Typology of Studies of Organizational Culture

There are various definitions, theories and models of organizational culture. Organizational culture has been studied, investigated and measured through various methods. Diversity of these studies, both from theoretical or methodological viewpoints, has caused bewilderment in this discipline. However, according to scholars, the maturity of a scientific concept has always been accompanied with the development of its research methodology. The present paper therefore focuses on the typology of studies of organizational culture through descriptive-analytical method. The present typology is based on three criteria, i.e. ontology, epistemologyand methodology. The research field of the present study includes theoretical texts, measurement tools, and empirical studies about organizational culture. After analysis of texts and theories of organizational culture, four types of studies of organizational culture were found (including studies based on sub-cultures, studies based on key features, two-stage studies based on combination of key features and sub cultures, and studies based on limited scope approach). The characteristics of each type were classified and then the types of organizational culture were studied with regard to methodological factors.