The Impact of Organizational Culture on Business Development

Carolina Petroleo Ribeiro; João Carlos Boyadijian

DOI: 10.22167/2675-6528-202602760

Article derived from a Final Course Work (TCC), with content based on the student’s original work and adapted to the editorial format of the E&S Magazine with the support of the ResumeAI tool, an artificial intelligence solution developed by Instituto Pecege for textual synthesis and organization.

Abstract

Organizational culture is a relevant element for the development of companies, especially in contexts marked by constant changes and high competitiveness. The study aimed to analyze the impact of organizational culture on the development of companies, based on the perception of Human Resources professionals, management specialists, managers, and the Quality area. For this, a qualitative and exploratory approach was adopted, complemented by a bibliographic review. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and subjected to thematic analysis, which allowed the identification of recurring patterns in axes such as the relevance of culture, the role of leadership, strengthening practices, and impacts of cultural fragility. The results showed that a clear organizational culture, aligned with strategy and translated into consistent practices, contributed to team engagement, internal alignment, decision coherence, and adaptability. Leadership proved central in sustaining culture, translating values into daily behaviors and practices. In contrast, cultural fragility was associated with organizational misalignment, reduced engagement, lack of clarity in processes, and greater resistance to change. It was concluded that organizational culture has a direct impact on business development and must be managed intentionally, systematically, and aligned with strategy, integrating leadership, people, and organizational practices.

Keywords: Organizational climate; Corporate culture; Organizational development; Engagement; Leadership.

1. Introduction

Organizational culture is a fundamental pillar for business performance. In the current scenario, characterized by rapid transformations and high competitiveness, the alignment between culture and strategic objectives becomes decisive for the sustainable success of organizations.

Organizational culture encompasses shared values, beliefs, symbols, and practices that directly influence employee behavior. This dynamic goes beyond a set of rules, affecting team motivation, sense of belonging, and innovation capacity. Furthermore, culture can be understood at different levels and dimensions. According to Schein (2022), culture is structured in three levels: visible artifacts, shared values, and unconscious basic assumptions. This structure highlights that culture transcends easily perceptible elements, being deeply rooted in individuals’ beliefs and interpretations.

This understanding allows us to analyze why cultural changes are often challenging in organizations. Superficial changes, such as revising policies or communicating new values, tend to have a limited impact when there is no transformation at the deeper levels of culture. In this sense, organizational development depends not only on defining values but on their genuine incorporation into daily practices and decisions. Several studies indicate that companies with a strong and coherent culture face crisis periods with greater resilience, promote higher employee engagement, and show better long-term results (Coyle, 2018; Hastings; Meyer, 2020).

Additionally, literature suggests that organizational culture can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage. According to Fleury et al. (2019), cultures aligned with organizational strategy contribute to building differentiators that are not easily replicable by competitors, especially as they are related to internal behaviors, relationships, and practices. Thus, organizational culture is seen not only as a support element but as a strategic asset, capable of directly influencing companies’ innovation, adaptation, and growth capacity. This understanding is reinforced by contemporary approaches, such as that of Magaldi and Salibi Neto (2023), who highlight culture as an integrating element between strategy, people, and results, being fundamental for building more coherent, adaptable, and performance-oriented organizations.

The literature on organizational culture also points to different typologies and approaches that aid in understanding how culture manifests in organizations. According to Fleury et al. (2019), culture can assume distinct characteristics according to the organizational context, potentially being more hierarchical, results-oriented, collaborative, or innovative. These variations directly influence how companies structure themselves and respond to external environmental demands. In this sense, organizational culture is directly related to the management model adopted by companies, impacting everything from how decisions are made to how employees relate to each other. Organizations with more flexible cultures tend to show greater adaptability, while more rigid cultures may offer greater stability, but with less agility in the face of change. This relationship between culture and performance reinforces the importance of understanding organizational culture not just as an internal element, but as a factor that influences the competitiveness and sustainability of organizations in the market. In the Brazilian context, organizational culture needs to consider local cultural aspects, such as hierarchy, collectivism, and informality. This adaptation is fundamental for cultural management practices to make sense and produce positive effects in the organizational environment (Fleury et al., 2019).

