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
Acknowledgements
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 ReisMaster 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 aresult of the COVID-19 pandemic and shift to remote work.
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 ... 293.7 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
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
replacing 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
through 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
and 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.
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.
1.3 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.
Furthermore, 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.
2. 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
and 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,
2018). 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
even 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
emotional 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-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
placements, 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).
As 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.
The 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
problematic 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
request. 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.
Studies 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).
3. 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).
As 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
quantitative 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
specifically focus on chosen observations from selected participants, collected through semi-structured interviews qualitatively, later analyzed in a thematic style, and finally linked back to theory and developing theory, in other words going from the specific to the general. This links to the direct meaning of an inductive approach, of being open-ended and exploratory (Saunders et al., 2016).
3.4 Research Strategy
This study follows a qualitative approach, where the aim is to allow exploration and a deeper understanding of a chosen research phenomena. Due to this thesis’s philosophical point of view being relativistic, subjective perspectives and observations are precious for the contributions to the findings. Compared to the second strategy option, quantitative research tends to be derived from a more positivistic approach. The main data collection strategy will be from primary and secondary data, which are individually collected to contribute to the empirical findings to gain a deeper understanding of how specific things work (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). Due to the subjective nature of organizational culture, virtual work, and preferred solutions for the decreased physical interactions, the research must emphasize the importance of individuality and opinions within the case study and hence withdraw data from the research population as a group and individually. Therefore, a qualitative research strategy and an inductive research approach are the most suitable as it allows us to go in-depth on a broad research phenomenon and consider multiple participant perspectives.
3.4.1 Context of COVID-19
Today, COVID-19 is known as a global pandemic virus that has caused an immense impact on millions of people (Kolye & Dhole, 2020; Kniffin et al., 2021). The virus is a global crisis with extreme power and impact on health and well-being, and economic wealth (Kniffin et al., 2021). Amongst the implications of the virus, there were several ways that people, employees, and employers could and would be affected, for example, social distancing, stress, and even unemployment (Kniffin et al., 2021). Previous research has shown a significant change of working behavior where the standard has been to work from home (Gartner, 2020; Kniffin et al., 2021).
As mentioned in the literature review, one of the significant organizational changes the global business world has experienced is the forced shift to virtual and remote work to
decrease the chances of spreading the virus further. According to Akour, Ala’a, Barakat, Kanj, Fakhouri, Malkawi, and Musleh (2020), universities were among the organizations that went through an immense shift of working environment and routines. Like in many other industries, the shift of working 100% remote is a change that has not been experienced earlier amongst universities. In addition, Akour et al. (2020) mentioned that many insecurities of teaching creating relationships amongst the faculty and the students were challenging with this shift.
3.5 Method
The method section includes the type of data collected, data collection methods, sample selection, and presentation of the case study and participants. Also, a deeper run-through of the data analysis method, and finally, GUBA’s criteria ensuring the data quality.
3.5.1 Primary Data
The use of primary data is collecting data which is specifically aimed for this particular research (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). For this thesis, the collection of primary data has been through interviews, which is a form of qualitative data. The purpose of qualitative data is to guide the researcher to properly collect trustworthy and appropriate data that fulfills the research question. This strategy allows for detailed data collection and hence can contribute to gathering findings to a complex problem (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). In this particular setting, the theme of organizational culture and COVID-19 are two complex topics and the impact on organizational culture as a result of an increasingly virtual and remote work setting.
3.5.2 Case Study
In order to study a specific phenomenon, one can either use a single case study or a multiple case study, which means that the researchers can look in-depth at multiple or single organizations, events, or individuals (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). As this is a constructionist study, the single case study is perfectly suitable. Furthermore, a real-life case study makes the study appear more real (Siggelkow, 2007), which we felt suited the study due to its connection to the reality of COVID-19. On the other hand, even though a multiple case study would allow for broader generalization, the study of culture makes it complex to observe in multiple cases due to its subjective nature, hence this thesis will use a single case study in one specific organization, which will be presented in the case
study. Moreover, this choice of study goes in line with the chosen research philosophy of this thesis, where a larger sample of multiple cases is more related to a positivistic approach (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
For this thesis, the research by Akour et al. (2020) was taken into consideration. Mainly due to the interest of the COVID-19 impact, and our relation to the university change of working remote. With personal interest being a driving factor, it was interesting to see a similar study being researched in universities, however, not in this specific thesis. Hence, the study of this thesis is the Swedish organization Jönköping International Business School (JIBS). JIBS is a young and dynamic business school with an international spirit and an entrepreneurial mindset. The school has been operating since 1994 and has since then experienced continuous growth in students and programs. Also, JIBS was in 2015 the first Swedish business school to receive the accreditation of the European EQUIS and the American AACSB. Only 1% of the world’s business schools have received these accreditations. JIBS follow three principles for their guidelines, which are international at heart, entrepreneurial in mind, and responsible in action. International at heart is a key for the educational programs at JIBS. The international spirit is sensed through all the multi-cultural aspects in the classroom, several nationalities of students who chose to study at JIBS, and all the international teachers and professors who have chosen to teach at JIBS. They are entrepreneurial in mind through several entrepreneurial and innovation challenges outside of the school, the varied list of different extracurricular activities the students can participate in outside of school, and various studies of entrepreneurial activities taking place at JIBS faculty. JIBS is responsible for taking responsibility for everything they do and conducting relevant research in multiple areas to provide the most suitable education format for the students. Today, JIBS has approximately 2600 registered students, where 50% is estimated to be from an international background, and 140 partner universities globally (JU, 2020).
