Learning through rituals in restaurants ::exploring the link between rituals, values, and organizational culture

Workplace rituals are symbolic of core values representi ng an organization’s culture. Organizational research has examin ed the role of rituals to unde rstand organizational life, yet limited research has shed light on how different cu ltures deploy different rituals to transmit core values. By using interviews and observational data , this study unpacks rituals in four restaurants representing clan, ad hoc, market and hierarchy cultures. We find that the importance of different rituals varies contingent upon the nature of the culture for learning and re inforcing core values. Specifically, in a clan culture , emotional rituals are emphasi zed to foster belonging and comradery; in an ad hoc culture, cognitive ritual s are emphasized to drive empowered creativity; in market and hierarchy cultures, behavioral rituals are used for routinized and automatic behaviors for performance and effi ciency respectively. Theoretical contributions, future research directions, and limitations are addressed