Project description

Organizational rule breaking and damaging behavior can become structural in the organization. When it does so, it no longer concerns just the behavior of one or a small group of individuals. Instead it can become engrained in the organization, resulting in a toxic organizational culture. This project seeks to understand toxic organizational culture and how to counter or detox it. The project aims to illuminate what are elements of toxicity in an organization, how these elements can be recognized early on, and how organizations can be reformed once a toxic organizational culture has set in. The project has started with a study of three toxic cultures.

This project is carried out by C-LAB members Benjamin van Rooij, Noor de Bruijn and Judy van der Graaf, in collaboration with Laurens Bakker (UvA anthropology). Moreover, the project also aims for direct exchanges with practice, including  EY (formerly known as Ernst and Young), the Dutch Central Bank, and the Dutch Financial Market Supervisor (AFM).

Relevant publications and works in progress:

• Van Rooij, Benjamin, and Adam Fine. "Toxic Corporate Culture: Assessing Organizational Processes of Deviancy". Administrative Sciences 8, no. 3 (2018 ): 23-61.
• Van Rooij, Benjamin, Adam Fine, and Judy van der Graaf. "Detoxing Corporate Culture: How to Assess Toxic Cultural Elements." Compliance & Enforcement Blog (2019). wp.nyu.edu/compliance_enforcement/2019/02/04/detoxing-corporate-culture-how-to-assess-toxic-cultural-elements.