• David Wilson
• Colin Herron
• Shirley Coleman

This paper describes a new method for investigating the role of workplace culture in innovation and performance. A manager intuitively recognises the need to invest in the workforce; however it is difficult to measure any expected gains. Spending limited resources on employees is therefore often considered risky, resulting in underinvestment. The locked-in value in a workforce, which economists call human capital, is now established as having a key role in growth but the mechanism generating this growth is still unknown. Indicators of cultural factors have been demonstrated to be significant to growth; however the lack of a consistent definition of culture means that the concepts cannot be applied practically. It is likely that measurement of influence techniques actually captures unconsidered underlying factors which really cause the growth. Influence techniques are a likely candidate to provide a useful mechanism and framework. This paper describes an industrial case study testing the hypotheses that influence and authority structures both improve and include standard measures of cultural factors. The most effective influence factors are considered and the implications and uses are included. The investigation suggests that understanding the influence structure in a company provides a sound basis for improving management investment strategies to increase innovation and growth.