How do corporations and other organizations transmit their cultures over time? This book grounds its analysis in mathematical tools and computer simulation, and offers a comprehensive answer to this question. It is for students of organization theory and behavior, cultural studies, strategic management, sociology, economics, and social simulation.

List of Figures xi List of Tables xiii Preface xv Acknowledgments xix Part I: Cultural Analysis 1 CHAPTER 1: Culture in Organizations 3 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Culture in Social Science 4 1.3 Culture in Organization Theory 5 1.4 The Content Approach to Culture 7 1.5 The Distributive Approach to Culture 16 1.6 A Limited Synthetic Approach to Organizational Culture 21 1.7 Reader's Guide 25 CHAPTER 2: Modeling Culture with Simulation 27 2.1 Introduction 27 2.2 Forms of Scientific Inquiry 28 2.3 What Is a Computer Simulation? 30 2.4 Why Use Simulation? 35 2.5 Simulation Modeling 38 2.6 Challenges of Simulation 41 Part II Model of Cultural Transmission 47 CHAPTER 3: Representing Culture 49 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 Enculturation 50 3.3 Content Dimensions of Culture 56 3.4 Enculturation and Cultural Dimensions 58 3.5 Summary 68 CHAPTER 4: Cultural Transmission 69 4.1 Introduction 69 4.2 Modeling Framework 70 4.3 Model Specification 71 4.4 Summary 82 CHAPTER 5: Organizational Types 84 5.1 Introduction 84 5.2 Stylized Organizational Types 85 5.3 Simulation Methods 90 5.4 Findings by Type 92 5.5 Conclusion 101 CHAPTER 6: Growth and Decline 102 6.1 Introduction 102 6.2 Cultural Management and Growth 104 6.3 Organizational Decline 110 6.4 Decomposing Transmission 111 6.5 Managerial Implications 118 6.6 Conclusion 119 Part III: Applications and Extensions of the Model 121 CHAPTER 7: Heterogeneity in Tenure 123 7.1 Introduction 123 7.2 LOS Distributions in Organizations 124 7.3 The Implicit Link 126 7.4 Modeling Top Management Teams 130 7.5 Design of Experiments 132 7.6 Findings 134 7.7 Decomposing LOS Heterogeneity 137 7.8 Summary 143 CHAPTER 8: Cultural Influence Networks 147 8.1 Introduction 147 8.2 Networks of Influence 149 8.3 Modeling Framework 149 8.4 Dynamic Influence 151 8.5 Demography and Network Structure 155 8.6 Design of Experiments 159 8.7 Findings 159 8.8 Discussion 166 CHAPTER 9: Terrorist Networks 169 9.1 Introduction 169 9.2 Background on Terrorist Organizations 170 9.3 Underground Network-Based Organizations 171 9.4 Adapting the Network Model 175 9.5 Effects of Counterterrorism Strategies 176 9.6 Simulation Design 178 9.7 Findings 179 9.8 Conclusion 182 CHAPTER 10: Merging Cultures 185 10.1 Introduction 185 10.2 Post-Merger Cultural Integration 187 10.3 Modeling Framework 191 10.4 Experimental Design 192 10.5 System Dynamics 196 10.6 Findings 198 10.7 Discussion 206 CHAPTER 11: Culture, Aging, and Failure 208 11.1 Introduction 208 11.2 Macro Model Framework 209 11.3 Demography of the System 214 11.4 The Cultural System 215 11.5 Design of Experiments 216 11.6 Findings 218 11.7 Implications 220 CHAPTER 12: Concluding Remarks 221 12.1 Introduction 221 12.2 Model Overview 221 12.3 Review of Findings 223 12.4 Implications 229 12.5 Extensions of the Model 233 12.6 Conclusion 234 Appendix A Notation 237 Appendix B Simulation Parameter Settings 241 References 251 Index 265

