Organizational Culture Change and Job Satisfaction During the Transition of the Hotel Industry in Montenegro

This study aims to presents the impact of organizational culture changes on employees’ job satisfaction in Montenegro hotels, utilizing the Competing Values Framework to identify and track cultural transitions. It assumes that organizational culture shapes how employees perceive and evaluate their jobs, thereby influencing their job satisfaction. The first hypothesis states that organizational culture affects the job satisfaction levels and that changes in culture type also changes satisfaction level. The second hypothesis posits that clan culture implies a higher level of job satisfaction than hierarchical culture, and that replacing clan culture with hierarchical culture decreases employees’ satisfaction levels. The study surveyed 765 employees across 47 hotels, collecting data in 2019. Participants assessed both current organizational culture and job satisfaction, and also retrospectively evaluated these factors from 5 years prior. Findings revealed a significant shift in organizational culture within Montenegrin hotels over a 5-year period, with 66.7% of hotels transitioning from clan to hierarchy culture. This cultural transition corresponded with the most substantial decrease in job satisfaction compared to organizations that maintained a clan culture or shifted from an adhocracy/market to a clan culture. The specific transition from a clan to a hierarchical culture emerged as particularly harmful, with significant negative effects confirmed at both individual and organizational levels. These results highlight the importance of the human impact of cultural change, suggesting that management should carefully evaluate the potential consequences of shifting from family like clan cultures to more formalized hierarchical structures.