Abstract
Foreign direct investment, particularly cross-border mergers and acquisitions can spawn a range of individual-level outcomes from cross-cultural adjustment and synergistic learning, on the positive side, to work alienation, on the negative. Unsuccessful navigation of these individual-level outcomes leads to failed integration that can seriously affect the realization of desired organizational outcomes such as successful technology transfer, knowledge-sharing, and the general realization of global growth. By means of an iterative between-methods triangulation, the study surfaces cross-cultural work alienation as a phenomenon that can limit the overall success of such ventures, and identifies interventions that help to promote successful post-merger integration.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, N. J. 1983. Cross-cultural management research: The ostrich and the trend. Academy of Management Review, 8 (2): 226–232.
Aiken, M. T., & Hage, J. 1966. Organizational alienation: A comparative analysis. American Sociological Review, 31 (4): 497–507.
Alvesson, M., & Sveningsson, S. 2003. Managers doing leadership: The extra-ordinarization of the mundane. Human Relations, 56 (12): 1435–1459.
Barkema, H. G., Bell, H. J., & Pennings, J. M. 1996. Foreign entry, cultural barriers, and learning. Strategic Management Journal, 17 (2): 151–166.
Bell, E. L. 1990. The bicultural life experience of career-oriented black women. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11 (6): 459–477.
Benet-Martinez, V., & Haritatos, J. 2005. Bicultural identity integration (BII): Components and psychological antecedents. Journal of Personality, 73 (4): 1015–1050.
Benet-Martinez, V., Leu, J., Lee, F., & Morris, M. 2002. Negotiating biculturalism: Cultural frame switching in biculturals with oppositional versus compatible cultural identities. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33 (5): 492–516.
Bhagat, R. S., Kedia, B. L., Harveston, P. D., & Triandis, H. C. 2002. Cultural variations in the cross-border transfer of organizational knowledge: An integrative framework. Academy of Management Review, 27 (2): 204–222.
Bijlsma-Frankema, K., & Costa, A. C. 2005. Understanding the trust-control nexus. International Sociology, 20 (3): 259–282.
Blauner, R. 1960. Work satisfaction and industrial trends in modern society. In W. Galenson & M. S. Lipset (Eds), Labor and trade unionism: 339–360. New York: John Wiley.
Blauner, R. 1964. Alienation and freedom: The factory worker and his industry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Boyacigiller, N., & Adler, N. J. 1991. The parochial dinosaur: Organizational science in a global context. Academy of Management Review, 16 (2): 1–32.
Brannen, M. Y. 1994. Your next boss is Japanese: Negotiating cultural change at a Western Massachusetts paper plant. Unpublished Dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Brannen, M. Y. 1996. Ethnographic international management research. In B. J. Punnet & O. Shenkar (Eds), Handbook for international management research: 115–143, Cambridge: Blackwell.
Brannen, M. Y., & Fruin, W. M. 1999. Cultural alienation in today's multinational work arenas: Behavioral fallout from globalization. In T. Hamada (Ed), “Anthropologists and the Globalization of Business”, Special Issue of Practicing Anthropology, Vol. 21 (4) Fall.
Brannen, M. Y., & Salk, J. E. 2000. Partnering across borders: Negotiating organizational culture in a German-Japanese joint-venture. Human Relations, 53 (4): 451–487.
Butterfield, D. A., & Farris, G. F. 1972. The Likert organizational profile: Methodological analysis and test of system 4 theory in Brazil. Sloan School of Management Working Paper No. 608–72.
Calori, R., Lubatkin, M., & Very, P. 1994. Control mechanisms in cross-border acquisitions: An international comparison. Organizational Science, 15 (3): 361–379.
Chaterjee, S., Lubatkin, M. H., Schweiger, D. M., & Weber, Y. 1992. Cultural differences and shareholder value in related mergers: linking equity and human capital. Strategic Management Journal, 13 (5): 319–334.
Cheng, C.-Y., Lee, F., & Benet-Martinez, V. 2006. Assimilation and contrast effects in cultural frame switching: Bicultural identity integration and valence of cultural cues. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37 (6): 742–760.
Child, J., Falkner, D., & Pitkethy, R. 2001. The management of international acquisitions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Datta, D. K., & Puia, G. 1995. Cross-border acquisitions: an examination of the influence of relatedness and cultural fit on shareholder value creation in US acquiring firms. Management International Review, 35 (4): 337–359.
Dill, B. T. 1979. The dialectics of black womanhood. Signs, 4 (3): 543–555.
Doi, T. 1971. Amae no kozo (The structure of amae). Tokyo: Kobundo.
Durkheim, E. 1933. The division of labor in society. New York: Free Press.
Eisenhardt, K. 1991. Better stories and better constructs: The case for rigor and comparative logic. Academy of Management Review, 16 (3): 620–627.
Fairclough, N. 1995. Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. London: Longman.
