Abstract (EN)

This paper presents the results of the study conducted by the authors at the request of the EADS Group and a discussion about the European culture concept and organizational identity. It is based upon 313 questionnaires administered via the company Intranet to the group’s key managers and directors. It highlights a number of specific cultural and managerial trends within the group and examines their relationship to the company’s economic performance. Our analysis shows that EADS is characterised chiefly by a European ideology. However, in many instances, the actual company values are very close to the Anglo-Saxon cultural model Throughout the period 2000-2004, the EADS Group displayed remarkable economic performance characterised by a significant increase in sales, improved market share, with a leading international position in aeronautic industry for 2004, and ambitious industrial projects notably with the A380. In the same period, the Top Management tried to create an “ad hoc” identity around the EADS Organization, in complement of the already existing identities of the subsidiaries. Within this context, the directors of the EADS Group decided to carry out an analysis of their company’s cultural characteristics in order to better understand the management style at play and the perceived values of the company’s key directors and managers.