Despite the recognized importance of organizational culture, there is still a need to deepen the understanding of its practical impact on business development, especially from the perception of professionals directly involved in organizational dynamics. The gap lies in consolidating the perceptions of diverse professional backgrounds to build a comprehensive view of how cultural elements translate into tangible organizational results. Therefore, this study is justified by its ability to offer valuable insights into the mechanisms by which culture influences engagement, alignment, decision-making, and adaptability, contributing to more effective cultural management strategies. Given this scenario, this work aimed to analyze the impact of organizational culture on business development, based on the perception of Human Resources professionals, management specialists, managers, and, complementarily, from the Quality area, through semi-structured interviews.

2. Material and Methods

The research was developed with a qualitative and exploratory approach, aiming to deepen the understanding of the relationship between organizational culture and business development. This approach was selected for its suitability for investigating professional perceptions, allowing for a detailed analysis of experiences. As an investigation strategy, semi-structured interviews were used, complemented by a bibliographic review of national and international authors, which grounded the construction of the study.

The unit of analysis consisted of the perceptions of professionals with experience in Human Resources, management, and Quality. Participant selection occurred through intentional sampling, seeking diversified profiles via the LinkedIn platform. Six professionals comprised the sample, identified by codes E1 to E6 to ensure anonymity. The group included a director/professor, two Human Resources Business Partners, a Quality manager, a Chief Happiness Officer, and a general Operations manager, all working in varied organizational contexts.

The data collection instrument consisted of a semi-structured interview guide, composed of ten open-ended questions, as presented in Appendix 1. The elaboration of this guide was based on the general objective of the study and the main theoretical aspects identified in the literature review, seeking to establish a common thematic basis for the interviews.

The conceptual foundation for the interview script considered organizational culture as shared values and practices (Schein, 2022), its relationship with identity and management (Fleury et al., 2019), and the influence of leadership and coherence between discourse and practice in cultural sustainability (Motta, 2021; Magaldi; Salibi Neto, 2023). The importance of recurring behaviors and practices for the consolidation of cohesive organizational environments was also addressed (Coyle, 2018).

To structure the investigation, four prior analytical axes were defined: the relevance of organizational culture in business development; the role of leadership in sustaining culture; organizational practices for cultural strengthening; and the impacts of the absence or fragility of organizational culture. The script questions were elaborated to explore these dimensions, ensuring that each question contributed to the investigation of one or more of these axes.

Data collection was conducted during April 2025. Interviews were conducted individually and remotely, using the Google Meet platform, with an approximate duration of 30 minutes for each participant. The semi-structured script was applied to all interviewees, ensuring a uniform thematic basis. Responses were recorded in writing by the researcher, without audio or video recording, and participants were identified by codes E1 to E6 to preserve their anonymity.

The analysis of the collected data was carried out using the thematic analysis technique, with the objective of identifying patterns of meaning, convergences, and divergences in the participants’ responses. Firstly, the written records of the interviews were organized according to the script’s questions and the four previously established analytical axes. Subsequently, a careful reading of the responses was performed, and relevant excerpts were identified and grouped to form the analytical categories.

The analytical categories were constructed inductively, based on the recurrence and content of the participants’ speeches, distinguishing themselves from the analytical axes defined a priori. This process allowed for establishing a connection between the study’s theoretical structure and the empirical data. To complement the qualitative analysis, the recurrence of categories among participants was measured, calculating the frequency and percentage of mentions in relation to the total of six interviewees. The categories were not considered mutually exclusive, allowing the same response to contribute to multiple categories.

It should be noted that the qualitative nature of the research and the intentional sample of six participants limit the statistical generalization of the results to other organizations. However, the methodology employed allowed for an in-depth understanding of professional perceptions regarding organizational culture and its influence on business development, offering subsidies for future investigations with broader samples or complementary approaches.

