Lagos, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- NIGERIAN businesses must make corporate culture a strategic business priority by embedding responsiveness, respect, reliability, responsibility and strong stakeholder relationships if they are to compete successfully in the global marketplace, Chief Executive Officer of Business School Netherlands International, Prof. Lere Baale, has said.
Speaking at the WorldStage Business Forum Q2 2026 and the public presentation of the WorldStage Nigeria Economic Report Q1 2026 in Lagos, Baale argued that organisational culture has become a key competitive advantage, with customer experience, trust and leadership behaviour increasingly determining business success.
Delivering a lecture titled “Nigeria’s Corporate Culture and Global Standard,” the management expert said leading organisations across Europe, North America, Asia and other emerging markets consistently invest in building strong corporate cultures, a model Nigerian companies must emulate to remain competitive.
According to him, global competitiveness is no longer driven solely by product quality or pricing but by how organisations treat customers, employees, suppliers, investors and other stakeholders.
“We have moved into an era where reputation travels faster than products. A delayed response, ignored complaint or broken promise can shape public perception within minutes,” he said.
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Baale warned that many large Nigerian companies risk eroding stakeholder trust through poor customer engagement, delayed communication and executive inaccessibility, describing the trend as a growing threat to long-term business sustainability.
He noted that many organisations routinely fail to acknowledge emails, respond to business proposals or address customer complaints promptly, despite having built their own success on trust and strong stakeholder relationships.
“The organisations that will win in the future are not necessarily the biggest; they are the most trusted,” he said.
Baale described trust as the “currency of sustainable business,” arguing that organisations cannot retain customers, attract investors or build resilient partnerships without consistently demonstrating integrity, accountability and responsiveness.
According to him, every ignored stakeholder interaction weakens an organisation’s credibility, while every fulfilled commitment strengthens its reputation.
“Trust is not a public relations exercise; it is a leadership responsibility,” he said.
He added that businesses now compete primarily on customer experience rather than products alone.
“Customers remember how they were treated. Employees remember how they were valued. Suppliers remember how they were respected. Communities remember how they were engaged,” he said.
Baale stressed that corporate culture originates from leadership, noting that employees often mirror the attitudes and behaviours demonstrated by senior executives.
“If leaders ignore stakeholders, employees will ignore stakeholders. If leaders demonstrate humility, professionalism and responsiveness, employees are likely to do the same,” he said.
He maintained that world-class organisations intentionally create cultures where accountability, innovation, learning and professionalism become everyday practice.
To strengthen Nigerian businesses, Baale recommended that organisations deliberately build their cultures around five core principles-responsiveness, respect, reliability, responsibility, relationships
He said every stakeholder interaction deserves acknowledgment, even when requests cannot be granted, adding that professionalism should become a defining feature of Nigerian businesses.
“Sustainable success is built on relationships, not transactions. The strongest brands are those that consistently nurture stakeholder trust,” he said.
Drawing from his experience at Pfizer, Baale recalled how the company supported an employee requiring long-term dialysis by funding overseas treatment, relocating the employee’s family abroad and later purchasing dialysis equipment for continued care in Nigeria.
He said the company’s investment in employee welfare transformed his own career aspirations, convincing him to remain with the organisation for 25 years instead of his planned five.
According to him, organisations that invest in employees ultimately strengthen customer service, stakeholder confidence and long-term profitability.
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Baale urged Nigerian businesses to adopt what he described as a “new corporate social contract” built on fairness, transparency and professionalism.
He said organisations should commit to respecting customers, valuing employees, treating suppliers fairly, engaging host communities responsibly and recognising the media as strategic partners rather than adversaries.
“This is not merely good ethics. It is good business,” he said.
He expressed optimism that Nigeria possesses the talent, entrepreneurial capacity and institutional strength to build globally respected companies but stressed that sustained success would depend on consistency in corporate behaviour.
“The organisations that will define Nigeria’s future will not simply be those with the largest balance sheets. They will be those with the strongest cultures,” Baale said.
Opening the forum, President and Chief Executive Officer of WorldStage, Segun Adeleye, said the event sought to stimulate debate on the standards expected of Nigerian businesses and encourage greater accountability in corporate governance.
He noted that while micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) account for about 90 per cent of businesses and employ roughly 60 million Nigerians, many continue to face poor treatment from larger corporations through delayed responses, inaccessible executives and weak stakeholder engagement.
