INTRODUCTION

As the 21st century progresses, various economic and demographic trends are having a great impact on organizational culture. Today's world is undergoing dizzying changes, which are reflected in institutions of all types, impacting daily practices (Yopan-Fajardo, 2020). From the 1980s to the present, organizational culture has been a concern in all business sectors and even more so in service companies, no longer as a peripheral element of the organization, but as an integral part of relatively strategic importance. Likewise, the need for cultural management corresponds to the growing recognition of the field of cultural management in Latin America, which is presented as an academic and professional field. However, in the field of theoretical concepts, the basis of organizational culture research is reduced to organizational theory, whose descriptive and instrumental approaches are unable to capture the complexity and dynamics of this structure.

In organizational strategic communication, culture is now seen as one of the most important intangible assets or resources of the organization, underpinning its intellectual capital. For some time now, culture has ceased to be considered a variable and is understood as a constitutive dimension of an organization (Besley & Dudo, 2022). From this perspective, organizations are understood as culture; that is, culture is not something that an organization "has", but what it "is"; the organization is not understood and analyzed in economic or material terms, but understood and analyzed from its expressive and symbolic aspects (Smircich, 1983), (Bernardes, et al. 2020).

It can also be indicated that when the organizational culture is not aligned with the values, goals and strategies of the company, it can generate conflicts and difficulties. If employees do not share the same values and objectives, there may be lack of cohesion and collaboration, which negatively affects the performance and results of the organization, similarly If the organizational culture is rigid or resistant to change, it can hinder the adaptability of the company in a dynamic business environment. Resistance to change can arise when employees are entrenched in old ways of doing things or are afraid of the unknown. This can hinder innovation and limit the company's ability to respond quickly to new opportunities or challenges (Angelini, et al., 2021), (Mengstie, et al. 2023).

Another element to take into account is that companies have a diverse workforce in terms of generations, there may be a cultural gap between younger and more experienced employees. Each generation may have different values, expectations and ways of working, which can lead to tension and conflict. Managing this cultural diversity and promoting an inclusive culture can be a challenge for service companies (Wang, et al. 2022), (Gold-von Simson, et al. 2021), (Qiu, et al. 2022).

Taking into account that organizational culture is considered an intangible resource in organizations, (Núñez & Rodríguez, 2015) state that: current approaches recognize that one of the most important sources of corporate value are intangible resources. The beginnings of the theory of intangible assets date back to the 1990s, when these assets began to be studied as strategic assets. Intangible resources are considered all organizational resources that have no physical existence, have a potential application, are renewable after use and will not decrease in quantity and quality during use, but will increase, unless they are at the same time useful, professional. high degree (Diefenbach, 2006, cited in Núñez & Rodríguez, 2015).

The importance of intangibles lies in their ability to generate value. Playing a decisive role in the selection of stakeholders (Lübbeke, et al. 2019). Finally, some intangible assets, such as corporate reputation, mitigate corporate crises (Sierra-Toncel, et al. 2014), In this approach, organizational culture becomes one of these intangible resources, such as social responsibility and brand, among others. Culture is considered an internal strategic design, when it becomes a basic element of the management orientation, that is, when the company is called culture, it means that it moves from a spontaneous system to an organic management system (Trus, et al. 2019).

Organizational culture is an important part of the organizational microenvironment, since people are at the center of a company's operations, it involves all the actions that arise spontaneously in certain situations to build relationships among employees. Companies always want to improve organizational efficiency by increasing sales, generating more profit, but to achieve these results, the first thing to improve are the employees, for example: employees with poor attitudes and skills. causing delays in business On the other hand, employees with maximum availability to get things done will allow better optimization of resources, generating more profit in the organization (Kajamaa, & Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, 2022).

The objective of this research work is: to identify the factors of organizational culture that influence the strengthening of service companies, in such a way that they contribute to the development of a strong culture, promoting open communication, continuous learning and the strengthening of this important business sector.

METHOD

Methodologically, the research was carried out from a quantitative approach, from a descriptive type with a non-experimental field design.

