DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

A Study on the Organizational Resilience of Netflix

  • Song, Minzheong (Department of Media Communication & Advertising, Hansei University)
  • Received : 2022.05.20
  • Accepted : 2022.05.27
  • Published : 2022.08.31

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to prove the global OTT, Netflix's organizational resilience (OR). For this, we review previous literatures regarding Netflix's OR and the theoretical logic of the OR. Then, we investigate Netflix's organizational culture (OC), corporate structure and business strategies based on the five levers of the OR. As a result, the first lever, the coordination makes Netflix to get rid of the inner wall by creating Netflix terms like 'sunshining,' and 'postmortem,' which makes their employees extraordinarily candid with each other. The second lever, the cooperation provides employees with understanding customers by sharing company and service information openly and broadly through transparent board system, billboard advertising, etc. The third lever, the clout allows Netflix to encourage independent decision-making by their employees. Netflix customers are under scrutiny and served 24/7 via live chat or phone by supporting a high-performance workplace. The fourth lever, the capabilities are related to Netflix's keeping highly effective people and it establishes a culture of highly motivated employees. The "dream team" policy is run by what is known as the "keeper test." The last lever, the connections make Netflix to forge external strategic partnership to stay agile. There is no rule for partnering with key content producers by allowing creative freedom to them.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Hansei University Research Fund of 2021.