"Harrison and Carroll have written an invaluable book on organizational culture. They inform us about organizational culture and demography through a synthesis that gives us new insights on what culture is and how it can be managed... In short, Harrison and Carroll have contributed greatly to our understanding of culture and demography and to the methodology of our science."--Richard M. Burton, Administrative Science Quarterly

"How can fraternities maintain unique identities when a quarter of their membership turns over every year? How do successful firms retain their distinctive capabilities despite continual changes in personnel? To date, organizational scholars have had few compelling answers to such questions, despite their central importance to the study of organizational behavior and performance. Harrison and Carroll present a refreshing and stimulating approach that carefully unpacks the complex interactions driving cultural persistence and change. Through the development of a unique demographic perspective on cultural processes, Culture and Demography in Organizations defines a bold new research agenda for organizational theorists."—Jesper Sorensen, MIT Sloan School of Management"In this exemplary book, Harrison and Carroll ask a basic question: How do organizations manage to persist, sometimes for centuries, despite the flow of people in and out? The outcome is a formal theory of cultural persistence with some surprising implications."—Nigel Gilbert, Professor of Sociology, University of Surrey, UK"Harrison and Carroll offer a refreshingly balanced view of research on organizational culture and the role of demography in creating, maintaining, and disrupting it. Organizational scholars will find the book engaging, accessible, and insightful. My overall recommendation is enthusiastic and unambiguous: this is clearly a book worth reading."—Jennifer A. Chatman, University of California, Berkeley"This book . . . provides a thorough account of computer simulation in the context of a sustained research program . . . Not only is the book grounded in extremely sound research, it is also set forth in a sober and clear fashion that allows readers to see the limits as well as the strengths of the authors' model."—David Strang, Cornell University"Harrison and Carroll have written a careful, tightly reasoned theoretical book, approaching organizational culture—a subject of widespread interest—from an novel angle. Their computer simulation methodology is apt, enabling them to realistically model the outcome of multiple intersecting processes that affect the extent to which members are aligned with the cultural ideal in an organization: hiring decisions, management and peer socialization, and departures."—Peter V. Marsden, Harvard University

How can fraternities maintain unique identities when a quarter of their membership turns over every year? How do successful firms retain their distinctive capabilities despite continual changes in personnel? To date, organizational scholars have had few compelling answers to such questions, despite their central importance to the study of organizational behavior and performance. Harrison and Carroll present a refreshing and stimulating approach that carefully unpacks the complex interactions driving cultural persistence and change. Through the development of a unique demographic perspective on cultural processes, Culture and Demography in Organizations defines a bold new research agenda for organizational theorists. -- Jesper Sorensen, MIT Sloan School of Management In this exemplary book, Harrison and Carroll ask a basic question: How do organizations manage to persist, sometimes for centuries, despite the flow of people in and out? The outcome is a formal theory of cultural persistence with some surprising implications. -- Nigel Gilbert, Professor of Sociology, University of Surrey, UK Harrison and Carroll offer a refreshingly balanced view of research on organizational culture and the role of demography in creating, maintaining, and disrupting it. Organizational scholars will find the book engaging, accessible, and insightful. My overall recommendation is enthusiastic and unambiguous: this is clearly a book worth reading. -- Jennifer A. Chatman, University of California, Berkeley This book ... provides a thorough account of computer simulation in the context of a sustained research program ... Not only is the book grounded in extremely sound research, it is also set forth in a sober and clear fashion that allows readers to see the limits as well as the strengths of the authors' model. -- David Strang, Cornell University Harrison and Carroll have written a careful, tightly reasoned theoretical book, approaching organizational culture--a subject of widespread interest--from an novel angle. Their computer simulation methodology is apt, enabling them to realistically model the outcome of multiple intersecting processes that affect the extent to which members are aligned with the cultural ideal in an organization: hiring decisions, management and peer socialization, and departures. -- Peter V. Marsden, Harvard University