For the research process, the first step was to search for information in various databases: Scopus, Redalyc, EBSCO, Scielo, PubMed; with the help of keywords as long as they included the variable organizational culture. Subsequently, field research was carried out in the six service companies with the participation of 59 workers whose only criterion for participation was their willingness to take the survey.

For the study, six service sector companies in the province of Cotopaxi were taken into account, with a total of 59 workers surveyed, where professional practices are involved.

We worked with a questionnaire where 12 dimensions were established and 5 questions were formulated for each dimension based on the Likert scale, which were rated from 1 to 5, where the categorization is as follows: (1) Totally disagree (2) Disagree (3) Neutral (4) Agree (5) Totally agree (5) Agree

According to the valuation characteristics, 5 questions were grouped in each of the dimensions and variables regarding organizational culture.

The Cronbach's alpha index for the study of organizational culture with the 59 participants is 0.977, which indicates that the questionnaire applied provides high reliability.

In relation to the evaluation of theoretical constructs using Pearson's correlation analysis whose value is located between 0 and 1 and the minimum acceptable value is 0.70, which implies simultaneously relating the established variables to each other, and summarizing the results in a correlation matrix to identify the existing organizational culture in the service companies of the province of Cotopaxi.

Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficient were applied, supported by the SPSS V25 statistical package with the intention of processing the data collected and constructing the research results section.

RESULTS

The most relevant findings related to the factors inherent to the organizational culture are detailed below:

Table 1. Weighting of the dimensions.

DIMENSIÓN	VARIABLE	PROYECCIÓN TOTAL	PONDERACIÓN	NIVEL DE ACEPTACION	DESVIACIÓN
D12	VISIÓN	1475	1244	900	231
D10	PROPÓSITOS ESTRATÉGICOS	1475	1220	900	255
D11	METAS	1475	1212	900	263
D2	TRABAJO EN EQUIPO	1475	1204	900	271
D1	TOMA DE DECIISONES	1475	1198	900	277
D4	VALORES	1475	1196	900	279
D9	APRENDIZAJE	1475	1185	900	290
D7	ORIENTACION AL CAMBIO	1475	1164	900	311
D6	COORDINACIÓN	1475	1162	900	313
D3	CAPACIDADES	1475	1153	900	322
D5	ACUERDOS	1475	1126	900	349
D8	ORIENTACIÓN AL CLIENTE	1475	1122	900	353

Source: Own elaboration.

Table 1 shows the value of each of the dimensions in relation to the organizational culture. The total projection refers to the maximum score that can be achieved, the weighting is the value obtained by each of the dimensions, and the level of acceptance is the minimum point for the organizational culture to be accepted.

It can be observed that the dimensions corresponding to Vision, Strategic Purposes, Fulfillment of Goals and Teamwork are the ones that stand out the most as factors of sustainability of the company, other dimensions that contribute but that in the service companies of the Province of Cotopaxi are present but need to be reinforced, such as Decision Making, Values, Learning, Orientation to change, coordination are elements that should be taken into account to improve the organizational culture.

Graph 1. Behavior of Organizational Culture in the service sector. Own elaboration.

Graph 1, resulting from the data obtained from the surveys applied to the 59 workers of 6 service companies, shows that the dimensions measured in this sector in relation to organizational culture are not adequately strengthened and need important strategies to reach the desired levels.

Table 2. Measuring organizational culture in service companies.

Source: Own elaboration.

Table 2 shows that, once the Pearson correlation is applied, it is evident that the service companies in the province of Cotopaxi do not have a strong organizational culture, but rather a weak culture, which implies that employees are not aligned with business objectives and have a very low motivation to fulfill their obligations.

DISCUSSION

Organizational culture with the passage of time has become an important intangible tool in organizations, since its success or failure is a challenge for all the workers of the companies since, on them depends the generation of added value for their economic activity; therefore, it is necessary to know the alignment and commitment that all the collaborators of the companies have, which is reflected in the work performance (Viđak, et al. 2021). Therefore; organizational culture through its associated dimensions, shapes the way employees think, behave and relate within a company. It has a profound impact on their motivation, job satisfaction, sense of belonging and professional development. A strong and positive organizational culture can boost employee productivity and engagement, and contribute to the overall success of the organization (Yopan-Fajardo, et al. 2020).

