Section Two: Secondary Research on Nike

To further explore the topic of organisational culture, it can be studied within the context of a major fashion brand.

Established in 1964, the culture that Nike has since developed has been influenced by the values and ethics of nearly six decades of history. Nike’s culture is encapsulated in two key principles: firstly, Nike’s mission statement, “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world, which includes the belief that if you have a body, you are an athlete.” (NIKE, 2022, p. 6) Secondly, the company’s eleven maxims:

1. It is our nature to innovate.

2. Nike is a company.

3. Nike is a brand.

4. Simplify and go.

5. The consumer decides.

6. Be a sponge.

7. Evolve immediately.

8. Do the right thing.

9. Master the fundamentals.

10. We are on the offense always.

11. Remember the man [the late Bill Bowerman, Nike co-founder]."

(NIKE, 2022)

From these principles, three fundamental ideas can be derived: innovation, collaboration, and positive change. These ideas are the driving force of Nike’s business and are reflected in everything Nike does.

Consumers have been consistently reminded of Nike’s commitment to innovation since its inception. Nike has reinforced its reputation through the release of industrychanging products like Dri-FIT technology, “a unique high-performance microfibre construction that supports the body's natural cooling system by wicking away sweat and dispersing it across the fabric's surface to evaporate faster” and Nike Flyknit, a material “made up of strong yet lightweight strands of yarn that have been woven into a one-piece upper, securing an athlete's foot to the shoe platform” developed through over 40 years of research (NIKE, 2023). However, this rich history of groundbreaking innovation does not come easily, a huge portion of Nike’s success can be accredited to the emphasis Nike has placed on building a creative and diverse team, supporting its employees and allowing them the opportunity to reach their full potential, and giving them the tools to shape the culture in which they work. In 2022 Nike was ranked #34 in Forbes’ World’s Best Employers list, 8 places higher than its 2021 ranking. This speaks not only to Nike’s commitment to creating a positive corporate culture that places great value on employee advancement and job-satisfaction, but also to Nike’s dedication to positive change in general. In Nike’s 2021 Impact Report, CEO John Donahoe is quoted saying “We’re more focused than ever on building a diverse, inclusive team and culture, because creating the change we want to see starts with us. And through our platforms and partnerships, we’re inspiring and empowering others to join us in working toward a more equitable future.” (NIKE, 2021, p. 4)

Another fundamental theme of Nike’s culture is collaboration, Nike’s partnerships with professional athletes have been crucial to its success, not only from a marketing and financial standpoint, but because of the feedback Nike has taken from these athletes and applied to its product development. In a 1992 interview with the Harvard Business Review, Nike Co-founder Phil Knight described this collaborative relationship, saying “When we started making shoes for basketball, tennis, and football, we did essentially the same thing we had done in running. We got to know the players at the top of the game and did everything we could to understand what they needed, both from a technological and a design perspective. Our engineers and designers spent a lot of time talking to the athletes about what they needed both functionally and aesthetically.” (Willigan, 1992) Additionally, Nike is a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC): “an industry-wide group of more than 200 leading apparel and footwear brands, retailers, suppliers, academics and NGOs working to reduce the environmental impacts of apparel and footwear products.” (NIKE, 2023) Nike has worked with the SAC since 2009, paving the way for other major fashion brands to reduce the apparel industry’s environmental footprint (NIKE, 2023). This is just one of a number of Nike’s collaborative efforts to encourage sustainability, diversity, and improved labour conditions in the fashion industry.

Since the creation of the brand’s mission statement, Nike has expanded its focus on innovation beyond products and begun working to create positive change in the world. This work is detailed in Nike’s Impact Report. In 2021, Nike invested 36.6 million USD to support organisations working to level the playing field and addressing racial inequality (NIKE, 2021). Nike has also addressed racial inequality within its workforce with programs like the Serena Williams Design Crew, “a six-month apprenticeship program to diversify talent within the design industry.” (NIKE, 2021) Of the three cohorts that have already completed the program, 14 have already been recruited to full time positions, and that number will only grow as the program continues (NIKE, 2021). Lastly, Nike has acted in communities all over the world with its ‘Made to Play Commitment’, working with over 100 community organisations to increase children’s access to sport. In 2021, Nike’s Made to Play Commitment impacted nearly 600,000 worldwide – 55% of whom were girls. Nike also shared practices and tools with over 24,000 coaches and helped train nearly 6,400 of them in delivering fun, inclusive experiences to all kids (NIKE, 2021). These examples represent only a fraction of Nike’s work in communities, but clearly show Nike’s commitment to positively impacting communities all over the world by with outreach and philanthropy.

Since 1964, Nike has built a strong and positive culture by adopting a clear set of values and ensuring that everything the company does is in conjunction with these values.

Conclusion

In 2023 Nike is one of the most recognisable names in the apparel industry, and over the years has created a culture that is apparent in everything the brand does. Nike is governed by its commitment to innovation, collaboration, and positive change. These themes can be defined, according to Schein’s model, as Nike’s basic assumptions, the essence of its culture. Nike shows evidence of its commitment to these assumptions in what can be categorized by Schein’s model as its artefacts: the brand’s products, corporate structure, and employee support programs as well as in its values: Nike’s mission statement and 11 maxims. Examining Nike’s culture using the Competing Values Framework, it is clear how unique the brand’s culture is, as Nike has developed a structure that ensures sufficient resources are dedicated to each of the four organisational values described in the model. As discussed, Nike’s culture places great emphasis on internal harmony and collaboration, external competition, innovation and change, and quality enhancement. Nike has developed an organisational culture that effectively addresses the need for flexibility while also maintaining stability and consistency, and places value on internal unity, while also outcompeting rivals. As a result, there is little to no room for improvement for Nike to better apply the prominent theories of organisational culture to its business. Nike can be viewed as an example of how to build a strong culture that benefits business on every level and dedicates ample resources to each of the competing values.

Bibliography

Cameron, K (2009) An Introduction to the Competing Values Framework. The RCF Group: Available at: https://www.thercfgroup.com/files/resources/an_introduction_to_the_competing_value s_framework_white_paper-pdf-28512.pdf (Accessed: 23 January 2023).

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (2023) Available at: https://about.nike.com/en/impact/focus-areas/diversity-equity-inclusion (Accessed: 23 January 2023).

Forbes Profile: Nike (2023) Available at: https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike/?sh=2a5ef3526eb5 (Accessed: 23 January 2023).

Hofstede, G., Hofstede G.J., and Minkov, M. (2010) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw Hill.

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NKE/ (2023) (Accessed: 23 January 2023).

Impact Partnerships and Collaborations (2021) Available at: https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/resources/impact-partnerships-andcollaborations (Accessed: 23 January 2023).

Nike FlyKnit. (2023) Available at: https://www.nike.com/gb/flyknit (Accessed: 23 January 2023).

NIKE, Inc. (2021) Breaking Barriers: FY 2021 Impact Report Available at: https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/reports/fy21-nike-inc-impact-report-2 (Accessed: 23 January 2023).

NIKE, Inc. (2022) Form 10-K: 2022 Annual Report. Available at: https://s1.q4cdn.com/806093406/files/doc_downloads/2022/399556(1)_27_NikeInc._NPS_Combo_Form-10-K_WR.pdf (Accessed: 23 January 2023).

Quinn, R.E. and Rohrbaugh, J. (1981) 'A Competing Values Approach to Organizational Effectiveness', Public Productivity Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 122-140. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/3380029

Schein, E.H. (1983) Organizational Culture: A Dynamic Model. Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Available at: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA126613.pdf (Accessed: 23 January 2023).