Kickass Companies have a “we culture”. Even though our sample of Kickass Companies has a top-down management approach at the strategic level – as learned in
finding no. 1 – they furthermore succeed in developing a strong culture with a high degree of “we–consciousness”.
In such a corporate culture, the employees are typically deeply involved at the tactical and operational levels to improve and develop the company and how it
works.
In the data, we also found strong relations between the management, who are sometimes also the owners, and the employees, which provides a breeding ground for good internal relations that leads to better knowledge sharing. Kickass Companies emphasise the importance of collective knowledge sharing, giving the employees responsibility and ensuring that everyone can contribute. Finally, Kickass Companies emphasise the importance of competence development and the
fact that employees need to feel challenged to a certain degree to perform best.