than the explorative
research with its characteristics of identifying and analyzing multiple aspects of one
problem (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). Moreover, explanatory
research aims to solidify the relationship of cause and effect between two variables or
phenomenons, which is useful when the purpose is to identify different consequences and
differences in diverse processes (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
This thesis aims to gather a broader understanding of how COVID-19 has impacted
organizational cultures and internal relationships. Therefore, an exploratory study is
highly appropriate as the purpose is to explore patterns, beliefs, and ideas of specific
phenomena rather than testing them. Also, as this thesis is about collecting qualitative
data from a specifically chosen sample, and the relativistic philosophical approach, an
exploratory purpose is the most suitable. Furthermore, it is essential to see that an
explorative study is not only used to identify answers or solutions to an identified issue
or research gap; it could also explore and identify new insights and ideas to a specific
research area (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
3.3 Research Approach
The research approach profoundly impacts and determines the choice of method for the
research study as it contributes to a broader understanding of the underlying nature of the
study one will conduct. According to Saunders et al. (2016), there are two different
approaches to complete the research process. These two approaches are called inductive
and deductive. The inductive approach implies that the researcher builds a new theory
based on finds made from the research. This means that an inductive approach is suitable
for studies where there are no existing theories about the selected topic. It is also argued
that nonexistent theory makes the inductive approach more exploratory and flexible
(Wellington & Hammond, 2020). On the other hand, the deductive approach is different
as it starts with an already existing theory and builds and a hypothesis based on that which
has been found before. This means that a deductive approach can be used if the researcher
wants to test if a theory is false or not (Wellington & Hammond, 2020).
The purpose of this study is to aim for a new theory for the selected subject. Hence we
found the inductive approach most suitable for this study. Furthermore, this thesis will
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