3. Results and Discussion

The analysis of the data collected through semi-structured interviews revealed significant insights into the relationship between organizational culture and business development, as perceived by Human Resources professionals, management specialists, managers, and those in the Quality area. The results were examined in light of the analytical axes predefined in the methodology, allowing for the identification of patterns, convergences, and particularities that highlight the influence of culture on behaviors, decisions, management practices, and consequently, on organizational results. The following discussion integrates empirical evidence with theoretical frameworks, seeking to offer an in-depth understanding of the impact of culture in the business context.

The initial research findings indicate a unanimous perception among participants that organizational culture is not just an abstract component, but a factor with direct and tangible impact on business development. This influence is manifested in an organization’s ability to achieve sustainable results, shaping how employees interact, make decisions, and perform their daily tasks. Culture, therefore, emerges as a strategic element that permeates all layers of the organizational structure, from declared values to everyday practices.

Relevance of organizational culture in business development

The investigation into the relevance of organizational culture in business development, based on the initial questions of the script, demonstrated a strong consistency in the interviewees’ perceptions. Culture is seen as one of the pillars for long-term success, directly influencing team engagement, internal alignment, and decision-making agility. It was observed that a clear and well-communicated culture acts as a guide for organizational behavior, promoting consistency of actions even in the absence of explicit formal norms.

The appreciation of the employee and the focus on people were aspects highlighted by two of the six participants, corresponding to 33.3% of the mentions, who associated human centrality with engagement, innovation, and the quality of deliveries. One of the interviewees (E2) emphasized that “the main client should be the employee,” evidencing the importance of a culture that prioritizes the well-being and development of its members. This perspective aligns with Coyle’s (2018) vision, which emphasizes the construction of cohesive and results-oriented environments through strong cultures.

Other factors, mentioned by 16.7% of participants each, included continuous development and empowerment, psychological safety, diversity and inclusion, alignment between culture and strategy, coherence between discourse and practice, and operational discipline with process clarity. One participant (E1) stated that “training and corporate education are not a plus, but a strategic necessity”, underlining the importance of continuous learning for cultural sustainability. Psychological safety was associated with environments that foster collaboration and collective performance, while cultural-strategic alignment was perceived as a driver of sustainable growth, according to another interviewee (E4): “a strong culture is the biggest driver of sustainable growth for an organization”.

The coherence between what the organization declares and what it practices was identified as crucial, as misalignment generates distrust and loss of credibility, according to the synthesis of one of the participants (E5). Operational discipline and process clarity, in turn, were associated with well-structured cultures that promote consistency in execution. These findings corroborate the perspective of Schein (2022), who describes culture as a set of basic assumptions that guide individuals’ perception and response to situations, and of Magaldi and Salibi Neto (2023), who emphasize culture as an integrating factor between strategy, people, and results.

Organizational culture, by internalizing values and principles, allows employees to act in a way that is more aligned with strategic objectives, reducing ambiguities and strengthening execution. This dynamic not only improves the efficiency and quality of deliverables but also contributes to a greater sense of belonging and, consequently, to talent retention and long-term productivity. From a managerial perspective, culture emerges as a strategic tool to standardize behaviors, reduce uncertainties, and align different levels of the organization, reinforcing the need for continuous investment in its development and consolidation.

Role of leadership in sustaining culture

The research results highlighted the central role of leadership in shaping, maintaining, and strengthening organizational culture. Leaders are perceived as the main agents for materializing institutional values in the daily lives of organizations, translating abstract principles into concrete behaviors and decisions. This function is crucial for the culture to be experienced and not just declared, directly influencing employees’ perception and engagement.

