Embedded traditional management systems can change under the influence of several forces. The 1997 Asian financial crisis was such an event. This paper empirically investigates changes in the human resource management, corporate culture, risk management and competitive strategy parts of management systems in the General Trading Companies of South Korea in terms of internal perceptions of impact on corporate performance. It finds both change and continuity, particularly in corporate culture. This indicates that cultural change in organisations is not an easy task, not least because it is associated with changes in the values, attitudes, expectations, beliefs and behaviour of people. It also shows the importance of disaggregating trends as there can be simultaneously change and continuity.