We discuss here the important role of intermolecular coupling for the thermal-and light-induced molecular state switching in the solid state. Investigations were performed on the two crystalline polymorphs of the spin-crossover [Fe-(PM-BIA) 2 (NCS) 2 ] material. In addition to structural studies at thermal equilibrium, lightinduced phenomena were investigated through photocrystallography, photomagnetic, and dynamical optical measurements. Strong similarities between the thermal-equilibrium and the out-of-equilibrium light-induced transformations are observed in each polymorph: strong cooperative phenomena in one polymorph versus weak cooperative ones in the second polymorph. These different responses of the two crystalline forms of the compound to external perturbations are discussed at the microscopic level in terms of Ising-like model and two-mode description of on-site molecular potentials.