FAQIsn‘t corporate culture more relevant than national culture?

Corporate culture is fascinating. And there can be no doubt that corporate cultures exists. At the same time, is it not the case that a corporation‘s culture is a reflection, an outgrowth, a derivation, a manifestation, of the national culture in which it is imbedded, where its roots are? Can, for example, an Apple Computer have a corporate culture detached from American culture? Certainly Apple is a Northern California company. But, isn‘t Northern California a part of the United States, a part of American culture, and not a part of Brazil, Italy, South Korea or Germany?

The same applies to GE, Wal-Mart, Goldman Sachs, Ford, Pfizer, IBM and the thousands of small and medium sized companies in the U.S. who demonstrate and define on a daily basis how Americans work. Just as it is in Germany with Aldi, BASF, Bayer, Bertelsmann, BMW, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, SAP, Siemens and the hundreds of German Mittelstand companies.

Again, a marketing specialist at Apple Computer is an American first, then a marketing specialist, and third a member of the Apple corporate culture. A powertrain engineer at BMW is a German first, then an powertrain engineer, then a member of the BMW corporate culture.

The fact that folks in the respective countries can easily transition from one company to another demonstrates the fact that national culture is deeper, more determining, a stronger driver, than corporate culture.

Put another way, which would be a greater challenge: The German engineer at BMW in Munich transitioning to VW in Wolfsburg or to Ford in Detroit? The American marketing specialist at Microsoft in Washington state transitioning to Oracle in Silicon Valley or to SAP in Walldorf?

Or another variation: The German engineer at BMW transitioning to Ford in Detroit or to a small, family-owned supplier of automobile parts south of Stuttgart? The American marketing person at Microsoft transitioning to SAP in Walldorf or to Internet startup company in Austin, Texas?

When you ask Germans and Americans to achieve great things together, national culture is a far greater driver than corporate culture. SAP has far more in common with BASF than with Microsoft. General Electric has far more in common with Proctor & Gamble than with Siemens.