Fostering corporate culture and networks "To achieve success internationally, a strong corporate culture among the employees is indispensable," explains Bernhart. "A major part of this is formed by internal company networks, as they make it possible for employees to share information and opinions independent of their functions."
Companies can foster this communication outside the established hierarchies and across all divisions and departments by setting up cross-functional teams, for example. This means that employees from different departments work together on certain projects. Regularly rotating managers through various departments and locations would also contribute to efficient networking in the company. In this way, automotive companies can develop a corporate culture shared by all employees: shared values, visions or mission statements are of particular importance here.
Corporate culture - global and local "International automotive companies are faced with an enormous task: on the one hand, they have to develop an understanding of the local markets to be successful there. On the other hand, they have to retain a global perspective and create a culture that unifies the company worldwide," says Philipp Grosche, Research Assistant at ESCP Europe Business School Berlin and co-author of the study.
In other words, the goal is not to export the parent company's culture to its affiliates or subsidiaries around the world (ethnocentric approach). Nor is it to allow each local subsidiary its own corporate culture (polycentric approach). Instead, each country's cultural features should be blended into a common corporate culture, accepted and practiced by all employees (geocentric approach). For example, corporate goals can be formulated jointly and communicated to the units around the world using various channels, such as newsletters, reports or a website. Similarly, internal promotional campaigns and incentives can help employees spread the corporate values and goals within the company.
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