MIT Sloan Management Review Article on When It Comes to Culture, Does Your Company Walk the Talk?

Company practices often conflict with corporate values. Closing the gap starts with communication.

Senior leaders, in particular, love to talk about their company culture. Over the past three decades, more than three-quarters of CEOs interviewed in a major business magazine discussed their company’s culture or core values — even when not specifically asked about it.

Corporate values statements are nearly universal, but do they matter? Critics dismiss them as cheap talk with no impact on employees’ day-to-day behavior.

About the Author

Donald Sull (@culturexinsight) is a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and cofounder of CultureX. Stefano Turconi is a teaching fellow at the London Business School. Charles Sull is a cofounder of CultureX.

Learn more about MIT SMR.