The identification of an organization is its culture, which is why most companies in the world and in Ecuador have focused their efforts to build solid, transcendent and innovative cultures within their organizations; since that is what differentiates them from other companies that may have the same activity. Therefore, the challenge for companies and especially for the Human Talent area is to make members feel part of the organizational culture and adapt to it so that their functions, activities and tasks are executed under the same cultural line (Palafox-Soto, et al. 2019).

Organizational culture is based on values and beliefs shared by the members of the organization. These values provide a basis for decision making, behavior and interaction in the work environment, it defines the way tasks are performed, this will influence the work style and behavior of employees. It can also be mentioned that the organizational culture can be influenced by the leadership style adopted in the company, so that the company can be oriented towards achievement, through challenging goals that encourage employees to strive to achieve them, so that they are aligned with the company's objectives and values. The organizational culture must be recognized and shared by all members of the organization to create a sense of identity and belonging and with these tools achieve business sustainability (Cuenca-Galarza, & López-Paredes, 2020).

Service companies have distinctive characteristics that differentiate them from manufacturing or tangible goods production companies. These characteristics influence how services are designed, delivered and managed in firms. Understanding these particularities helps service firms adapt their strategies and approaches to deliver satisfying customer experiences as part of their culture to achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Quiñónez-Guagua, et al. 2020).

A strong organizational culture aligned with corporate sustainability creates a foundation for ethical decision making, promotes environmentally responsible practices, fosters innovation and continuous improvement, drives corporate social responsibility, and increases employee engagement. These factors combined can contribute significantly to the sustainability and long-term success of a company (Rojas-Martinez, et al. 2020).

Culture is not something that an organization "has", but what it "is"; the organization, can be understood as a process that includes customs, habits, norms, rules, formal and informal communication and a combination of all the factors that make each organization unique. In this sense, (Wei & Miraglia, 2017), define organizational culture as a multifaceted concept based on a pattern of shared underlying assumptions that a group learns when facing challenges of external alignment and internal integration and that works well enough to account for it is efficient.

The multifaceted concept that encompasses organizational culture has meant that for the present study the dimensions of Decision-making, Teamwork, Capabilities, Values, Agreements, Coordination, Change orientation, Customer orientation, Learning, Strategic purposes, Goals and Vision have been taken, which has allowed to see the behavior of each one of them in the service business sector of the province of Cotopaxi. In addition, issues related to organizational culture are discussed in various studies by different authors, which help to enrich this variable and show how important it has been and continues to be for organizations and explain how companies can achieve better results. The results are related to their organizational culture.

Every organization has distinctive characteristics, which differentiate it from other organizations. It can have a profound effect on an organization's success as it shapes employee attitudes and behavior. Understanding organizational culture is essential for any company to succeed in today's competitive environment. The business structure of the province of Cotopaxi-Ecuador, in its great majority are service companies, this was the reason for it to be a source of analysis to identify how the different dimensions associated with organizational culture are presented in this business segment, so it is necessary to know what are the main characteristics that are present in this type of companies.

CONCLUSION

The dimensions analyzed are a fundamental part of corporate culture because they facilitate adaptation to change, promote innovation, improve quality, develop talent, facilitate the transfer of knowledge and will strengthen service companies in the province of Cotopaxi - Ecuador. Culture is a fundamental aspect of an organization, because managing it as well as possible creates a good working environment and work climate, and employees feel proud of their work in the organization. Instead, the company's values are dynamic and ever-changing in response to external and internal stimuli.

AUTHORSHIP CONTRIBUTION

Edwin Vásquez-Erazo and Karla Yecenia Sanmartín-Vargas, conceived the initial idea of the research project, generating the first working paper, Michael José Badillo-Chamorro, contributed by researching the bibliography, statistical analysis, the authors jointly carried out cooperative work to consolidate the working paper into a research article, accompanying the editorial review process of the journal.

FINANCING

Non-monetary

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

There is no conflict of interest with persons or institutions related to the research.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To the Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi, Latacunga - Ecuador.

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