Organizational Culture and Subcultures in the Spanish Nuclear Industry

Abstract

Organizational culture determines the norms, values and behaviors of an organization, playing a key role in the safety of high-reliability organizations (HRO). Previous research has shown that differentiated subcultures can coexist within organizations, sharing some norms and values but not necessary everything From this perspective, this study was aimed at (1) describing the organizational culture of the Spanish nuclear industry and (2) determining the potential presence of organizational subcultures. To do that, a statistical analysis of organizational culture surveys (Organizational Culture Inventory®, N = 5825) handed over to all organizations within the Spanish nuclear industry, was carried out. Results allow us to accurately characterize the industry’s organizational culture, which is made up of predominant “Constructive”-style behaviors together with “Defensive” normative patterns of the “Conventional”, “Dependent” and “Perfectionistic” styles. Indications about the existence of various subcultures associated to the nuclear organization type, the sociodemographic aspect and the organizational structure component were also found. Certain safety implications potentially linked to the existence of subcultures and to the industry’s organizational culture are discussed.