The translation of culture into practices and behaviors was the most recurrent category, mentioned by four of the six interviewees (67%). One of the participants (E6) stated that “the leader is the guardian of culture and culture translates into routine”, emphasizing leadership’s responsibility in transforming values into daily actions. The promotion of an environment of trust and psychological safety was also cited by 50% of the participants, indicating that active listening, participation, and safety are essential conditions for collective engagement and performance.

The development of people and continuous learning were mentioned by 33% of respondents, reinforcing that leadership strengthens culture by promoting employee empowerment and continuous growth. The coherence between discourse and practice, also cited by 33% of participants, is seen as a critical factor for the credibility of the culture. One interviewee (E5) observed that “if the culture is not real, it becomes internal marketing,” illustrating how the lack of consistency between what is said and what is done compromises cultural effectiveness.

The alignment between culture and strategy was pointed out by 17% of the respondents, who highlighted leadership’s responsibility in translating organizational values into practices and decisions aligned with the strategy. These findings reinforce that leadership is not just a disseminator of values, but a guarantor of their practical application. The consolidation of culture, therefore, depends on the decisions, attitudes, and behaviors of leaders, who make the culture perceptible and experienced by everyone in the organization.

The consistency and alignment of leadership with organizational strategy are fundamental to generating trust, engagement, and alignment among teams. Conversely, inconsistency in leaders’ actions can generate distrust, insecurity, and weakening of the culture. This perspective is aligned with the literature, with Motta (2021) highlighting leadership as the main agent of cultural reinforcement and Magaldi and Salibi Neto (2023) emphasizing its decisive role in the materialization of culture and in ensuring coherence between strategy, discourse, and practice. The research, therefore, points to the need to invest in the development of leaders not only in technical aspects but also in behavioral and cultural ones.

Practices that strengthen culture

The research identified several organizational practices that directly contribute to the strengthening of culture, evidencing that its consolidation is a continuous process that demands structured and integrated actions. The results indicate that cultural strengthening depends on a combination of structural and behavioral practices, involving both investment in people and operational consistency. The Quality area’s performance, for example, was recognized as an important mechanism for cultural reinforcement.

Continuous development and learning, people-centricity and collaboration, and standardization and discipline in processes (Quality) were the most mentioned categories, each by 50% of respondents (three out of six participants). The interviews associated continuous learning and empowerment with the incorporation of culture in daily life. Listening, valuing people, collaboration, and participation were identified as practices that strengthen employees’ bond, belonging, and engagement.

The Quality area was associated with clarity, standardization, operational discipline, and continuous improvement, functioning as a cultural reinforcement mechanism. Psychological safety, diversity, and inclusion, mentioned by 33% of participants (two out of six), were related to safe, inclusive, and diverse environments that favor authenticity, participation, and respect for differences. The alignment between culture and strategy, also cited by 33%, was pointed out as a condition for culture to produce consistent results.

The coherence between discourse and practice, with 50% of mentions, was associated with the transparency, ethics, and consistency of actions that sustain the credibility of the culture, avoiding merely formal initiatives. The integration between areas, such as Human Resources and Quality, although mentioned by only 17% of respondents (one in six), was highlighted for its high strategic impact, combining the development of behaviors with the standardization of processes to promote greater consistency in the experience of the culture.

The behaviors valued by leaders, such as continuous learning, collaboration, respect, transparency, and discipline, reinforce that culture is manifested in daily life through concrete attitudes, contributing to the construction of a consistent collective identity. The actions suggested by the interviewees to strengthen the culture included investment in development, active listening to employees, promotion of psychological safety, alignment between culture and strategy, and leadership development.

In an integrated manner, the data indicate that organizational culture is not sustained by isolated actions, but by an articulated set of practices involving people, processes, and leadership. Consistency in applying these practices over time was pointed out as a determining factor for cultural consolidation, as isolated initiatives tend to generate limited impacts. This finding aligns with the perspective of Coyle (2018), who defines culture as a result of repeated and reinforced behaviors, and of Magaldi and Salibi Neto (2023), who highlight the importance of alignment between practices, leadership, and strategy.

