A Cultural Quest: A Study of Organizational Use of New Cultural Resources in Strategy Formation

Our study was motivated by the growing influence in cultural sociology and organizational research of the view of culture as a "toolkit," from which individuals draw resources flexibly to develop strategies of action that address different circumstances. To investigate if and how organizat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOrganization science (Providence, R.I.) Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 413 - 431
Main Authors Rindova, Violina, Dalpiaz, Elena, Ravasi, Davide
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Linthicum INFORMS 01.03.2011
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Subjects
Alessi
Alessi Company
Analysis
Art galleries & museums
Case studies
Corporate culture
Crafts
Cultural diversity
Cultural dynamics
Cultural enrichment
Cultural industry
cultural resources
Culture
Design
Home products industry
Incorporation
Industrial design
Industry
innovation
Innovations
Manufacturing
Observational research
Organizational change
Organizational identity
Planning methods
Product design
Product development
Sociology
Steel production
strategic change
Strategic planning
Strategic planning (Business)
Studies
Western Europe
United States
Italy
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Summary:Our study was motivated by the growing influence in cultural sociology and organizational research of the view of culture as a "toolkit," from which individuals draw resources flexibly to develop strategies of action that address different circumstances. To investigate if and how organizations can also use new and diverse cultural resources, we undertook a historical case study of the incorporation of new cultural resources in the cultural repertoire of the Italian manufacturer of household products Alessi. Through in-depth analysis of four rounds of incorporation of new cultural resources, we develop a robust theoretical model that relates the use of new cultural resources to the development of unconventional strategies and strategic versatility. We find that cultural repertoire enrichment and organizational identity redefinition are two core mechanisms that facilitate this process. The model contributes novel theoretical understanding regarding the use of cultural resources in strategy formation and change.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
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ISSN:1047-7039
1526-5455
DOI:10.1287/orsc.1100.0537