Challenges in Corporate Change
- Nov 19, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
The belief that nothing should change unless something is visibly failing is one of the most common obstacles to evolving corporate change.
Organizational research consistently shows that cultures rarely “break” all at once. Instead, they slowly drift out of alignment with business realities, talent needs, or market conditions.
When leaders insist the culture is “fine” simply because crises aren’t visible, they unintentionally reinforce outdated behaviors and the organization becomes less adaptive and less engaged over time.
Regular cultural reviews can prevent
drift while creating space for
intentional realignment
Tracy Lawrence, writing for Forbes online discusses the 4-Types of organizational culture as: Clan, Hierarchy, Market, and Adhocracy.
Clan Culture
Collaboration | Trust | Employee well-being
Clan cultures emphasize relationships, mentorship, team cohesion, open communication, and a sense of shared purpose. They often resemble a supportive family-like environment where employees feel known, included, and valued. This cultural type is particularly effective in organizations that prioritize engagement, retention, and knowledge sharing such as mission-driven nonprofits or people-centric service organizations.
Risks of over-reliance: If overused, clan culture can become conflict avoidant, slow to make decisions, or excessively consensus driven.
Hierarchy Culture
Stability | Structure | Control | Efficiency
Hierarchy cultures are grounded in clear processes, well defined roles, and predictable workflows.This cultural type is common in industries where consistency, regulatory compliance, and risk management are essential like healthcare, finance, government, and large scale logistics.
Risks of over-reliance: Organizations may become rigid, resistant to change, or hampered by bureaucracy when hierarchy is used in isolation.
Market Culture
Competitiveness | Achievement | External results
Market cultures focus on results, performance, and measurable success. They emphasize winning, meeting targets, and surpassing competitors. This culture type is helpful in fast-paced, competitive markets where growth and performance define success.
Risks of over-reliance: When overused, market cultures may create burnout, unhealthy competition, and short-term thinking that undermines long-term health.
Adhocracy Culture
Innovation | Flexibility | Dynamic problem-solving
Adhocracy cultures thrive in environments that reward experimentation and rapid adaptation.
They rely on creativity, future-oriented thinking, and a willingness to challenge norms. Organizations with strong adhocracy traits tend to excel in industries where speed, agility, and disruption are competitive advantages such as tech, product development, and creative sectors.
Risks of over-reliance: Without balance from other cultural types, adhocracy cultures can drift into chaos, lack structure, and struggle with consistent execution.
Why Balance Matters: The “Amoeba” Model
Imagine, for a moment, an amoeba's outline added squarely inside the infograph below. A more workable solution is then created where each quadrant is utilized to varying degrees. When mapped visually, culture is not a static placement residing purely inside of one quadrant. Instead, it shifts, expands, and contracts dependent on business needs.
A healthy culture draws from all four types to varying degrees:
Clan (Interdependence) | Provides collaboration and trust |
|---|---|
Hierarchy (Stability) | Ensures stability and clarity |
Market (Independence) | Drives results and competitiveness |
Adhocracy (Flexibility) | Gives innovation and adaptability |
The most resilient organizations intentionally blend these elements. An amoeba positioned in the center of the four cultural types (rather than pushed to a corner or far edge) represents a balanced culture capable of shifting when conditions change.
No organization can sustainably operate from a single culture type.
By ignoring the Hierarchy culture a lack of consistency and safety may evolve
Ignoring Clan culture here may fail to support employee well-being
A culture that ignores Adhocracy may struggle with timely innovation
Balanced cultures can pivot:
toward innovation during growth phases
toward hierarchy during regulatory shifts or crises (e.g., cybersecurity)
toward market focus during competitive pressure
toward clan values during organizational change or retention concerns
This dynamic balancing act is what truly drives sustainable culture change.
How You Can Improve Your Culture
Conduct Internal Culture Diagnostics
Organizations often discover they believe they are a market driven or clan driven culture but the actual lived culture is dominated by hierarchy or adhocracy. Accurate diagnostics (interviews, pulse surveys, behavioral analysis) reveal truth vs. perception.
Identify the Cultural Mix Needed for Your Current Strategy
Expanding globally may need more hierarchy for consistency
Turnover may shift toward clan values to rebuild trust
A public company preparing for a shareholder push may lean on market values
Reinforce the Required Culture Through Systems
Hiring, promotion criteria, leadership behaviors, and performance incentives must align with the desired blend utilizing all cultural types. Culture ultimately shifts through micro-behaviors, not through slogans, therefore all four cultural types should be observable in practice.
Groysberg, Boris, Jeremiah Lee, Jesse Price, and J. Yo-Jud Cheng. 2018. “The Leader’s Guide to Corporate Culture.” Harvard Business Review, January-February, 2018. https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-culture-factor
Lawrence, Tracy. 2024. “The 4 Types of Organizational Culture – Which is Best?” Forbes.com June 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracylawrence/article/organizational-culture/#types-of-organizational-culture-2
