Managing Cultural Integration in Cross-Border Merger and Acquisition Activities

Bachelor Thesis , 2018 , 86 Pages , Grade: 1,3

Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance

What are the critical success factors in CBM&A activities? What are the obstacles to and facilitators of a successful cultural integration in CBM&A activities? Which actions need to be taken to successfully manage cultural integration processes during CBM&A activities? This thesis will aim to answer these three research questions.

Consequently, the research conducted aims to create an elaborate understanding for one of the most cited reasons of CBM&A failure, cultural integration, and to answer the research questions by developing a concrete action plan. This shall be approached by firstly outlining a brief overview of M&A theory before addressing special aspects of CBM&As in chapter 2. The second chapter will be concluded by explaining the complexity of culture and establishing a selection of empirically proven approaches on assessing culture. Subsequently, chapter 3 will focus on the decision factors which determine integration approaches before cultural integration models will be more narrowly outlined.

Chapter 3 will then highlight the critical factors influencing cultural integration in more detail and start elaborating on how the evolving problems related to cultural integration can be encountered.

In chapter 4, the research approach and methods will be explained in detail before the fifth chapter will highlight the key findings of the empirical analysis. Chapter 5 will then discuss the research findings and develop an action plan to show managerial implications on how to successfully manage cultural integration.

Lastly, chapter 6 will summarize the findings of this thesis and illustrate the limitations of the research, before outlining starting points for future research.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1 INTRODUCTION
  • 1.1 BACKGROUND
  • 1.2 OBJECTIVES
  • 1.3 METHODS AND STRUCTURE
• 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
  • 2.1 FUNDAMENTALS OF M&AS
    • 2.1.1 M&A AS A FORM OF BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
    • 2.1.2 DEFINITION AND DIFFERENTIATION OF M&AS
    • 2.1.3 STAGES IN THE M&A PROCESS
  • 2.2 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS OF CROSS-BORDER M&AS
    • 2.2.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF CROSS-BORDER M&AS
    • 2.2.2 COMMON RISKS OF CROSS-BORDER M&AS
    • 2.2.3 CULTURE AS A DUAL CHALLENGE IN CROSS-BORDER M&A
    • 2.2.4 NATIONAL CULTURE
    • 2.2.5 CORPORATE CULTURE
• 3 CULTURAL INTEGRATION IN CROSS-BORDER M&AS
  • 3.1 DETERMINING FACTORS OF POST-MERGER INTEGRATION
  • 3.2 MANAGING CULTURAL INTEGRATION: ACCULTURATION AND CULTURAL FIT
  • 3.3 CRITICAL INFLUENCING FACTORS ON THE ACCULTURATION PROCESS
• 4. METHOD AND EMPIRICAL STUDY: EXPERT INTERVIEWS
  • 4.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD
  • 4.2 STRUCTURE AND APPROACH
  • 4.3 DATA ANALYSIS
• 5. RESULTS
  • 5.1 EVALUATION OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS
  • 5.2 DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS
  • 5.3 ACTION PLAN FOR CULTURAL INTEGRATION IN CROSS-BORDER M&A

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis explores the challenges of managing cultural integration in cross-border merger and acquisition (CBM&A) activities. It aims to establish a deeper understanding of how different cultures can be integrated more efficiently during such complex business combinations. The research focuses on the human factor's significant influence on cultural integration and seeks to provide practical recommendations for management on how to approach this process more effectively.

• Cultural challenges in cross-border M&As
• The impact of national and organizational culture on CBM&A success
• The importance of active cultural management throughout the M&A process
• The role of human integration in achieving successful cultural integration
• Developing an action plan for effective cultural integration in CBM&As

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The thesis starts by providing a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of mergers and acquisitions (M&As), emphasizing the specific considerations associated with cross-border transactions. It then delves into the crucial role of culture in the success or failure of CBM&As, analyzing both national and corporate cultural differences. Chapter 3 focuses on the management of cultural integration, exploring the concept of acculturation and its critical influencing factors. The research methodology is described in Chapter 4, outlining the use of expert interviews to gather insights from practitioners in the field. Chapter 5 presents and discusses the findings from the expert interviews, ultimately culminating in the development of a concrete action plan for cultural integration in CBM&As.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This thesis focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, cultural integration, acculturation, cultural fit, human integration, post-merger integration, and the development of an action plan to improve the management of cultural integration in CBM&As.

• College: Berlin School of Economics and Law
• Grade: 1,3
• Author: Franziska Schweigert (Author)
• Publication Year: 2018
• Pages: 86
• Catalog Number: V1040889
• ISBN (eBook): 9783346460738
• ISBN (Book): 9783346460745
• Language: English
• Tags: cross-border, merger and acquisition, M&A, Culture, Cultural integration, national culture, corporate culture, post-merger integration, acculturation, cultural fit