Set in Stone: The Persistence and Origins of Corporate Culture

This paper examines the origins and evolution of corporate culture, distinguishing firm-level values and norms from insiders’ individual preferences. We document that corporate culture exhibits strong persistence as stable, firm-specific differences over time, with firm fixed effects explaining over 80\% of the variation. Using detailed founder data, we show that initial culture reflects founders’ cultural heritage, birthplace racial diversity, and early-career exposure to recessions. Values matching between firms and CEOs and employees, together with culture’s influence on CEOs, reinforces persistence through selection, attrition, and workplace norms. Overall, founder imprint and matching are central to the enduring nature of corporate culture.