Selected cultural dimensions determining a shift to the knowledge economy in small and medium-sized enterprises

Corporate culture has recently been an increasingly discussed topic. Experts and enterprises themselves are increasingly dealing with how to arrange it so that the employees were motivated to higher performance, loyalty to the company without any additional cost. All of these factors contribute not only to a higher salary, or other financial or non-financial benefits, but among the most important factors is included correct setting of corporate culture. The paper deals with research in small and medium-sized enterprises, which was carried out with the support of a research project funded by the Grant Agency of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice called “GAJU 039/2013/S ? Human resource management of small and medium-sized enterprises”. This paper presents one of possible approaches to cultural dimensions of Geert Hofstede (1999, pp. 34 - 44) and directs their application to corporate culture in small and medium-sized enterprises. The authors attempt to highlight those dimensions of corporate culture which are desirable not only for the comfortable relationships between employees and managers, but especially for the most effective utilization of knowledge in the enterprise, which is a prerequisite for entry into the knowledge economy. This is unambiguously connected with the maintenance of competitiveness (with the assistance of innovative approaches) in today's dynamic and increasingly more aggressive global market. These desirable dimensions include: small power distance, which can be expressed by the cohesion between subordinates and superiors; collectivism, which opens the way for cooperation and teamwork; femininity, opening an atmosphere of trust in interpersonal relationships and care about the quality of life and environment; weak uncertainty avoidance (acceptance of changes and risk), which allows easier coping with the discontinuous changes of the global society; long-term orientation, which is associated with the investment and sustainability perspective in business. The main aim will be to determine the status of cultural dimensions of corporate culture, which will subsequently show the path of the shift to a knowledge economy.