News: Leadership and
Governance Collective
Empowering organisations throughout Aotearoa with innovative, independent, and collaborative research for leadership and governance excellence.
September 2025
Lee said failure to incorporate culture in the fabric of an organisation carried measurable economic costs when it came to high-stakes decisions, such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
"M&A transactions are among the few business activities where culture is implicitly assigned a monetary value," Lee said.
The survey asked chief executives whether they would proceed with buying a culturally misaligned firm or would require a discount.
"Responses were consistent across sectors," she said, with 44 percent to 59 percent of leaders indicating they would not buy a culturally misaligned organisation.
"M&A transactions are among the few business activities where culture is implicitly assigned a monetary value," Lee said.
The survey asked chief executives whether they would proceed with buying a culturally misaligned firm or would require a discount.
"Responses were consistent across sectors," she said, with 44 percent to 59 percent of leaders indicating they would not buy a culturally misaligned organisation.
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Learning from Failure:
A theme highlighted by CEOs around the country was the critical relationship a business has with failure.
One founder noted that it is vital to provide a safe place for people to share and develop ideas. ‘’It is ok to hit hurdles or fail.’’ However, admitting and confronting mistakes is very important, and the immediate fix is often far less costly than if the mistake is found later. Another CEO noted that many organisations fail to look back and reflect on what did not work well, an essential step for learning. Those who learn quickly tend to succeed. However, retrospective analysis is often overlooked because it can be expensive, requires skilled facilitation, and involves addressing the emotional aspects of failure. Moreover, the organisational environment must support the idea that mistakes are part of the process and be accepted wholeheartedly. One CEO pointed to Sweden’s model, where startups that fail can access government funding again, provided they explain the lessons learned from their failure. He noted that there are valuable lessons in failure, and the biggest risk comes from experiencing a few successes with no failures, which can lead to arrogance and complacency.
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Organisational culture and firm value:
In the pre-research conversations, many New Zealand leaders stated they would not make an offer on a culturally misaligned company. One questioned why anyone would, unless they were not planning to acquire the people. Leaders agreed that organisational culture impacts firm value and some provided examples. One CEO said that during the COVID-19 pandemic their employees went above and beyond their job descriptions to support their customers, while competitors flailed.
Organisational culture, risk-taking and long-term orientation: Industry leaders revealed distinct attitudes towards risk among different organisations. For-profit companies, driven by investor or owner expectations, exhibited a higher propensity for risk-taking, contrasting with the stewardship approach of government entities. New Zealand governance leaders emphasised that selecting a CEO with aligned risk preferences is important for an organisation’s growth prospects and cultural alignment. CEOs add that, although they are not personally driven by monetary incentives, the structure of their pay still signals the board and investor priorities for risk-taking and their approach to the long term.
Organisational culture, risk-taking and long-term orientation: Industry leaders revealed distinct attitudes towards risk among different organisations. For-profit companies, driven by investor or owner expectations, exhibited a higher propensity for risk-taking, contrasting with the stewardship approach of government entities. New Zealand governance leaders emphasised that selecting a CEO with aligned risk preferences is important for an organisation’s growth prospects and cultural alignment. CEOs add that, although they are not personally driven by monetary incentives, the structure of their pay still signals the board and investor priorities for risk-taking and their approach to the long term.