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This paper aims to offer a conceptualization of how and why corporate level strategic change may build on historical differentiation at business unit level.

Methodologically, an historical case study of Nokia Corporation's drastic business model transformation between the years 1987 and 1995 is reported.

The conceptual and historical work results in a process model of business model change, demonstrating how central business units feed strategic alternatives and capabilities to the corporate‐level transformation process.

The results highlight the importance of corporate level “market mechanisms' that allow promising strategic alternatives to emerge and select out inferior options. In this process, a key mechanism is the exchange of executives and cognitive mindsets between business units and corporate headquarters (CHQ).

The reported research offers an original contribution by showing the dynamic interplay of cognitive and organizational change processes, and highlighting the importance of building on existing capabilities and competencies despite the pressure to demonstrate strong turnaround activities.

The purpose of this study was to explore the introduction of a “sales culture” at one of the ten largest US banks. Identifying and analyzing the existing human relations problems should enable constructive competitive improvements to be made in the future.

The major findings of our interviews with tellers and customer service representatives are compared to how the managers presented the sales culture, as well as the relevant cultural literature. The metaphor of the yin and the yang will be used to shed light on the tense and fluctuating interconnection of certain phenomenon.

Amalgam Bank’s sales did increase, but unanticipated problems also surfaced. The new sales duties slowed service and irritated customers. The teller referral quota proved unrealistic. The sales incentive point system provided little motivation. The negative tended to be stressed in sales meetings. When employees raised concerns, their managers replied with silencing behaviors. Further, there were double standards, lessened career opportunities and some inconsistent managerial practices. Increased turnover and resistance ensued. Addressing these problems should bring the parties’ interests into better balance and produce a more stable and competitive culture.

Doing a comparative analysis can confirm what aspects of the sales culture literature are relevant and where inductive modifications might be called for. Consideration needs to be given to what results might be due to a poor managerial implementation, and what results can be attributed to the conflicting aspects of the original service-oriented culture and the new sales culture. More fieldwork needs to be done to provide confirmation for these findings and expand upon them.

Both theory and practice could be improved by integrating material from anthropology, sociology, human relations, organization culture and marketing.

This paper focused on the social issue of culture change. Utilizing competitiveness as an outcome variable, the social implications of this study are tremendous.

This study goes back to the roots of the Human Relations movement: fieldwork. In an era where most scholars hand out surveys and analyze corresponding numbers, the current authors actually went out in the field and meticulously interviewed the subjects. This increased the quality and depth of the survey, while providing a true barometer of the reaction to the proposed culture change. Although this method of study is not original, it is hardly ever done anymore in a “survey-driven” research environment. This fieldwork methodology is one of the most important contributions of this paper.