It is concluded that structured organizational practices, aligned with institutional values and sustained over time, are determinants for the consolidation of a strong culture. This systemic approach, in which management practices, behaviors, and processes are aligned and continuously reinforced, is essential for culture to cease being an abstract element and become a concrete asset that contributes directly to the development and sustainability of organizations.

Impacts of the absence or fragility of culture

The research results indicated that the absence or fragility of organizational culture is directly associated with significant challenges in company performance. These impacts manifest in various dimensions, including the quality of deliverables, process efficiency, team engagement, decision consistency, and the capacity for change implementation. In contexts where culture is not clearly defined or experienced, greater difficulty is observed in defining expected behaviors, generating insecurity, misalignment, and inconsistency in decisions.

The lack of organizational alignment and maturity was the most recurrent impact, mentioned by 50% of participants (three out of six), indicating differences in cultural maturity, internal alignment, and the ability to guide behaviors and priorities. Low clarity of processes and decisions, and reduced engagement and autonomy, were cited by 33% of respondents (two out of six) each. Cultural fragility was associated with less clarity in processes, inconsistency in decision-making, and environments that reduce freedom of expression and employee appreciation.

The inconsistency between discourse and practice, and the fragility in leadership, were mentioned by 17% of participants (one in six) each. When declared values are not reflected in practices, distrust and loss of cultural credibility arise. The misaligned performance of leadership, in turn, was pointed out as a factor that weakens organizational culture, alignment, and efficiency. These results show that cultural fragility manifests in a multifaceted way, affecting both structural and behavioral aspects of the organization.

Organizational culture can also act as a barrier to improvements and changes. Resistance to learning and innovation, or cultural rigidity, and inconsistency between discourse and practice were the main factors, mentioned by 33% of participants (two out of six) each. Lack of psychological safety, misalignment between culture and strategy, and misaligned leadership were cited by 17% of respondents (one out of six) each. These findings reinforce that, in the absence of a structured and consistent culture, strategic initiatives tend to face greater resistance, reducing their effectiveness.

The influence of organizational values on decision-making processes was recognized by all participants (100%), highlighting their relevance as a guiding element of management. Five out of six interviewees (83%) emphasized that values promote coherence between discourse and practice. Four participants (67%) pointed out that values impact promotions and performance management, and guide training and development. Three participants (50%) indicated that values reduce inconsistencies and perceptions of injustice, and sustain change processes, reinforcing their role in building more consistent and aligned organizational environments.

When there is a misalignment between values and practices, a loss of credibility, demotivation, and weakening of the organizational culture are observed, directly impacting team performance. The formal existence of values, by itself, does not guarantee an effective culture; its concrete manifestation in relationships, decisions, and adopted practices is necessary. Leadership fragility, in particular, reinforces the interdependence between culture, leadership, and organizational practices, highlighting the importance of aligned leaders to prevent culture from becoming an obstacle to development.

In summary, the integrated analysis of the four investigated axes demonstrates that organizational culture acts transversally on different dimensions of business management, influencing behaviors, decisions, work relationships, internal processes, and the capacity for strategy implementation. The identified factors do not operate in isolation, but relate to and reinforce each other throughout the organizational dynamics. Two central dimensions emerged to understand the contribution of culture to business development: the role of leadership as an agent for translating and sustaining culture, and the consistency between organizational values, practices, and processes.

Leadership, with 67% recurrence in the category of translating culture into practices and behaviors, is the most prominent axis, transforming values into decisions and behaviors and sustaining trust and coherence. Employee appreciation, with 33.3% recurrence, favors engagement, alignment, innovation, and quality of deliverables. Strengthening practices, such as continuous development, people-centricity, standardization, and coherence, with 50% recurrence in each main category, create concrete and continuous mechanisms to incorporate culture into processes and people development. On the other hand, the absence or fragility of culture, with 50% recurrence in the lack of alignment and organizational maturity, reduces engagement, autonomy, clarity, and the capacity for change.

