Perhaps the most important component of the informal organization is the firm’s culture.
Organizational culture includes the norms, values and beliefs that organizational members share
(Schneider, 1990), and is shaped by opinion leaders, history, and by work that is valued and
rewarded in the company. It is also cognitive in nature, and serves to give employees a sense of
identity about themselves, their coworkers, and the company. Research has shown that a strong
corporate culture can give a company a powerful advantage over its competitors, especially in
highly competitive and commodity-like markets (Kotter and Heskett, 1992; Burt et al., 1994).