Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T09:32:44.921Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Organizational Culture and Organizational Change: The Transformation of Savings Banks in Denmark, 1965–1990

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2015

Per H. Hansen
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this article, I argue that organizations' historical narratives are a basic and important component of their culture and identity, and that these narratives can be resources as well as constraints. I combine a narrative approach with Joanne Martin's three perspective theory of organizational culture, and using the transformation of Danish savings banks as a case, I demonstrate how a narrative approach can provide a new and better understanding of organizational behaviour and change than mainstream economics and the abundant functionalist organizational culture literature. I demonstrate how, when change was called for by external pressures, the savings banks choice set was constrained by a shared narrative about their historical origins. This narrative, in turn, constituted the identity, image and organizational culture of savings banks and to a high degree restrained learning capabilities, created organizational inertia and delayed the adoption of a new strategy.

Type
Articles
Information
Enterprise & Society , Volume 8 , Issue 4 , December 2007 , pp. 920 - 953
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2007. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Business History Conference. All rights reserved.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bibliography of Works Cited

Books

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. Verso, New York, 1991.Google Scholar
Bisgaard, H.L. Danmarks Sparekasser. Deres udvikling gennem 100 aar. Vejle, 1910.Google Scholar
Boje, David. Narrative Methods for Organizational and Communication Research. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 2001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, John L. Institutional Change and Globalization. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carbo, S, Gardener, E.P.M., Molyneux, P. and Williams, J. “Adaptive Strategies by European Savings Banks: A Case Study of Spain.” In Strategic Challenges in European Banking, eds. Gardener, E.P.M. and Falzon, J. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2000, pp. 181–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clemmensen, N. Sparekassebevgelsen i Danmark, 1810–1914. Jurist og Økonomforbundets Forlag, Copenhagen, 1985.Google Scholar
Czarniawska, B. A Narrative Approach to Organization Studies. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 1998.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Czarniawska, B. “Identity Lost or Identity Found? Celebration and Lamentation over the Postmodern View of Identity in Social Science and Fiction.” In The Expressive Organization. Linking Identity, Reputation and the Corporate Brand, eds. Schultz, M., Hatch, M.J. and Larsen, M.H.. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000, pp. 271–283.Google Scholar
Czarniawska, B. Narratives in Social Science Research. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 2004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deal, T.E. and Kennedy, A.A.. Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1982.Google Scholar
Finanstilsynet. Beretning fra Finanstilsynet 2002. Finanstilsynet, Copenhagen, 2003.Google Scholar
Geertz, C. The Interpretation ofCultures. Fontana Press, London, 1973.Google Scholar
Giddens, A. The Structuration of Society. Outline of the Theory of Structuration. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984.Google Scholar
Hansen, S.A. Early Industrialization in Denmark. G.E.C.GAD, Copenhagen, 1970.Google Scholar
Hansen, P.H. “Banking Crises and Lenders of Last Resort: Denmark in the 1920s and the 1990s.” In The Evolution ofFinancial Institutions and Markets in Twentieth Century Europe, eds. Feldman, G., Olsson, Ulf and Youssef, Cassis. Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1995, pp. 20–46.Google Scholar
Hansen, P.H. Paa glidebanen til den bitre ende. Dansk bankvaesen I krise 1920–1933. Odense University Press, Odense, 1996.Google Scholar
Hansen, P.H. “The Danish Savings Banks Association and the Deregulation of the Savings Banks, 1965–1975.” In Business and Society. Entrepreneurs, Politics and Networks in a Historical Perspective, eds. Kuijlaars, A.-M., Prudon, K. and Visser, A. Center of Business History, Rotterdam, 2000, pp. 219–36.Google Scholar
Hansen, P.H. Da sparekasserne mistede deres uskyld. En historie om sparekasser og samfund i opbrud, 1965–1990. Odense University Press, Odense, 2001.Google Scholar
Hansen, P.H. Da danske moblerblev moderne. Historien om dansk mobeldesigns storhed og fald. Odense University Press and Aschehoug, Odense, 2006.Google Scholar
Hansen, P.H. and Mørch, S.. Den Danske Bank. Forlaget Centrum, Viby, 1997.Google Scholar
Hatch, M.J. and Schultz, M. eds. Organizational Identity. A Reader. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004.Google Scholar
Holt, D.B. How Brands Become Icons. The Principles of Cultural Branding. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass., 2004.Google Scholar
Johansen, H.C. Dansk økonomisk statistik, 1814–1980. Gyldendal, Copenhagen, 1985.Google Scholar
Johansen, H.C. The Danish Economy in the Twentieth Century. Croom Helm, London, 1987.Google Scholar
Johansen, H.C. “Banking and Finance in the Danish Economy.” In International Banking, 1870-1914, eds. Cameron, R. and Bovykin, V.I. Oxford University Press, New York, 1991, 159–73.Google Scholar
Kjærgaard, T. Om at bekende sig til virkeligheden: Industriens image-historisk set. Dansk Industri, Copenhagen, 2000.Google Scholar
Koselleck, R. Futures Past. On the Semantics of Historical Time. Columbia University Press, New York, 2004.Google Scholar
Koselleck, R. The Practice of Conceptual History. Timing History, Spacing Concepts. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, Calif., 2002.Google Scholar
Kruchow, E. Dansk landbrugs andelsbevægelse. Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1946.Google Scholar
Kuusterä, A. Idé och pengar. Sparbankerna i det Finlandska samhallet, 1822–1994. Otava, Helsingfors, 1996.Google Scholar
Körberg, I. Ekluten: förändringsprocessen inom sparbanksrörelsen 1980–1995. Ekerlid, Stockholm, 1995.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. Don’t Think of an Elephant. Know your Values and Frame the Debate. Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT, 2004.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M.. Metaphors we live by Chicago. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1980.Google Scholar
Lange, O. Med jyske øjne… En krønike om verden og Jyske Bank, 1967–92. Jyske Bank, Viborg, 1992.Google Scholar
Lange, O. and Stormogulen, C.F.. Tietgen-en finansmand, hans imperium oghans tid 1829–1901. Gyldendal, Copenhagen, 2006.Google Scholar
Lyotard, Jean-Francois. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1984.Google Scholar
Martin, J. Organisational Culture. Mapping the Terrain. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 2002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCracken, G. Culture and Consumption II. Markets, Meaningand Brand Management. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2005.Google Scholar
Mikkelsen, R. DanskPengehistorie, 1960–1990. Danmarks Nationalbank, Copenhagen, 1993.Google Scholar
Mordhorst, M. “Fra bondefrig0relse til fodevareindustri. Fortællinger som analytisk greb.”. In Historiefagets teoretiske udfordring.eds. Hansen, P.H. and Nevers, J.. University Press of Southern Denmark, Odense, 2004, 151–77.Google Scholar
North, D.C. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
North, D.C. Understanding the Process of Economic Change. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
North, D.C. “Institutions and the Performance of Economies over Time.” In Handbook of New Institutional Economics, eds. Ménard, C. and Shirley, M.M. Springer, Dordrecht, 2005.Google Scholar
Pedersen, P.J. “Postwar Growth of the Danish Economy.” In Economic Growth in Europe Since 1945, eds. Crafts, N. and Toniolo, G. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996, 541–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, T.J. and Waterman, R.H. Jr. In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies. Warner Books, New York, 1982.Google Scholar
Pontoppidan, H. De dødes rige. Gyldendal, Copenhagen, 1912.Google Scholar
Roberts, G. The Historyand Narrative Reader. Routledge, London, 2001.Google Scholar
Schein, E. Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey Bass, San Francisco, Calif., 1985.Google Scholar
Schultz, M. Hatch, M.J. and Larsen, M.H.. The Expressive Organization. Linking Identity, Reputation, and the Corporate Brand. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000.Google Scholar
Skrubbeltrang, F. Den Sjællandske bondestands sparekasse, 1856–1958. Copenhagen, 1959.Google Scholar
Weeks, J. Unpopular Culture. The Ritual ofComplaint in a British Bank. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2004.Google Scholar
Weick, Karl. “Sensemaking in Organizations: Small Structures with Large Consequences.” In Making Sense of the Organization. ed. Weick, Karl. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Mass., 2001, pp. 3–31.Google Scholar
Willerslev, R. Studier i dansk industrihistorie 1850–1880. Einar Harch Forlag, Copenhagen, 1952.Google Scholar

