Corporate Culture In A New Era: Views From The C-suite

Abstract

We review a decade's worth of insights from CFOs and CEOs across North America to establish the importance of corporate culture in driving firm value and as a cornerstone of organizational resilience and adaptability in the evolving business landscape. Through extensive surveys and interviews, we unveil how culture, often overshadowed by easier-to-calculate financial metrics, is a critical, intangible asset that influences employee motivation, retention, and ethical behavior. The research underscores culture's role in mergers and acquisitions, risk-taking, and long-term strategic focus, advocating for a deliberate, leadership-driven cultivation of corporate culture. This study not only highlights the necessity for academic and practical reassessment of corporate culture's impact but also calls for a strategic integration of cultural considerations in corporate governance and performance evaluation moving forward.

Keywords: Corporate culture, Valuation, Finance, Cultural values, Social norms, Leadership, Corporate governance, Incentive compensation, Finance function, Intangible Assets, Risk-taking, Short-termism, Myopia, Innovation, Firm value, Productivity, M\&A valuation, Integrity, Trust, Ethics, Compliance, Earning

JEL Classification: G3, Z1, D23, G23, G30, K22, M14, O16.