Transformation of the organizational culture of Danish savings banks in the XIX-XX centuries
Authors: Drachko-Yermolenko Ievgenii ,   Oschadbank
Published: July 2024

Introduction. The study of the transformation of the organizational culture of savings banks is related to the popularization of the European trend of corporatization of the banking business in the mid-twentieth century. This process was accompanied by a powerful influence of the historical narrative on the development of savings banking in Denmark, where the mood of leading public organizations with a pronounced social position prevailed. The latter was the leitmotif in the struggle with big financial capital for access to savings and lending to the population. Problem Statement. Transformational changes in the organizational culture of Danish savings banks were crucial to their ability to survive and succeed in increasingly competitive markets. Close cooperation between savings banks of different sizes and authorized capital has reinforced the perception of a common culture and identity based on the realization that savings banks represent an alternative to commercial banks based on a different set of values and understanding of financial services. The loss of the values of the savings movement in the country led to the concentration and centralization of industrial capital, revision of banking legislation, the formation of a developed infrastructure of commercial banks and the creation of financial conglomerates. The purpose is to assess the transformation of the organizational culture of Danish savings banks and its impact on changing the economic behavior of society. Methods. The study used methods of anthropological and historical analysis, sociological and interdisciplinary approaches. Results. The study of cultural features and changes in the organizational culture of savings banks is based on three theoretical approaches: integrative, differential, fragmentary. All three manifestations of culture coexist in any organization, as well as within its internal strategy. It was determined that there is a close relationship between the culture of the organization and its identity The leading narratives play an important role in the constant construction of identity. The author analyzes the cultural identity of the savings movement in Denmark, which is associated with a new class of workers, shopkeepers, and farmers who had no or insufficient collateral to obtain a loan and had limited access to credit. In the last third of the nineteenth century, the cooperative movement of savings banks grew significantly. Savings banks had a solid customer base and generally, better reputation than commercial banks. This development also strengthened the narrative of savings banks. This was especially evident in the interwar period, when the Danish commercial banking system experienced a devastating crisis that significantly damaged its reputation. Conclusions. The cooperative movement in Denmark during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century was leading. The narrative about savings banks formed the cultural context in which commercial banks and savings banks were assigned specific cultural, political and economic properties. This historical narrative gained its followers and spread both inside and outside of savings banks. The article focuses on the processes of transformation of the organizational culture of savings banks, when during the 1960s and 1970s they went through a controversial and complex transition that destroyed their unity. From a movement with a common historical past, the community split into segments with different narratives and strategies. Large savings banks became joint-stock commercial banks, while small and some medium-sized savings banks remained cooperative organizations.