Articles and Essays

Balmer, John M.T. “Corporate Identity, Corporate Branding and Corporate Marketing. Seeing through the Fog.” European Journal of Marketing 35 (2001): 248–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, D. “Narrative and the real world. An argument for continuity.” History and Theory 25 (1986): 117–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chatman, J. and Cha, S. “Leading by leveraging culture.” California Management Review 45 (2003: 4): 20–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foss, A. “Danmark som industriland.” Tidsskrift for industri (1912): 33–50.Google Scholar
Hansen, P.H. “From growth to crisis. The Danish banking system from 1850 to the interwar years.” Scandinavian Economic History Review 39 (1991: 3): 20–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, P.H. “Bank regulation in Denmark from 1880 to World War II: public interests or private interests.” Business History 43 (2001: 1): 43–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, P.H. “Networks, narratives and new markets. The rise and decline of Danish modern furniture design, 1930 to 1970.” Business History Review 80 (Autumn 2006): 449–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kjærgaard, T. “Gårdmandslinien i dansk historieskrivning.” Fortid og Nutid 28 (1979: 2): 178–191.Google Scholar
Lipartito, K. “Culture and the practice of business history.” Business and Economic History 24 (Winter 1995): 1–41.Google Scholar

Unpublished Works and Online Sources

BuzzFlash, . “Inside the Frame (Interview with George Lakoff).” http://www.alternet.org/story/17574, 2004 (Accessed June 21, 2007).Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. “Simple Framing.” http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/projects/strategic/simple_framing. 2004 (Accessed June 22, 2007).Google Scholar
Mordhorst, M. “The Co-operative Movement in Denmark-Between National Identity and Globalization.” http://www.unternehmens-geschichte.de/ebha2005/pdf/%20papers/Mordhorst.pdf. 2005 (Accessed June 22, 2007).Google Scholar