National vs organisational culture

Organisational cultures exist within national cultures.

National culture definition:-

...the values, beliefs and assumptions learned in early childhood that distunguish one group of people from another. The notion of national culture relates directly to the software of the mind - ie the common theories of behaviour or mental programs that are shared [within a social group] (Newman and Nollen, 1996, p754). In this respect, as with any social group, corporate cultures, and incorporate [cultural and behavioural] elements of other outside societies: for example, cultural difference associated with managerial social classes, hourly wages, ethnic cultures. (Grant 2002, p167)

There were several studies examining the relative success of Japanese firms in the 1980s. The conclusion was that national values, through expression in organisational practice, were the key to Japan's economic philosophy and competitiveness. National cultures do differ and so do management practices within them. These include
human resource management practices
leadership style
decision making

Troompenaars, Hoftstede and Schneider & DeMeyer all argue that these differences affect the strategic performance of organisations. 3M example, p69.

Managers in France,Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal are more likely to interpret a difficult strategic issue as a threat than their counterparts in the UK or Germany. Studies have found that performance improves where business practices and national culture are congruent. Some authors argue that the effects of national culture on strategy are inconsistent. They propose that national culture may affect values and views of the world, it may not have the same effect on other aspects of organisational or individual beliefs. They argue that national culture is less important than the political workings of the organisation, or managers professional experience and training.

So to summarise the section on the relationship between strategy and culture:-

Structures and systems work only as well as the people who make them up and operate in them. Culture shapes those people, and therefore the behaviour, personality and practices of the whole organisation.
Organisations work as a social system through culture, and culture therefore strongly affects the strategy process.
Culture can be a tacit feature of your organisation, making it difficult for your competitors to imitate
There is no one best culture that fits all organisations or strategies, just as with systems and structure.
Remember your culture is just part of a national "superculture" and so you need to take that into account also during strategy implementation.
To be an organisational strength, culture must support strategy. Often, change in strategic direction requires adjustments to culture.