Publications

28 Mar 2016
News

Culture Is Not the Culprit

January–February 2019
Article

The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures

By: Gary P. Pisano

Innovative cultures are generally depicted as pretty fun. They’re characterized by a tolerance for failure and a willingness to experiment. They’re seen as being psychologically safe, highly collaborative, and nonhierarchical. And research suggests that these behaviors... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Performance Expectations; Leadership

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September 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Teaching Note

Leading Culture Change at SEB

By: Amy Edmondson and Cat Huang

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 621-074. The Risk organization at SEB, a leading Nordic financial services group founded in 1856, undertook a culture change program focused on psychological safety, empathic listening, and strategic framing. The program enabled risk... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Sweden

This ambitious volume sets out to understand how every company impacts public health and introduces a robust model, rooted in organizational and scientific knowledge, for companies committed to making positive contributions to health and wellness. Focusing on four... View Details

February 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Culture in Changing Times

By: Michael Beer, Rakesh Khurana and James Weber

HP had been a highly successful and respected company for decades. It was well known for its company culture and management practices--the HP way--which emphasized both profits and people. Changing markets, strong competitors, and the growth of its computer business,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Human Resources; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Effectiveness; Adoption; Competition

September – October 2011
Article

Manage the Culture Cycle

By: James L. Heskett

Organizational culture—the shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that determine "how we do things around here"—can be measured and shaped. In organizations with large numbers of customer-facing employees, it can account for up to half of the difference in operating... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Value; Behavior; Retention; Customer Focus and Relationships; Change Management; Learning; Innovation and Invention; Labor

June 2019 (Revised November 2019)
Technical Note

Sustaining Corporate Culture in a Growing Organization

By: Dennis Campbell and Tatiana Sandino

An organization’s culture can be a significant source of sustainable competitive advantage. For the organization, it can attract job candidates who fit and align employees working in different teams around common goals. For employees, a strong culture can generate... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Growth and Development; Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Management Systems

March 1995 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Apple Computer (A)(Abridged): Corporate Strategy and Culture

By: Michael Beer and Gregory C. Rogers

Provides an overview of the company's history, industry, competitive position, strategy, and organization. Analyzes the culture and morale at Apple. Written at a time when the company faces a very compelling threat to their business, and when morale within the company... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Computer Industry

1992
Book

Corporate Culture and Performance

By: J. P. Kotter and J. L. Heskett

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Performance

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01 Jan 2014
News

IDEO’s Culture of Helping

01 Oct 1999
News

Culture Clash: Exploring Cross Cultural Conflicts in Business

"As different cultural traditions meet in the marketplace and inside organizations, managers face tough choices about the values that they and their organizations will live by," HBS professor Lynn Sharp Paine told participants at an HBS... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

January 1996
Background Note

National Cultures and Work-Related Values: The Hofstede Study

People from different national cultures often operate under different assumptions about what is appropriate behavior. In organizational settings, these cultural differences in underlying assumptions can significantly affect interactions when individuals from various... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Organizations; Attitudes; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Computer Industry

Winter 2024
Article

Return to Office Decisions: A Culture Question?

By: Yo-Jud Cheng and Boris Groysberg

Company culture is an important source of competitive advantage and differentiation. Even in times of crisis, leaders must attend to their company’s culture, designing it in alignment with their strategy and priorities. One of the most consequential decisions that... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Employee Relationship Management

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Teaching Interest

Micro Topics in Organizational Behavior

By: Alison Wood Brooks

Micro Topics in Organizational Behavior is a PhD seminar course exploring current and seminal research on individual, dyadic, small group, and intra-organizational behavior. Examples of topics at the individual level include emotions, cognition, and behavioral... View Details

February 2003
Supplement

Silvio Napoli Cross Cultural Management

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Presents an interview with Silvio Napoli regarding cultural aspects of an Italian manager in a Swiss company opening an Indian subsidiary. Issues range from personal and family adjustment to management style, corporate culture, and differences in national... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Business Subsidiaries; Nationality; Organizational Culture; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Italy; Switzerland; India

January–February 2014
Article

IDEO's Culture of Helping

By: Teresa Amabile, Colin M. Fisher and Julianna Pillemer

Leaders can do few things more important than encouraging helping behavior within their organizations. In the highest-performing companies, it is a norm that colleagues support one another's efforts to do the best work they can. That has always been true for efficiency... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Behavior; Attitudes; Organizational Culture; Relationships; Social and Collaborative Networks

2024
Working Paper

The Impact of Culture Consistency on Subunit Outcomes

By: Jasmijn Bol, Robert Grasser, Serena Loftus and Tatiana Sandino

We examine the association between subunit culture consistency—defined as the congruence between the organizational values espoused by top management and those perceived and practiced by subunit employees—and subunit outcomes. Using data from 235 subunits of a... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Employees; Creativity; Satisfaction

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October 1990 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Changing the Culture at British Airways

By: John P. Kotter

In just 10 years, 1980-1990, British Airways turned around both its declining image and financial situation. Focusing on the paramount importance of customer service, British Airways went from "bloody awful" to "bloody awesome." Experiencing a financial crisis in 1981... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Customer Relationship Management; Corporate Strategy; Privatization; Air Transportation Industry; United Kingdom