A common mistake that many international firms make involves underestimating the importance of organizational culture and ethics on achieving sustainability. Inability to handle the combination of these two concepts often results in unsustainable development for the firm over time. In the past, we have seen many examples of international firms establishing operations abroad and facing problems as a result of unsustainable ethics and corporate culture.

The country Laos is facing problems with bribery in many of its domestic organizations. Indeed, bribery seems the be the result of an unfunctional link between the two concepts in Laos. To get a better understanding of this problem of organizational culture and ethics, five qualitative interviews have been conducted with members of the Swedish business community in Laos. These were based on and connected to the Hofstede model as a theoretical foundation. An in-depth contribution to existing literature has been made from the organizational perspective, where the importance the link between organizational culture and ethics has been examined in great detail. As an organization, stating a zero-tolerance for bribery is an important part of the journey, however, it will not be enough. To stop bribery, organizations need to substitute bribery with something else.

By using Laos as an illustrative example, the importance of having an understanding of locational characteristics are demonstrated. Through an understanding of the link, organizational culture and ethics is successfully managed. Indeed, cultural dimensions and ethical practices are separate in different cultures. However, if a firm is aware of the importance of understanding the Laotians and adjusts accordingly, they can expand successfully into other countries with a corruption rate as high as that of Laos. 

Barnes et al. (1993) developed a model, aiming to highlight cultural characteristics in the Hofstede model which are critical to implement and maintain ethical operations. This model has since been used to identify the importance of the link between organizational culture and ethics. From synthesising the findings of Hofstede, Barnes and a number of qualitative interviews, recommendations are given to international firms and institutions aiming to act as intermediaries: (1) to be aware of the long-term aspects and (2) the importance to have a great enterprise culture.