These dimensions are interdependent, as cultural consolidation depends both on the coherent action of leaders and on the incorporation of organizational values into the company’s daily practices. Leadership interprets, communicates, and reinforces culture through behaviors and decisions, while organizational practices and processes allow these principles to be incorporated in a structured and continuous manner. Leaders aligned without consistent practices can generate a culture dependent on individual action, and formal processes without coherent leaders may not be recognized as legitimate by employees.

From the perspective of business development, the findings indicate that organizational culture contributes to more sustainable results when there is convergence between leadership, values, and practices. This integration favors internal alignment, engagement, clarity in decision-making processes, people development, adaptability, and greater consistency in strategy execution. The results allow for the identification of practical implications for management, such as the development of aligned leadership, the translation of values into observable behaviors, the alignment of people management practices with cultural principles, continuous investment in employee development, the promotion of environments of trust and psychological safety, the structuring of clear and consistent processes, and monitoring the coherence between discourse, decisions, and organizational practices.

Thus, the management of organizational culture should not be limited to the formal definition of values or the execution of isolated initiatives. The findings of this study point to the need for a systemic approach, in which leadership, people, processes, and strategy are integrated and continuously reinforced. This perspective aligns with the understanding of Magaldi and Salibi Neto (2023), according to whom culture, strategy, people, and execution must act in an integrated manner to favor the consistency of organizational results. Culture, therefore, is a dynamic element that, when managed intentionally and systemically and aligned with strategy, integrates leadership, people, and organizational practices to drive business development.

4. Conclusion

This study aimed to analyze the impact of organizational culture on business development, based on the perception of Human Resources professionals, management specialists, managers, and the Quality department. It was found that a clear organizational culture aligned with strategy contributed significantly to team engagement, internal alignment, decision coherence, and adaptability. Leadership emerged as a central element in sustaining the culture, translating organizational values into daily behaviors and practices. It was identified that practices such as continuous people development, employee centricity, and process standardization, especially through the Quality department’s actions, strengthen the culture. Conversely, cultural fragility was associated with organizational misalignment, reduced engagement, and increased resistance to change. The study’s main contribution lies in demonstrating that organizational culture drives sustainable results when there is convergence between leadership, values, and practices, fostering internal alignment and consistency in strategy execution.

Despite the relevant findings, the qualitative nature of the research, conducted with an intentional sample of six professionals, limits the statistical generalization of the results to other organizations. However, the study offers an in-depth understanding of the relationship between organizational culture and business development, serving as a basis for future research. It is suggested that investigations be carried out with expanded samples, in different segments or through quantitative approaches, in order to deepen the identified relationships. From a managerial perspective, the results indicate the need for intentional and systemic cultural management, which integrates leadership, people, and organizational practices, translating values into observable behaviors and promoting environments of trust and psychological safety for continuous development.

Bibliographic References

COYLE, Daniel. (2018). O código da cultura: os segredos dos grupos de sucesso. Tradução de Aulyde Soares Rodrigues. Rio de Janeiro: Sextante.

FLEURY, Maria Tereza Leme; FISCHER, Rosa Maria; MELO, Claudio de; REIS, Diego Puga. (2019). Cultura organizacional e gestão: perspectivas latinas. 2. ed. São Paulo: Atlas.

HASTINGS, Reed; MEYER, Erin. (2020). A regra é não ter regras: a Netflix e a cultura da reinvenção. Tradução de Afonso Celso da Cunha Serra. Rio de Janeiro: Intrínseca.

MAGALDI, Sandro; SALIBI NETO, José. (2023). O Novo código da Cultura. São Paulo: Gente.

MOTTA, Fernando C. Prestes. (2021). Gestão contemporânea: as organizações em um mundo em mudança. 3. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Elsevier.

SCHEIN, Edgar H. (2022). Cultura organizacional e liderança. São Paulo: Atlas.

Article originating from the Final Course Work of the Specialization in Business Management of the MBA USP/Esalq

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