Competing Values Framework
Four culture types for culture diagnosis and development.
PURPOSE
Organizations need a shared vocabulary to discuss their culture and deliberately develop it. The Competing Values Framework provides a scientifically grounded typology that makes different cultural expressions understandable. It helps recognize cultural tensions as natural and use them productively.
HOW TO USE
Teams assign their organization to one or more of the four culture types and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each type. In workshops, the tensions between quadrants are analyzed and development potentials identified. The framework serves as a foundation for targeted culture diagnosis and development measures.
WHAT IT IS
The Competing Values Framework is a model developed by Cameron and Quinn that distinguishes four culture types: Clan (collaboration), Adhocracy (creation), Market (competition), and Hierarchy (control). The types are mapped along two axes: flexibility vs. stability and internal vs. external orientation. It forms the theoretical basis for the OCAI diagnostic instrument.
EXAMPLE
Example: Your consulting team discusses with a client whether the organization should focus on stability or flexibility, but everyone talks past each other. With the Competing Values Framework, you give the discussion a shared language: Clan, Adhocracy, Market, or Hierarchy. Suddenly everyone understands that the client currently lives a Market culture but needs an Adhocracy culture.