The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Business School Netherlands International, Prof. Lere Baale, has tasked Nigerian organisations to build cultures rooted in responsiveness, trust and professionalism if they hope to compete successfully on the global stage.

Speaking yesterday at the WorldStage Business Forum Q2 2026 and the public presentation of the WorldStage Nigeria Economic Report Q1 2026 in Lagos, Baale warned that many large organisations had developed a culture of corporate arrogance that was damaging customer confidence and business relationships.

Delivering a lecture titled: ‘Nigeria’s Corporate Culture and Global Standard’, Baale said the era when companies could rely on market dominance or bureaucracy to shield poor customer service was over.

According to him, many Nigerians had experienced unanswered emails, ignored telephone calls, neglected customer complaints, unacknowledged business proposals and inaccessible chief executives, describing such practices as evidence of a weak corporate culture.

He stressed that organisations could not conceal poor culture for long, noting that reputation now travels faster than products in a digitally connected world.

He said: “We now operate in an age of transparency, accountability and stakeholder scrutiny. The organisations that will win in the future are not necessarily the biggest; they are the most trusted.

Baale posited that global standards were not defined by expensive office buildings, imported furniture or international awards, but by professional behaviour.

He identified responsiveness, respect, accountability, transparency and keeping promises as the common traits shared by the world’s most respected organisations.

He attributed strong corporate culture to leadership, saying employees often mirror the conduct of their leaders.

To build globally competitive organisations, Baale urged Nigerian companies to intentionally develop cultures around five pillars—responsiveness, respect, reliability, responsibility and relationships.

The CEO of WorldStage Limited, Segun Adeleye, said the forum was convened to examine the poor corporate conduct towards customers, the media and small businesses.

Adeleye noted that although Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) account for about 90 per cent of businesses and provide an estimated 60 million jobs in Nigeria, many of them were at the receiving end of corporate oppression.

Adeleye urged corporate leaders to embrace ethical business practices, stressing that improved corporate culture was essential for building a more competitive Nigerian economy.