Fine, G. A. 1984. Negotiated orders and organizational cultures. Annual Review of Sociology, 10: 239–262.
Gardberg, N. A., & Fombrun, C. J. 2006. Corporate citizenship: Creating intangible assets across institutional environments. Academy of Management Review, 31 (2): 329–346.
Geertz, C. 1973. The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.
Gelfand, M. J., Erez, M., & Aycan, Z. 2007. Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 58: 479–514.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. 1967. The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Gruyter.
Glater, J. D. 2005. Suit by two employees in US accuses Japanese company of bias. New York Times. newyorktimes.com, January 20.
Harvey, M., Novicevic, M. A., Buckley, A. R., & Fung, H. 2005. Reducing inpatriate managers' “liability of foreignness” by addressing stigmatization and stereotype threats. Journal of World Business, 40 (3): 267–280.
Hassard, J., McCann, L., & Morris, J. 2007. At the sharp end of new organizational ideologies. Ethnography, 8 (3): 324–344.
Hitt, M. A., Harrison, J. S., & Ireland, R. D. 2001a. Mergers and acquisitions: A guide to creating value for stakeholders. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., Camp, S. M., & Sexton, D. L. 2001b. Strategic entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial strategies for wealth creation. Strategic Management Journal, 22 (6–7): 479–491.
Holden, L., & Roberts, I. 2004. The depowerment of the European middle-managers: Challenges and uncertainties. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 19 (3): 269–287.
JETRO (Japan External Trade Relations Organization). 2007. Japanese trade and investment statistics. http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/stats/statistics/.
Kanter, R. M., & Corn, B. I. 1994. Cultural changes during the integration process of acquisitions: A comparative study between German-Korean acquisitions. International Journal of International Relations, 31 (5): 591–604.
Kanungo, R. 1984. Work alienation: An integrative approach. New York: Praeger.
Kanungo, R. 1990. Work alienation: A pan-cultural perspective. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21 (2): 232–248.
Kleinberg, J. 1989. Cultural clash between managers: America's Japanese firms. Advances in International Comparative Management, 4: 221–243.
Kopp, R. 1994. The rice paper ceiling: Breaking through Japanese corporate culture. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press.
Krug, J. A., & Hegarty, W. H. 2001. Predicting who stays and leaves after an acquisition: A study of top managers in multinational firms. Strategic Management Journal, 22 (2): 185–196.
Larsson, R., & Lubatkin, M. 2001. Achieving acculturation in mergers and acquisitions: An international case survey. Human Relations, 54 (12): 1573–1607.
Lebra, T. S. 1976. Japanese patterns of behavior. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Lee, S. 2003. Global acquisitions: Strategic integration and the human factor. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lincoln, J. R., & Kalleberg, A. L. 1990. Culture, control, and commitment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lipponen, J., Olkkonen, M. E., & Moilanen, A. 2004. Perceived procedural justice and employee responses to an organizational merger. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 13 (3): 391–413.
Mann, J. 1958. Group relations and the marginal personality. Human Relations, 11 (1): 77–92.
Markides, C., & Ittner, C. D. 1994. Shareholder benefits from corporate international diversification: Evidence from US international acquisitions. Journal of International Business Studies, 25 (2): 343–360.
Marks, M. L. 1982. Merging human resources: A review of current research. Mergers and Acquisitions, 17 (2): 50–55.
Marks, M. L., & Mirvis, P. 1985. Merger syndrome: Stress and uncertainty. Mergers and Acquisitions, 20 (2): 50–55.
Markus, H. R., & Zajonc, R. B. 1985. The cognitive perspective in social psychology. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds), Handbook of social psychology (3rd ed.). Vol. 1: 137–230. New York: Random House.
Marx, K. 1897. Capital, Vol. 1. (Trans. 1967), New York: New World Paperbacks.
McGregor, D. 1960. The human side of enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. 1991. A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1 (1): 61–89.
Mezias, J. 2002. Identifying liabilities of foreignness and strategies to minimize their effects: The case of labor lawsuit judgments in the United States. Strategic Management Journal, 23 (3): 229–244.
Middleton, R. 1963. Alienation, race and education. American Sociological Review, 28 (6): 973–977.
Misra, S., Kanungo, R., Von Ronsenstiel, L., & Stuhler, E. 1985. The motivational formulation of job and work involvement: A cross-national study. Human Relations, 33 (6): 501–518.
Morosini, P., Shane, S., & Singh, S. 1998. National cultural distance and cross-border performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 29 (1): 137–158.
Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M., & Porter, L. W. 1979. The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14: 224–247.
Nahavandi, A., & Malekzadeh, A. R. 1988. Acculturation in mergers and acquisitions. Academy of Management Review, 13 (1): 79–90.