JIBS is ranked at the top of Business and Economics studies in Sweden and in the Nordics (JU, 2020), which makes JIBS an exciting candidate to research. For this particular research, the emphasis will be on the underlying culture and the shift to remote work and the impact on the culture due to this shift. The data collection from the case study will be done through semi-structured interviews with employees from JIBS within different
departments to successfully gather a broad perspective of the organizational culture and shift to remote work.
3.5.3 Sample Selection
Sample selection is the process of narrowing down the chosen population under study, which is considered the most suitable for the research (Saunders et al., 2012). There are two main sampling strategies when it comes to choosing participants: probability sampling and non-probability sampling. Probability sampling means that the participants are chosen at random, and the participants of the population all have an equal chance of being selected, in other words: not selected by the authors. Non-probability sampling is when the authors of the study are basing the sample selection based on a list of chosen characteristics related to the phenomenon under study (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). For this specific thesis, a non-probability sampling strategy has been used to minimize irrelevant participants, more specifically purposive sampling and snowball sampling. Purposive sampling is the method of selectively locating and selecting suitable subjects within the population who possess the right characteristics or expertise for the topic under study, which is only based on the opinion and judgment by the authors (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). Snowball sampling is a strategy that refers to initiating contact within the selected sample within the given set of characteristics and offers the opportunity to find similar participants within their network. Naturally, this requires some precaution since we must critically look into the recommendation and determine if it is suitable for the study (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
For this thesis, the combination of snowball sampling and purposive sampling led us to initiate contact through email. Also, the choices were made with the criteria that the individual was working at JIBS (case study), had worked at JIBS for either a longer period or a short time in order to gather different perspectives and comprehensions of the organizational culture, and that the individual had spent time at the physical office at JIBS for some time and had experienced the organizational culture in various occasions. The selection of individuals from JIBS has been purposely chosen due to their title, more specifically a range from management, secretaries, faculty members such as Ph.D.’s., Ph.D. candidates, and teachers.
3.5.4 Semi-structured Interviews
The purpose of using semi-structured interviews for this particular study is to allow the participants to reason beyond the topic if necessary and for us to ask probing questions if they show (Saunders et al., 2012; Easterby-Smith et al., 2018). In order to properly conduct semi-structured interviews with primarily open-ended questions, the theme of the questions will be based on the identified previous literature and related theories. The purpose of using open-ended questions is to allow elaboration and for the participants to contribute to the research extensively. The open-ended questions will also be two particular types of questions: probing questions, as mentioned earlier, and closed-specific questions. For this thesis, probing questions aimed to bring a more in-depth understanding within several areas of organizational culture and informal interactions. The participants were asked to elaborate and think deeper, and with the given answers, some probing questions were asked to clarify certain statements or answers.
Furthermore, in some cases, we used closed and specific questions to verify or clarify certain points or claims stated by the interviewee. However, the main goal was only to use open-ended questions. The interview questions are listed in section 9.1.
Interviews can be conducted in various ways depending on several factors. Among other things, the sample size will influence the interview format, location plays a significant role, and accessibility is also key. In general, interviews are conducted face-to-face between the researchers and the participant. However, it can also be conducted through telephone or online tools such as Skype, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams. Due to the situation the world is experiencing with COVID-19 (Koley & Dhole, 2021), the interviews have been conducted primarily online, more specifically through Zoom. There is no argument against the quality of face-to-face interviews since the researchers simultaneously can observe facial expressions, body language and create a more realistic tone of the interviews. However, face-to-face interviews can be time-consuming and expensive if the researchers must travel to the desired location of the interviewees. Hence, online interviews are very flexible to use since one can combine the face-to-face experience while simultaneously saving resources (Easterby-Smith et al., 2018).
The interview process was initiated through a pilot interview with a participant who suited the given characteristics of the sample group. This was done to test the suitability of the interview questions and if the questions would bring understanding for the participant to ensure informatory answers. After reviewing the first participant’s answers and reflections, we proceeded to contact the remaining participants. Each interview was initiated through email and then held through Zoom, starting with a short introduction, an oral consent whether or not the interview could be recorded, and then asking the questions. The interview structure was built in three parts. Firstly, the participant was asked to reflect on their professional experience and their perception of culture in JIBS. Secondly, the participant would reflect on their experience of virtual work and the shift JIBS has made to teaching and working (from physical to digital). Lastly, the participant was asked to reflect on personal experience of organizational culture in the virtual workplace. Due to the underlying environment of semi-structured interviews, the questions were prepared in a specific order, allowing the opportunity to ask probing or specific questions during the interview. During the interview, the interviewers took notes and recorded the interview, and used a recording tool called “Otter.” The interviews lasted one hour on average and were all held in English to minimize transcribing difficulties and limitations. In addition, a written GDPR consent form was sent to the participants (in-depth information in section 3.7 Ethical Considerations).
3.5.5 Participants
Table 1. Overview of participants
Table 1 presents the participants of this thesis and information about their role in JIBS and the time they have worked at JIBS.
