In the business world, strategy and organizational culture are often considered two separate things. Strategy is seen as a roadmap full of numbers and logic, while culture is considered a “soft” element that is left to the HR department. However, look at the success story of Netflix with its principle of “freedom and responsibility,” or Toyota with its ingrained “kaizen” philosophy.
These examples prove that culture is not merely a complement to strategy, but rather its most loyal strategic partner. When we view organizational culture as a strategic asset, it becomes an invisible hand that drives execution and influences every decision. It also preserves competitive advantage long after the winds of the market have changed direction.
Why is Culture Difficult for Competitors to Imitate?
Michael Porter’s concept of competitive advantage—such as cost leadership or differentiation—is now increasingly vulnerable. In an era where technology can be copied, business models can be replicated, and brands can be easily duplicated, there is one thing that is most difficult to replicate: organizational culture.
According to Edgar Schein, culture is a set of shared beliefs that grow within a group as they face and solve problems.
These beliefs then drive behavior, shape decision-making, and determine how an organization responds to opportunities and crises. When these beliefs are aligned with the company’s strategic direction, what can be called “cultural DNA” is created—a unique set of behaviors and mindsets that competitors cannot duplicate.
Take Patagonia Inc. (Patagonia), a US-based retailer of outdoor recreation clothing, equipment, and food. Its commitment to the environment is not just a marketing strategy, but a core belief that guides every step the company takes. This belief shapes how they design products, treat employees, and manage their supply chain. This cultural DNA is their defense mechanism.
A similar phenomenon can be seen in Apple’s obsession with perfect design or Southwest Airlines’ culture of “fun service,” which has successfully built customer loyalty that could not have been achieved through a set of processes alone.
Turning Organizational Culture into a Real Strength
Many leaders agree that culture is important, but are often confused about how to turn it into a measurable strength.
The secret is to view culture not as an abstract concept, but as a tangible organizational capability. The theory of dynamic capabilities provides the right perspective: competitive advantage comes not only from the resources an organization possesses, but from its ability to renew and reconfigure those resources faster than its competitors.
And organizational culture, when deliberately shaped, is the most powerful dynamic capability.
A strong culture acts like a compass that helps every employee read the situation in the same way. A culture that encourages customer focus will automatically filter every decision with a fundamental question: Is this the best for the customer?
Organizational culture determines how we behave even when our superiors are not around. This is what bridges strategic intent with real action, ensuring that beautiful plans on paper do not stall in execution.
An adaptive culture encourages experimentation and learning, making organizations more agile in the face of change. Transforming cultural beliefs can revive the spirit of innovation and performance.
Aligning Organizational Culture with Corporate Strategic Planning (CSP)
Conventional strategic plans—such as developing a vision, conducting SWOT analysis, setting targets, and allocating resources—usually focus only on the desired outcomes. These types of strategic plans often ignore the ways or attitudes of the organization in achieving them. In fact, this is where corporate culture plays a key role in determining success.
To align organizational culture with strategic planning, there are at least a few key steps that need to be adopted.
1. Map culture as a strategic foundation
Before determining the direction, leaders must be aware of what kind of cultural “playing field” they are currently in. This mapping should not only look at visible things such as symbols or routines, but more importantly at the deep beliefs that are shared—about the meaning of success, attitudes towards risk, relationships with superiors, and ways of collaborating. Understanding this cultural reality must be the foundation for strategy development, just as important as analyzing financial or market conditions.
Critical questions such as, “Which cultural values can drive our strategy?” or “Which habits could potentially become stumbling blocks?” must be key considerations. Take, for example, a company that wants to transform digitally, while its culture is still very rigid and hierarchical. Without addressing this divide from the outset, even the most brilliant strategy is at high risk of failure.
2. Turn a set of strategies into real behaviour
Strategies will only remain beautiful documents if they are not translated into action. Therefore, strategic objectives must be translated into daily habits and norms. If the company’s strategy is to innovate, then its work culture must encourage curiosity, provide room for experimentation, and view failure as part of learning.
Leaders can define these expectations as a kind of “behavioural guide.” This provides a concrete description of how the strategy is implemented in daily activities. For example, a bank committed to providing the best customer service could establish the principle of “we understand needs before offering products” or “our focus is on solving problems, not just selling.” Over time, these small, consistent actions will shape the character of the company’s culture.
3. Measure culture like you measure performance
To position organizational culture as a tangible strategic asset, we need to define its metrics. These metrics can include employee engagement levels, speed of innovation, trust within teams, or the extent to which employee actions align with core company values.
Leaders: The Main Architects of Culture
Organizational culture cannot be changed overnight. Change begins and is driven by leaders. They are like architects who design and build the foundations that reinforce the culture. Every decision and action they take—even if it seems simple—actually reflects the values that are truly upheld in the organization.
Therefore, in CSP, the role of leaders should not be limited to that of planners. They must also serve as examples of the culture. When leaders act in accordance with the desired culture—such as by building cross-team collaboration, encouraging innovation, and speaking honestly—strategies that were initially only written on paper begin to feel alive and real.
On the other hand, strategic storytelling also plays an important role. This is not just a rigid mission and vision statement. It’s a narrative that is able to unite the company’s goals, challenges in the field, and their cultural identity.
The Jakarta Consulting Group has expertise in providing strategic solutions to help overcome various challenges. The solutions we provide are always based on future industry trends, business challenges, and experience in various consulting projects. For more than four decades, we have been trusted by various industries. This allows us to provide different insights to make your company a leader.
Making Organizational Culture a Competitive Advantage
In order for culture to truly become a strategic asset, organizations can implement the following steps. First, determine not only what you want to achieve, but also how the organization will excel in the chosen market. Next, identify the factors that support and hinder culture. Use surveys, direct conversations, and behavioural data to identify cultural elements that support or hinder strategic goals. Next, formulate the desired behaviour. Turn abstract values into concrete actions that can be seen and measured. Ensure that the recruitment process, reward system, communication methods, and leadership attitudes support the culture you want to build. Treat culture as something that is alive and constantly evolving, just like strategy itself.
The Jakarta Consulting Group has extensive experience in providing consulting and training related to organizational culture for government agencies, state-owned enterprises, national private companies, and multinational companies. This ranges from culture development and measurement to organizational culture change.
If implemented consistently, culture will become like the DNA of an organization—having a strong identity, yet remaining flexible and able to adapt to change.
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