Digital transformation and intensifying competitive pressures have compelled banks to move beyond reliance on rigid, slow-moving structures and instead cultivate a culture that can bend under shocks without breaking and rapidly reconfigure itself. This study was conducted to conceptualize and design a hammer-proof organizational culture model in Tejarat Bank, in which the capacity to change form without losing core robustness is treated as the defining cultural attribute. The research is applied-developmental in purpose and qualitative in method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 purposively selected experts at senior and middle management levels and AI specialists, and were coded using a six-step thematic procedure. The findings led to the extraction of a set of sub-categories and eight overarching themes: adaptive AI integration, cognitive agility, structural flexibility, data transparency and algorithmic trust, participatory psychological safety, AI ethics and governance, and ecosystem collaboration and innovation. The final model shows that cultural hammer-proofing does not arise merely from implementing explainable and responsible AI, but also requires error-tolerant learning, fluid organizational structures, and robust institutions for algorithmic ethics governance. Accordingly, the study’s practical recommendations include establishing a human–AI coexistence taskforce, redesigning the performance appraisal system around learning from errors, creating supportive mechanisms for internal innovation, and strengthening integrated infrastructures for algorithmic ethics governance within the bank.