References

  1. D. Denyer, "Organizational Resilience: A summary of academic evidence, business insights and new thinking," BSI and Cranfield School of Management, 2017.
  2. EIU and BSI, "Organizational resilience: Building an enduring enterprise," 2017.
  3. M.Z.Song, "Over-The-Top (OTT) Platforms' Strategies for Two-Sided Markets in Korea, International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication (IJIBC), Vol.13 No.4, pp. 55-65, November 2021, http://dx.doi.org/10.7236/IJIBC.2021.13.4.55.
  4. Financial Times, "Walt Disney gains ground on Netflix with strong growth in streaming," https://www.ft.com/content/f2d13954-8760-44b8-b412-24517b0c7206, May 12, 2022.
  5. The Verge, "Disney Plus keeps pressure on Netflix with launch in 42 more countries this summer," Jan. 26, 2022.
  6. BusinessInsider, "Netflix isin crisis. Hollywood insiderssay it could turn into a huge opportunity or leave executives 'more scared and paralyzed than they already were'," https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-subscriber-drop-layoffs-content-opportunity-or-crisis-2022-4, May 1, 2022.
  7. M. Bowers, J.R. Hall and M.M. Srinivasan, "Organizational culture and leadership style: The missing combination for selecting the right leader for effective crisis management," Business Horizons, Vol. 60, Issue 4, pp. 551-563, July-August 2017. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.04.001.
  8. C. Ruiz-Martin, A. Lopez-Paredes, G. Wainer, "What we know and do not know about organizational resilience," International Journal of Production Management and Engineering (IJPME), Vol.6, No.1, pp. 11-28, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4995/ijpme.2018.7898.
  9. L. H. Allegre, L. Joseph, W. W. David and J. Amit, "Hollywood studio filmmaking in the age of Netflix: a tale of two institutional logics," Journal of Cultural Economics, Vol. 45, pp. 213-238, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-020-09379-z
  10. R. Gulati, Reorganize for Resilience, Harvard Business Review Press, 2010.
  11. P. Harmon, "(Re)(Organize) for Resilience, A BPTrends Book Review," www.bptrends.com, June 2010.
  12. Statista, "Number of Netflix employees from 2015 to 2020, by type," https://www.statista.com/statistics/587671/netflix-employees/, March 18, 2021,
  13. Circleloop, "7 Companies with Great Internal Communications," https://blog.circleloop.com/companies-with-great-internal-communications, November 29, 2018.
  14. Netflix (n. d.=no date), "Netflix culture: Freedom & responsibility," https://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664.
  15. P. Dan, "The Netflix Decision Making Model Is Why They're So Successful," Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/danpontefract/2019/02/04/the-netflix-decision-making-model-is-why-theyre-so-successful/?sh=1269f38f73bc, Feb. 4, 2019.
  16. P. McCord, "How Netflix Reinvented HR," Harvard Business Review (HBR), https://hbr.org/2014/01/how-netflix-reinvented-hr?cm_sp=Topics-_-Links-_-Read%These%First, Jan.-Feb. 2014.
  17. D. Anderson, "Netflix Inc.'s Organizational Culture & Its Strategic Implications," https://www.rancord.org/netflix-inc-organizational-culture-hrm-strategic-implications, Nov. 18, 2019
  18. Netflix (n. d.), "Netflix Culture - Seeking Excellence," https://jobs.netflix.com/culture.
  19. H. Koss, "7 leadership lessons from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' new book," https://builtin.com/company-culture/netflix-book, Sep. 15, 2020.
  20. Netflix Culture (n.d.), https://jobs.netflix.com/culture.
  21. The Wall Street Journal, "At Netflix, Radical Transparency and Blunt Firings Unsettle the Ranks," https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-netflix-radical-transparency-and-blunt-firings-unsettle-the-ranks-1540497174, Oct. 25, 2018.
  22. Business Insider, "Netflix lets dozens - sometimes hundreds - of employees examine why someone was fired in 'postmortem' meetings and emails," https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-firings-postmortem-meetings-emails-2018-10, Oct. 29, 2018.
  23. Variety, "Asian Video Platform Iflix Hires Netflix's Sean Carey as Content Head," https://variety.com/2017/digital/asia/iflix-appoints-netflix-sean-carey-1202007495/, Mar. 13, 2017.
  24. J. M. O'Brien, "The Netflix Effect," https://www.wired.com/2002/12/netflix-6/?pg=2, December 1, 2002.
  25. M. Nolan, "Assessing Leadership in Business - Marketing: A Critical Investigation of Reed Hastings," Honors Scholar Theses 812, https://opencommons.uconn.edu/srhonors_theses/812, 2021.
  26. D.F. Larcker and B. Tayan, "Netflix Approach to Governance: Genuine Transparency with the Board," Stanford Closer Look Series-CGRP71, the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publication-pdf/cgri-closer-look-71-netflix-approach-governance-boards.pdf, May 1, 2018.
  27. A. Davis, "Netflix Believes in Billboards. Why Internal Communication Should Too," https://www.inc.com/alison-davis/netflix-believes-in-billboards-why-internal-communication-should-too.html, Apr. 27, 2018.
  28. CNBC, "Netflix fires employee for sharing 'confidential' information amid Chappelle uproar," https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/15/netflix-fires-employee-for-sharing-confidential-information-amid-chappelle-uproar.html, Oct. 15, 2021.
  29. S. Van Belleghem, "Customer Experience at Netflix: 6 lessons we can all learn from!" https://www.stevenvanbelleghem.com/blog/customer-experience-at-netflix-6-lessons-we-can-all-learn-from/#, Jan. 4, 2021.
  30. S. Van Belleghem, "Six Customer Experience Lessons You Can Learn From Netflix," https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/365792, Feb. 23, 2021.
  31. C. Ozdoruk, 5 Customer Support Strategies to Learn from Netflix, blog, https://www.netomi.com/5-customer-experience-strategies-to-learn-from-netflix, Apr. 19, 2021.
  32. L. Harriss, "Why job autonomy is vital for success - and how to encourage it," https://www.ciphr.com/advice/employeeautonomy/#:~:text=A%study%of%nearly%1%2C400,greater%sense%of%wellbeing%and, Apr. 17, 2020.
  33. J. Wilder, "Bureaucracy sucks. 2 things your company needs to fight it," https://medium.com/the-mission/bureaucracy-sucks-2-things-your-company-needs-to-fight-it-365b05e0c25d, July 2, 2018.
  34. Concordia Business Review, "Netflix's "Dream Team" Culture," https://www.concordiabusinessreview.com/post/netflix-s-dream-team-culture, January 17, 2018.
  35. D. Anderson, "Netflix Inc.'s Organizational Structure & Its Strategic Implications," https://www.rancord.org/netflix-organizational-structure-design-organizational-chart-characteristics, Nov. 10, 2019.
  36. J. McGrath, "Breaking silos at Netflix," https://www.myob.com/nz/blog/breaking-silos-at-netflix/, February 7, 2018.
  37. The Guardian, "Stream big: how Netflix changed the TV landscape in 10 years," https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/feb/05/stream-big-how-netflix-changed-the-tv-landscape-in-10-years, Feb. 5, 2022.
  38. G. Yoo, "Influence of Netflix on the domestic drama market - Focusing on in-depth interviews with producers," Media Issue & Trend, Vol. 40, Korea Communications Agency (KCA), December. 2020.
  39. M.Z. Song, "Over-The-Top (OTT) Platforms'Strategies for Two-Sided Markets in Korea," International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication (IJIBC), Vol.13 No.4 pp. 55-65, November 2021. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7236/IJIBC.2021.13.4.55.