Foundations for a sociological business performance paradigm based upon the fundamental reliance on and awareness of cultural imperatives

Abstract

This thesis develops the theoretical foundation of the strategic-culture paradigm. This model focuses attention upon culture and appeals to the profit requisite associated with commercial activities, and is an integrator of business / domestic cultural expectations. I describe culture as an organizational attribute integral to behavior and strategy which represents a potentially powerful resource facilitating operational effectiveness, sustained competitive advantage, and increased business social accountability. This explanation relies upon conceptualizing culture at both the national and company level, and then explicating the dependent interplay between these realms. Specifically, I submit that corporations who establish and continually adapt their culture with the aim of striving to maintain a fit with the domestic context are more inclined to realize opportunities, attract customers, and endure unanticipated business environmental pressures. Using information collected on Nucor Steel and Southwest Airlines, I provide a preliminary assessment of the virtues of the strategic-culture model as it relates to explaining these firms and their operations.