HOW IMPORTANT IS CULTURE?

Is corporate culture a key to commercial success? The results of a survey, carried out in 1989, in which senior executives of the largest retailers in the UK describe the key characteristics of their corporate cultures, and how their cultures are maintained and evolve, are outlined. They also rank “corporate culture” alongside 14 other key factors which strongly influence corporate strategy or competitive advantage. Three clusters emerge: those who rank people‐related values highly, those who are predominantly market‐led,and those who value “hard” factors such as financial control.