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Culture happens in big and small ways in organizations. Leaders at any level can be culture builders by finding ways to link their company’s “big-C” culture â€" its official set of values â€" with the “small-c” culture that plays out in daily patterns of interaction. In a study of one Fortune 100 company, managers who were attentive to both the culture of the entire organization and the more narrow culture within their span of influence saw better retention numbers and team performance.

New Zealand-based One Ring is an early entrant in the digital "after death" or "immortality technology" market. Using animation tools and AI technology, One Ring captures the digital footprint of deceased individuals (from social media posts, emails, videos) and uses the data to create chatbots that mimick their communication patterns. In this way, friends and family "never have to say goodbye" - they can continue having conversations with loved ones beyond the grave. The case illustrates how senior executives find it challenging to embrace creative ideas from new hires or employees lower down the chain of command. Ironically, these are precisely the employees most likely to have new ways of seeing and solving problems (even if they have difficulty exerting an influence). The case consists of two versions. The Penny version gives the students a sense of the challenges that executives have when they need to make choices on creative ideas under realistic pressures: deadlines, budgets, and audience expectations. The Andy version highlights the precarious position of employees in the lower/middle levels of the organization who seek to champion ideas and convince those at the top. Instructors can choose between the executive (Penny) version, or the new/junior employee (Andy) version. The teaching note includes crucial information on what the case reveals in the classroom.

Case Supplement for Case IN1904

Marvel Studios has redefined the franchise movie, in part by finding the right balance between creating innovative films and retaining enough continuity to make them all recognizably part of a coherent family. The authors analyzed 338 interviews with producers, directors, and writers and 140 reviews from leading critics. They digitally analyzed each movie's script and visual style and examined its network of actors and behind-the-scenes workers. They argue that Marvel's success rests on four principles: (1) selecting for experienced inexperience, (2) leveraging a stable core, (3) continually challenging the formula, and (4) cultivating customers' curiosity.

Outfit7 is a digital entertainment firm that develops and publishes animated video games for mobile phones, tablets and desktops. It's flagship product is a series of mobile apps called "Talking Tom and Friends", with close to 10 billion downloads globally. Outfit7 is one of only 46 European unicorns, i.e., privately held companies valued above $1 billion, topping the global ranks of most downloaded mobile games. In 2017, according to App Annie, a leading app-ranking platform, Outfit7 was the sixth most downloaded mobile publisher, and My Talking Tom was the second most downloaded mobile game globally, putting it in the company of tech giants like Facebook, Google, Tencent and Alibaba. Part A describes the growth stage from 2009 to 2014, along with the story of founders Samo and Iza Login. The focus is on setting up the startup and developing a unique organizational culture, leaving the hiring decision (fit or misfit) to students. In Part B, from 2014 to 2017, the start-up moves into scale-up phase after the founders' exit/appointment of a new management team, the focus is on entrepreneurial leadership. In Part C, as tensions emerge from scaling up a unicorn, students must decide what to keep and what to change (how to balance continuity and renewal) as expectations for growth soar.

Supplement to case IN1556

Supplement to case IN1556