This case traces the development of 3M’s innovative and global culture from its early
days through 2018. The main focus of the case is on the evolution of culture at 3M, and
how this culture drove their global strategy through a continual stream of product
innovations that have taken the company into a large number of different industries. The
case also looks at how management deliberately institutionalized the emerging culture
at 3M by creating rules and procedures that provided opportunities for, and rewarded,
innovative risk taking.
Instructions:
You will need to review the case study in your textbook (Case 19), the weekly readings,
and outside research, then answer the following questions utilizing topics covered in
chapters 9 and 10.
• What are the roots of 3M’s culture of entrepreneurship and innovation? What
were the key tenets of this culture as they emerged over time?
• How was the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation nurtured at 3M from the
era of McKnight through to that of DeSimone? How has entrepreneurship been
institutionalized within the company?
• What were the strengths of the organization and culture of 3M during the
McKnight to DeSimone era? What were the potential weaknesses?
• Over their existence, 3M has utilized both related and unrelated diversification.
Please provide an example of each in relation to 3M. How did each type of
diversification work out for the company?
• Utilizing different examples than in question 4, what has 3M done right with their
diversification? What have they done incorrectly? Why?
• By the 1990s, 3M was starting to develop some problems. What were the causes
of these problems?
• Why did 3M’s board hire an outsider, McNerney, to run 3M after DeSimone?
What was McNerney trying to do at 3M? What were the pros and cons of his
approach?
