Designing a Native Model of Organizational Technoculture in the Social Security Organization

Objective
Digital transformation in public organizations is widely recognized as a multidimensional process that extends far beyond the mere deployment of new technologies. It requires deep and sustained changes in organizational culture, shared meanings, values, and behavioral patterns. Within this context, the concept of organizational technoculture, understood as the dynamic interaction between technology and organizational culture, plays a decisive role in determining whether digital transformation initiatives succeed or fail. Despite the growing emphasis on digital government and smart public services, existing studies indicate that Iranian government organizations lack an indigenous, comprehensive, and context-sensitive model of organizational technoculture. This gap is particularly evident in the Social Security Organization, one of the largest and most complex service-providing institutions in the country, which operates under specific institutional, cultural, and structural conditions. Accordingly, the primary objective of this study is to design an indigenous model of organizational technoculture tailored to the Iranian Social Security Organization, with a specific emphasis on explaining its role in facilitating and realizing digital transformation within this organization.
Methods
This study adopts a mixed-methods research design, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, and is classified as non-experimental in terms of purpose, application, and data collection. In the qualitative phase, data were collected through library and document reviews, scholarly articles, and semi-structured interviews. A total of 20 participants, including university professors, senior and middle managers, information technology specialists, and digital transformation experts affiliated with the Social Security Organization, were interviewed between April and July 2025. These participants were drawn from Ardabil, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, and Tehran provinces and were selected using snowball sampling. The qualitative data analysis followed the grounded theory approach proposed by Strauss and Corbin (2014) and was conducted using Atlas.ti software through open, axial, and selective coding processes. In the quantitative phase, purposive sampling was employed to engage 35 experts and specialists. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire developed based on the results of the qualitative phase. To examine the degree of agreement and consistency among experts, and to assess consensus regarding the extracted dimensions and relationships, the Kendall coefficient of concordance was applied. This procedure was used to support the validation of the proposed research model.
Results
The findings are presented in the form of a paradigmatic grounded theory model of organizational technoculture. The central phenomenon of the model is identified as a “transformation in the semantic and operational pattern of the organization; from paper-based bureaucracy to data-based technoculture.” The analysis revealed several causal conditions contributing to this transformation, including technological pressures, the inefficiency of traditional administrative processes, and the rising expectations of stakeholders for faster and higher-quality services. Contextual conditions shaping the phenomenon included the bureaucratic structure of the organization, the diversity of its human resources, and the specific nature of its mission and responsibilities. Intervening conditions were identified as managers’ leadership styles, the level of organizational trust, and employees’ attitudes toward technology. Based on these conditions, several strategic actions were extracted, such as the development of digital human capital, the redesign of organizational structures and processes, the promotion of digital leadership, reform of incentive and reward systems, and the strengthening of digital interaction with stakeholders. The implementation of these strategies was associated with outcomes including the institutionalization of digital culture, increased productivity, improved service quality, and enhanced social trust.
 
Conclusion
The conclusions of this study indicate that the success of digital transformation in the Social Security Organization depends fundamentally on the deliberate and conscious management of organizational technoculture. Technological initiatives alone are insufficient unless they are accompanied by coherent cultural, structural, and behavioral changes. The indigenous model developed in this research provides a contextually grounded framework that can serve as a basis for policy-making, planning, and implementation of digital transformation initiatives in large Iranian government organizations.