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. 1995. The knowledge creating company. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ong, A. 1987. Spirits of resistance and capitalist discipline: Factory women in Malaysia. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Ohnuki-Tierney, E. 1984. Illness and culture in contemporary Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Peltonen, T. 2007. In the middle of managers' occupational communities, global ethnography and the multinationals. Ethnography, 8 (3): 346–360.
Peterson, M. F., Peng, T. K., & Smith, P. B. 1999. Using expatriate supervisors to promote cross-border management practice transfer: The experience of a Japanese electronics company. In J. K. Liker, W. M. Fruin, & P. S. Adler (Eds), Remade in America: Transplanting and transforming Japanese management systems: 294–327. New York: Oxford University Press.
Polanyi, M. 1966. The tacit dimension. New York: Doubleday.
Rohlen, T. 1974. For harmony and strength: Japanese white-collar organization in anthropological perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Schweiger, D. M., & Lippert, R. L. 2005. Integration: The critical link in M&A value creation. In G. Stahl & M. Mendenhall (Eds), Mergers and acquisitions: 17–46. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Seeman, M. 1959. On the meaning of alienation. American Sociological Review, 24 (6): 783–791.
Shimizu, K., Hitt, M., Vaidyanath, D., & Pisano, V. 2004. Theoretical foundations of cross-border mergers and acquisitions: A review of current research and recommendations for the future. Journal of International Management, 10 (3): 307–353.
Stonequist, E. V. 1937. The marginal man: A study in personality and culture conflict. New York: Russell & Russell.
Spreitzer, G. M. 1996. Social structural characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 39 (2): 483–504.
Stahl, G., Mendenhall, M., Pablo, A., & Javidan, M. 2005. Sociocultural integration in mergers and acquisitions. In G. Stahl & M. Mendenhall (Eds), Mergers and acquisitions: 3–16. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Strauss, A. L. 1982. Interorganizational negotiation. Urban Life, 11 (3): 350–367.
Thiederman, S. 2003. Making diversity work: 7 steps for defeating bias in the workplace. Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing.
Uhlenbruck, K. 2004. Developing acquired foreign subsidiaries: The experience of MNEs in transition economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 35 (2): 109–123.
Valentine, C. 1971. Deficiency, difference and bicultural models. Harvard Educational Review, 41 (2): 137–157.
Van Maanen, J. 1992. Displacing Disney: Some notes on the flow of culture. Qualitative Sociology, 15 (1): 5–35.
Veiga, J. F., Lubatkin, M. H., Calori, R., & Very, P. 2000. Measuring organizational culture clashes: A two-nation post-hoc analysis of a cultural compatibility index. Human Relations, 53 (4): 539–557.
Vermeulen, F., & Barkema, H. 2001. Learning through acquisitions. Academy of Management Journal, 44 (3): 457–476.
Very, P., Lubatkin, M., Calori, R., & Veiga, J. 1996. Cross-national assessment of acculturative stress in recent European mergers. International Studies of Management and Organization, 26 (1): 59–88.
Very, P., Lubatkin, M., Calori, R., & Veiga, J. 1997. Relative standing and the performance of recently acquired European firms. Strategic Management Journal, 18 (8): 593–615.
Weber, Y., Shenkar, O., & Raveh, A. 1996. National and corporate cultural fit in mergers/acquisitions: An exploratory study. Management Science, 42 (8): 1215–1227.
Wong, N. 1990. A study of the special economic zones and coastal open cities in China, Research report on investment environment of Mainland China (6). Taipei: Investment Department, Ministry of Economy.
Xu, H., & Van de Vliert, E. 2004. Job level and national culture as joint roots of job satisfaction. Applied Psychology, 53 (3): 329–348.
Yeung, H. W. C. 2000. State intervention and neoliberalism in the globalising world economy: Lessons from Singapore's regionalization programme. The Pacific Review, 13 (1): 133–162.
Zhu, Y., May, S., & Rosenfeld, L. 2004. Information adequacy and job satisfaction during merger and acquisition. Management Communication Quarterly, 18 (2): 241–270.
Zurcher Jr, L. A., Meadow, A., & Zurcher, S. L. 1965. Value orientation, role conflict, and alienation from work: A cross-cultural study. American Sociological Review, 30 (4): 539–548.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Kanzaki Specialty Papers for their support for this research, especially in terms of ongoing access to the Massachusetts site for the principal researcher for 5 years. Thanks also go to Abhijit Sanyal, who helped in the initial quantitative analysis, Julie Bae for research assistance, Harry Lane for encouraging us to submit to JIBS, and the thoughtful guidance of our editor Charles Galunic and two anonymous reviewers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Accepted by Charles Galunic, Departmental Editor, 25 March 2008. This paper has been with the authors for three revisions.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brannen, M., Peterson, M. Merging without alienating: interventions promoting cross-cultural organizational integration and their limitations. J Int Bus Stud 40, 468–489 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2008.80
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2008.80